WeeChat
Fast, light and extensible chat client for many operating systems. Highly customizable with scripts and plugins.
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Fast, lightweight terminal chat client with modular plugins and extensive scripting support.
Core Features
- Modular core with independent plugins
- Cross-platform (Linux, BSD, macOS, Windows)
- Multi-protocol (IRC), RFC compliant
- Extremely small and fast
- Highly customizable via options and scripts (8 languages)
What It Can't Do
- •Terminal-only interface with no GUI; requires familiarity with keyboard shortcuts and IRC commands. Some scripts depend on specific language runtimes (Python, Ruby, etc.).
Use Cases
- IRC chat and channel management
- Developer notification bots
- Multi-server unified interface
- Script-driven custom chat workflows
Detailed Introduction
WeeChat (Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat) is a free, modular chat client designed for speed and low resource usage. Its lightweight core hosts independent plugins (IRC, etc.) that can be loaded/unloaded on the fly. It follows IRC RFCs, runs on GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS, Windows (Cygwin), and supports scripting in Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Tcl, Guile, JavaScript, and PHP. The project is well-documented, translated into multiple languages, and built from scratch under GPLv3.
Troubleshooting & FAQ (1)
How-toHow to capture raw IRC messages in WeeChat for debugging or logging?
Use the 'irc_raw_logger' Python script. Place the script in ~/.config/weechat/python/autoload/ (or your WeeChat config directory). In WeeChat, run /script load irc_raw_logger.py. Toggle logging with /ircrawlog on (or off). Configure output directory via /set plugins.var.python.irc_raw_logger.directory. The script logs all incoming and outgoing IRC lines with timestamps and direction markers (send/recv).
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Getting Started
Download installer
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Install the software
Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts
Step 1: Install via package manager (e.g., apt install weechat on Debian/Ubuntu, brew install weechat on macOS)
Step 2: Run weechat in terminal
Step 3: Add server with /server add, connect with /connect, join channel with /join
- Step 1: Install via package manager (e.g., apt install weechat on Debian/Ubuntu, brew install weechat on macOS)
- Step 2: Run weechat in terminal
- Step 3: Add server with /server add, connect with /connect, join channel with /join
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Open Source Transparency
View GitHub SourceUninstall Info
Remove via package manager (e.g., apt remove weechat) or delete compiled files. Configuration files are in ~/.weechat/; delete manually for full removal.
No Extra Dependencies
Ready to use after download. No additional runtime required.
Having issues? Check the FAQ below
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