irssi

Irssi is a modular, text‑mode chat client that runs in a terminal. It provides built‑in support for IRC and can be extended with additional protocol modules for ICB, SILC, XMPP (Jabber), PSYC, and Quassel through third‑party plugins. The client relies on glib, OpenSSL, Perl, and terminfo or ncurses for its text interface, and it is built using Meson and Ninja.

The software targets users who prefer command‑line communication tools, such as system administrators, developers, and long‑time IRC participants who need a lightweight, scriptable environment. Documentation includes a new‑user guide, a Q&A section, and an extensive built‑in help system, while a community of script and theme contributors offers further customization.

Installation can be performed from released source tarballs or directly from the Git repository, with signatures available for verification. Security concerns are addressed through a dedicated mailing address, and development contributions are welcomed via GitHub pull requests or the project’s IRC support channel.