irssi vs Solanum
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | irssi | Solanum |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 71 · Good |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,141 | ★ 262 |
| First released | 1999 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Discord |
What are irssi and Solanum?
irssi
irssi is a terminal-based IRC client known for its stability, scripting support, and clean interface. It can be combined with screen or tmux to act as a long-running session.
- Terminal interface
- Perl scripting
- Themeable display
- Long-running stability
Solanum
Solanum is an IRCv3 server daemon descended from the Charybdis lineage. It is the software that powers the Libera.Chat IRC network and is suitable for running large IRC infrastructures.
- Powers Libera.Chat
- IRCv3 protocol support
- Scales to large networks
- Charybdis-derived codebase
irssi vs Solanum: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Irssi is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Solanum. Irssi is the more established project (first released 1999), while Solanum arrived in 2020. Irssi has the considerably larger community, at 3,141 GitHub stars versus 262.
Why pick each one
Choose irssi if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Choose Solanum if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is irssi or Solanum better?
irssi is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Solanum if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are irssi and Solanum free and open-source?
Yes. irssi is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Solanum under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run irssi and Solanum with Docker?
irssi: check the project docs for container support. Solanum: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, irssi or Solanum?
irssi has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Solanum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.