Command line IRC software (for Windows)
clircs is a traditional IRC client written in C# for .NET 10. It runs in Windows Console without needing WSL or Cygwin underneath it.
It is also designed to be useful out of the box. I've always disliked what I've come to call "the WordPress approach," where you get supposedly amazing software, but it doesn't do much until you install a bunch of other shit. Yes, the beauty of IRC is that it's decentralized and extensible and customizable. That's why I love it. But two things can exist at the same time, and in this case, the other thing is that some people just want to chat without learning how to script or any of that nerd crap.
Additionally, while clircs does support some IRCv3 capabilities, it's not on board the whole "make IRC into Discord" train that's rolling through. This is "back to basics" territory.
Version 0.9.1 is a preview release, which includes typical (plus additional!) IRC commands, support for multiple networks, TLS, SASL, DCC (and SDCC), bouncer connectivity, channel management, flood protection, logging, and you can add your own scripts by way of Jint (JavaScript).
clircs runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. The packaged release comes as a ZIP in both the self-contained and framework-dependent variety, or you can build it yourself from source.
- Self-contained (
clircs-v0.9.1-win-x64-self-contained.zip): The bigger download, with .NET 10 included. You don't have to install .NET separately, meaning this is the one to grab if you just want to run clircs. - Framework-dependent (
clircs-v0.9.1-win-x64-framework-dependent.zip): The smaller download. It requires that you install (or have already installed) the .NET 10 Runtime for Windows x64. You do not need the full Desktop Runtime or the SDK.
Snag the ZIP you need, extract its contents wherever you want, and run clircs.exe.
HEADS UP: Windows ShitScreen is probably going to complain about it being an unknown publisher. Just click More Info, then Run Anyway. Do NOT disable SmartScreen system-wide on your machine. If it doesn't let you Run Anyway, you can try building clircs from source instead.
First things first: grab the .NET 10 SDK.
Then head over to the 0.9.1 release page, download Source code (zip), and extract it. Open PowerShell in the extracted folder where clircs.sln is located and run:
dotnet build clircs.sln -c Release
dotnet run --project src/Clircs.Console/Clircs.Console.csproj -c Release --no-build
If you want to take a crack at the latest (and most buggy) development build:
git clone https://github.com/rekkals/clircs.git
cd clircs
dotnet build clircs.sln -c Release
dotnet run --project src/Clircs.Console/Clircs.Console.csproj -c Release --no-build
Connect to a server with:
/server <host> [port] [--tls] [--new] [--password]
Using --new opens an additional connection in a new window without disturbing your current connection:
/server irc.efnet.org 9999 --tls --new
Before connecting for the first time, use /set nickname, /set username, and /set realname to view and set the identity that'll be displayed on IRC.
You can also configure network profiles, allowing you to connect via SASL and set up multiple server endpoints, with /network.
The following bouncers are compatible with clircs:
- Lurker
- soju
- shroudBNC
- IRCCloud
Use /help for a list of commands and /help <command> for help with a <command>.
DOCUMENTATION contains detailed user documentation, settings, command notes, and current limitations.
CONTRIBUTING has guidelines and instructions on how to contribute to the clircs project.
SCRIPTING includes info on adding scripts via Jint.
VERSIONS shows the version history.
clircs is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License, either version 3 or (at your option) any later version. See LICENSE.
The license for .NET 10 is in DOTNET-LICENSE.txt.
Licensing notices for Jint, Acornima, and for .NET's bundled libraries can be found in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.
Report all issues (other than security) via GitHub at: https://github.com/rekkals/clircs/issues
Please send security issues by email: slakker@clircs.org
Visit #clircs on EFnet.