Client Compatibility

ElixIRCd implements standard IRC protocol (RFC 1459 / RFC 2812) with IRCv3 extensions. Any standard IRC client will work. Clients with IRCv3 support will get enhanced features.

Recommended Clients

Desktop

Client	Platform	IRCv3 Support	Notes
WeeChat	Linux/macOS/Windows	Excellent	Extensible via scripts; best for power users
HexChat	Windows/Linux	Good	GUI client; easy SASL setup
irssi	Linux/macOS	Good	Terminal; scriptable
Textual	macOS	Very good	Native macOS look
Konversation	Linux (KDE)	Good	KDE-native

Web / Browser

Client	Notes
KiwiIRC	Supports WebSocket; can self-host
TheLounge	Self-hosted bouncer-style; excellent IRCv3
Gamja	Lightweight; WebSocket

Mobile

Client	Platform
Palaver	iOS
Mutter	iOS (by Textual devs)
Revolution IRC	Android
Goguma	Android

Connecting to ElixIRCd

Basic Connection (Plain TCP)

Server: irc.example.com
Port: 6667
SSL/TLS: No
Nick: YourNick

TLS Connection (Recommended)

Server: irc.example.com
Port: 6697
SSL/TLS: Yes (verify certificate)
Nick: YourNick

WebSocket Connection

Server: wss://irc.example.com:8443
Protocol: WebSocket
Nick: YourNick

SASL Configuration

SASL lets you authenticate before completing registration. Configure it in your client before connecting.

WeeChat

/server add myserver irc.example.com/6697 -ssl
/set irc.server.myserver.sasl_mechanism plain
/set irc.server.myserver.sasl_username "YourNick"
/set irc.server.myserver.sasl_password "yourpassword"
/connect myserver

HexChat

1. Network List → Add server → irc.example.com/6697
2. Edit → check Use SSL
3. Login Method: SASL (username + password)
4. Enter your username and password

irssi

/connect -ssl -sasl_mechanism plain -sasl_username YourNick -sasl_password yourpassword irc.example.com 6697

Or in ~/.irssi/config:

{
  address = "irc.example.com";
  port = "6697";
  use_ssl = "yes";
  ssl_verify = "yes";
  sasl_mechanism = "plain";
  sasl_username = "YourNick";
  sasl_password = "yourpassword";
}

Textual

1. Preferences → Networks → Add
2. Server: irc.example.com, Port: 6697, SSL: checked
3. Identity → Authentication: NickServ SASL
4. Enter username and password

IRCv3 Features by Client

Feature	WeeChat	HexChat	irssi	TheLounge
SASL PLAIN	✅	✅	✅	✅
away-notify	✅	✅	✅	✅
extended-join	✅	✅	✅	✅
account-notify	✅	partial	✅	✅
message-tags	✅	partial	plugin	✅
server-time	✅	✅	plugin	✅
multi-prefix	✅	✅	✅	✅
monitor	✅	✅	✅	✅
msgid	✅	—	—	✅
setname	✅	—	—	✅

Note

Clients that don’t support a given capability simply won’t request it. The server will still work normally — the client just won’t receive the extra metadata that capability provides.

Common Issues

”Cannot join channel” after SASL

Some channels require you to be registered and identified. If you’re not authenticating via SASL, use NickServ IDENTIFY after connecting:

/msg NickServ IDENTIFY yourpassword

Certificate verification failures

If you get SSL errors, ensure:

1. The server’s certificate is valid and not self-signed (or add it as a trusted cert)
2. Your client has an up-to-date CA bundle
3. The hostname in the certificate matches the server you’re connecting to

For self-signed certs during testing, you may need to disable verification (not recommended for production):

# WeeChat (dev/test only)
/set irc.server.myserver.ssl_verify off

Nick already in use

If your nick is registered but you’re not authenticated, another user (or a ghost of your previous connection) may hold it. Use:

/msg NickServ GHOST YourNick yourpassword
/nick YourNick

Slow connection / timeout during handshake

ElixIRCd performs async DNS resolution and ident lookup during the connection handshake. This typically completes in under a second but can take up to the configured timeout if DNS or ident servers are slow or unreachable. Most clients handle this transparently.