IrcII

Oldest still active developed IRC-Client From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ircII (pronounced i-r-c-two or irk-two,[3][4] and sometimes referred to as IRC client, second edition[5]) is a free, open-source Unix IRC and ICB client written in C. Initially released in the late 1980s, it is the oldest IRC client still maintained.[6][7]

Original authorMichael Sandrof
DevelopersMatthew R. Green, ircII project
Initial release1989; 37 years ago (1989)[1]
Stable release
20260115[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 16 January 2026
Quick facts Original author, Developers ...
ircII
Original authorMichael Sandrof
DevelopersMatthew R. Green, ircII project
Initial release1989; 37 years ago (1989)[1]
Stable release
20260115[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 16 January 2026
Written inC
Operating systemUnix-like
Size577 kB
Available inEnglish
TypeIRC client
LicenceBSD-3-Clause
Websitewww.eterna23.net/ircii/
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History

Several other UNIX IRC clients, including BitchX, EPIC, and ScrollZ, were originally forks of ircII. It was the first client to implement file transfer capabilities over IRC.[8] The CTCP protocol was implemented by Michael Sandrof in 1990 for version 2.1.[9] The DCC protocol was implemented by Troy Rollo in 1991 for version 2.1.2,[10] and was never intended to be portable to other IRC clients.[11][12]

Features

ircII is written in the C programming language and implements a termcap, text-mode, user interface. Encrypted Transport Layer Security connections to IRC servers are established with the OpenSSL library. [13] The concept of file transfers over IRC networks was first implemented by the authors of ircII. The client was the first to implement both the Client-to-client protocol (CTCP) and the Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) protocol. The application has been promoted as being "fast, stable, lightweight, portable, and easily backgrounded." [14]

See also

References

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