Solanum vs WeeChat
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Solanum | WeeChat |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 71 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 262 | ★ 3,393 |
| First released | 2020 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack |
What are Solanum and WeeChat?
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
WeeChat
WeeChat is a fast, lightweight chat client that runs in the terminal and supports IRC and many other protocols through plugins. Its relay protocol allows remote clients to connect to a persistent session.
- Terminal interface
- Scriptable in many languages
- Relay protocol for remote clients
- Highly extensible
Solanum vs WeeChat: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Solanum versus GPL-3.0 for WeeChat. WeeChat is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Solanum. WeeChat is the more established project (first released 2003), while Solanum arrived in 2020. WeeChat has the considerably larger community, at 3,393 GitHub stars versus 262.
Why pick each one
Choose Solanum if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose WeeChat if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Solanum or WeeChat better?
WeeChat 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 Solanum and WeeChat free and open-source?
Yes. Solanum is licensed under GPL-2.0 and WeeChat under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Solanum and WeeChat with Docker?
Solanum: check the project docs for container support. WeeChat: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Solanum or WeeChat?
WeeChat has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Solanum. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.