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The Lounge

The Lounge is a modern, open-source, web-based IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client that offers persistent connectivity, allowing users to remain connected to IRC…

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The Lounge is a modern, open-source, web-based IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client that offers persistent connectivity, allowing users to remain connected to IRC servers even while offline, and provides a responsive interface compatible with desktops, smartphones, and tablets. It brings IRC into the 21st century with features like push notifications, link previews, and file uploads, and supports multiple user accounts, enabling server sharing among friends or team members. The Lounge can be installed on a continuously running server for optimal performance, granting users access through their browsers or mobile devices. It offers both private mode, combining the functionalities of a bouncer and a client for a modern chat experience, and public mode, allowing open chat access without registration.

Platform availability

Available on 4 of 9 platforms

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

85/100 Excellent

Maintained
100last commit 32 days ago
Popular
766,342 GitHub stars
Easy to install
654 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today

GitHub stars
6,342
Open issues
315
Last commit
2026-09-13
Latest release
v4.5.2
License
MIT
Activity
steady

Checked 16 days ago - source: GitHub (thelounge/thelounge)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 16 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Set up PostgreSQL first Before starting Graph Node, set up PostgreSQL (the database it uses) and create a database named graph-node. Without this, Graph Node has nowhere to store its data and will not run. source

Fetched 8 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (4)

  • Convos - Convos is a self-hosted multiuser web client for IRC that keeps channels online in the browser for users who want an always-on chat presenc…
  • Quassel IRC - Quassel IRC is a modern, cross-platform, distributed IRC client based on the Qt5 framework.
  • Shout - The self-hosted web IRC client.
  • jsIRC - jsIRC is written using Socket.IO, node.js, jQuery Title Alert and Sencha ExtJS, relying on string.js, Lo-Dash and PhantomJS.

Checked 17 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Is running The Lounge from source recommended for production?

The README says running from source is not production-ready and should be run at your own risk. It also says it is not recommended to run it as root.

Do I need to keep the server running all the time?

For an optimal experience, The Lounge should be installed on a server that runs 24/7. It can remain connected to IRC servers while you are offline.

Do I need a dedicated mobile app to use The Lounge on my phone?

The Lounge is a progressive web app, so it can be installed from any modern browser. This provides a native-like experience without needing a dedicated mobile app.

Can I share one The Lounge instance with friends?

The Lounge supports multiple user accounts, so you can share your server with friends.

How do I manage users or install add-ons after setup?

Use the thelounge CLI to start the server, manage users, install themes and packages, and configure your self-hosted IRC client.

Can I deploy The Lounge with Docker Compose?

A docker-compose file can include the settings needed to recreate your The Lounge application and setup. This can make adding other self-hosted apps easier later.

Answers sourced from gist.github.com, github.com, thelounge.chat, thelounge.chat, thelounge.chat

Community

Collected 11 days ago - public community threads