IRC-style chat rooms in your browser

Channels whose names start with #, operators who keep order, and nicknames you can register — the way IRC has always worked, in a browser tab, free and with nothing to install.

Chat rooms open to anyone

How a chat room works

A chat room is a channel, and its name starts with #. /list shows every public channel with its topic and how many people are in it; /join enters one, and creates it when nobody has yet. Whoever creates a channel owns it.

#general       23 users  Welcome to the server!
#elixir        12 users  Elixir & Phoenix talk
#gaming         8 users  Game nights every Friday
#private    🔒  3 users  Invite only

Who runs a chat room

~ the owner, who created the channel or was handed it.
@ operators, who set the topic, the modes, and who stays.
% half-operators, who help keep order.
+ users with voice, who can speak when the chat room is moderated.

Modes shape the chat room: +m lets only users with voice speak, +i lets in only who is invited, +k asks for a key, +t keeps the topic for operators. ChanServ remembers who gets operator or voice when they come back.

Your nickname

Pick any nickname that is not taken. To keep your nickname, register it with /ns register and a password. When you come back, identify with /ns identify.

Read a chat room first

These chat rooms publish what is said in them, so you can read the conversation before you join.

Questions

Is this an IRC server?

No. It works the way IRC does — channels, operators, modes, NickServ and ChanServ — but in the browser, on its own server. IRC clients such as mIRC cannot connect to it.

Can I open my own channel?

Yes. Type /join and a name that starts with #. If the channel does not exist yet, it is created and you are its owner. Register it with ChanServ to keep it.

Can I run my own server?

Yes. The software is open source under the MIT license, and the install guide shows how to run it on your own machine.