Mac IRC clients are all grown up and have entered the new era of free cloud computing and the Mac App Store. Most apps in this list are free or just a few dollars. This is a radical change from just a few years ago, when the best apps were shareware worth $30 or more. All of these apps are stable and usable, and that reflects not only the multi-year track record of these particular programs, but the overall maturity of IRC itself.
Get Downloads; View Themes; Read News; SeeOn GitHub; Send Donation; ReadThe Docs; Windows 10 App. Windows 7+ 64bit Installer. Windows 7+ 32bit Installer. Note that the Windows installers automatically download other dependencies and may require rebooting for scripting interfaces. MIRC is a popular Internet Relay Chat client used by individuals and organizations to communicate, share, play and work with each other on IRC networks around the world. Serving the Internet community for over two decades, mIRC has evolved into a powerful, reliable and fun piece of technology. Pidgin is an easy to use, multi-protocol chat client client used by millions.
Colloquy 2.4
Open source freeware, available for Mac OS X and iOS. Good for novices and advanced users alike. They’ve been around since 2004 or so, and have grown from a lightweight client into a stable, full-featured one that supports not just IRC but also SILC and ICB. This is more than most users will need, as you can transfer files, chat on multiple networks, plaster your screen with mIRC colors, and handle scripting via Applescript.
XChat Azure 1.13.4
XChat Aqua/Azure is OS X native front-end of xchat2 written on Cocoa rather than GTK2. It is based on the Xchat 2 code base and therefore Open Source and Free Software.
Textual 2.1.1
Available from Mac App Store for $4 (trial version disconnects you every 2 hours). Textual is one of a few truly modern Mac IRC clients, as it uses the App Store, supports Notification Center, Retina displays, and is still being updated regularly (latest release as of this review was November 2012). Textual looks easy and simple, but implements a full array of chat features that are neatly tucked away just below the surface. As a result, the user interface feels “right” and everything makes sense. A new user would feel comfortable thanks to conversation tracking, address books, . On the other hand, an experienced user would be empowered with advanced features like op and oper actions, flood control, tracking of friends, ignoring of foes, logging, channel-specific input history, and scripting via not just Applescript but all the usual languages.
LimeChat 2.33
Free but donations are accepted. Unusually ambitious in being available for Mac OS X, iOS, and even Windows. Many people like the retro, minimalist look that harkens back to the old days (I’m talking 1990s) where multiple channels are streamed together into a single window, and people relied on typed or shortcut commands to do most things. Either you like that look or you don’t, be sure to look closely at some screen caps before you download. A true beginner would appreciate the built-in server list, which lets you get started quickly. However, once you get connected, the minimalist design means that it’s not as obvious to figure out what is going on. This is another of the fully modern Mac IRC clients, with App Store downloads and support for modern features like full screen mode, Notification Center, and Retina Display. Other 3rd party themes are available to change the look.
Snak 5.3.4
Best Irc Client 2020
$29 shareware every 2 years that supports the charity kiva.org, or else quits after 15 minutes. The price seems out of place in the new App Store world, but remember that Snak dates way back to the 1990s. It used to set the standard for Mac IRC clients because it was streamlined, easy, and yet also supported all the usual features. Well, that was then and this is now. It is hard to recommend Snak now considering that active development ended years ago, and so many free/cheap modern alternatives are now available. For now, Snak still works with Mountain Lion, so we’ll continue to list it here, if nothing else than to serve as a foundation for comparing the newer programs. Snak is very easy to set up and configure. Everything for each channel is contained in one window, and docking windows will allow multiple channels to share a window to maximize limited screen space. Supports both the scripting language from classic ircII for *nix (UNIX, Linux, etc.), so you can tap into the wealth of existing ircII scripts, as well as Applescript scripts. There are also automated responses to events so that you can set up script-like actions without being a scripting expert. Supports multiple connections, and for each connection, uses ircII-style server lists which will automatically try the next server in a list until it succeeds. Guardian feature permits adult control.
Sorry but mIRC only runs on the Windows operating system, so it will not work on the Apple Mac. There are no plans to make an Apple Mac version of mIRC at this time.
There are a number of IRC clients for the Apple Mac that you can try out that work very much like mIRC, such as: Colloquy, LimeChat, Textual, Babbel, Ircle or Snak.
All of these IRC clients can be used to connect to the same IRC networks as with mIRC, so you will see all of your friends on all of the same channels.
Alternatively, if you really want to use mIRC on the Apple Mac, there are a number of 'virtualization' products for Apple Mac computers that allow you to run Windows applications on a Mac. Or you can simply install a version of Windows using Apple Mac's Bootcamp feature and run all of your favorite Windows applications that way.
Sorry but mIRC only runs on the Windows operating system, so it will not work on Linux. There are no plans to make a version of mIRC that will work on Linux at this time.
Linux has quite a few native IRC clients, although none of them are quite like mIRC.
If you really want to run mIRC on Linux, it is possible to do so using Wine, which is an Open Source implementation of Windows for Linux. You can find out more about Wine at http://www.winehq.com.
Recent versions of mIRC run quite well under Wine.
Best Irc
Sorry but mIRC only runs on the Windows operating system, so it will not work on your mobile or tablet. There are no plans to make a version of mIRC that will work on mobiles or tablets at this time.
Os X Irc Client
There are quite a few IRC clients written specifically for mobiles and tablets, so it is very likely that you can find one for your particular device.