soju
A self-hosted IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC servers for you and keeps chat history.
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About soju
soju connects to upstream IRC servers on your behalf, so you stay present in channels while your own client is closed. When you reconnect, it plays back the chat history you missed. It supports multiple users, numerous IRCv3 extensions and detached channels.
The project describes it as suited to both small and large deployments, from a personal server to a shared setup. Documentation includes a getting-started guide and a manual page, and the source is published on Codeberg.
Strengths
- Keeps you connected to IRC networks while your client is offline
- Chat history playback when you reconnect
- Supports multiple users and many IRCv3 extensions
- Detached channels for low-priority rooms
Limitations
- Requires running your own server
- Needs a separate IRC client to chat
Details
- Pricing
- FreeNo pricing is listed; the source is published on Codeberg.
- License
- Proprietary
- Developer
- The soju contributors
- Platforms
- Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Self-hosted
- Best suited for
- IRC users who want persistent connections and history across devices
- Categories
- Messaging
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to soju
Compare allSoftware that can replace soju for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
ZNC
An IRC bouncer that stays connected to IRC networks so your client can disconnect without losing chat.
ZNC is an open source Apache-2.0 bouncer with multiple users and networks, a web configuration interface and Perl and Python modules, but needs one client connection per network.
The Lounge
A self-hosted web IRC client that stays connected to servers while you are offline.
The Lounge combines the persistent connection with a web IRC client, so no separate client is needed, but it requires running a Node.js server and is IRC only.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Halloy
An open-source IRC client for macOS, Windows and Linux, written in Rust and focused on speed.
WeeChat
An extensible terminal chat client with a full IRC plugin and scripting in eight languages.
Irssi
A terminal-based IRC client with split windows, extensive settings and scripting support.
Konversation
A graphical IRC client from KDE with DCC file transfers, per-channel encodings and an embedded terminal.
Textual
A native macOS IRC client with IRCv3 support, OTR encryption and customizable styles.
mIRC
A long-running Windows client for chatting on Internet Relay Chat networks, sold as shareware.
