F-IRC

F-IRC is a free and open source command-line application implemented in C and designed to provide users with a console/command-line IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client, supporting multiple servers, scrollback, and all the basic features one can expect from any standard IRC client.

It has been designed from the ground up to be as user-friendly as possible, and includes support for keyboard shortcuts in order to allow users to easily and quickly navigate it. It’s a drop-in replacement for the well known irssi IRC client.

Getting started with F-IRC

When F-IRC is fired up for the first time, you'll notice a list of channels and servers on the right. The box around these is inverted, which means that if you use the left- and the right cursor, they will work on the channels, etc.

If you press ^n, the box will no longer be inverted and you can use the cursor keys for editing what you're typing. The application allows you to effortlessly navigate channels, it is easy to configure and comes with a pop-up menu for actions.

To install it on your GNU/Linux system, you must first download the latest version from Softoware or the project’s website, save the archive on your computer, extract its contents and open a terminal emulator.

In the terminal window, use the ‘cd’ command to navigate to the location of the extracted archive files, where you will have to execute the ‘make’ command to compile the software, followed by the ‘make install’ command as root or with sudo to install it system wide.

Under the hood

F-IRC is a simple application, written entirely in the C programming language. It requires the widely used Ncurses library for displaying its command-line interface with menus and pop-ups. It has been successfully tested under various GNU/Linux systems and supports both 64-bit and 32-bit hardware architectures.

What is new in this release:

• This release brings stability fixes.

What is new in version 1.34:

• This version fixes ignoring a user.

What is new in version 1.33:

• DCC fixes: did not work at all in previous version(s).
• This version can now also bind to a specific IP address (useful for e.g. IPv6 with privacy extensions enabled).

What is new in version 1.32:

• This version sanitizes user interface logic.
• A crash in /LIST has been fixed.
• The user menu now automatically retrieves full names.
• Joining a channel from the list shows the topics as well. DCC did not work.
• This release can let the channel list be sorted.
• Improved search in channel and user input scrollback windows.

What is new in version 1.31:

• This version rewrites IRC protocol handling (much more stable).
• Nicks can now be aligned in a column.
• You can now add a marker line to see where you left off (this is also automatic when changing channels).
• An improved configuration editor.
• A tab-completion dictionary. Improved scroll-back window navigation.
• You can now invoke an external program/script when there's a nick-hit.
• A "headlines" window has been added.
• You can now set custom highlight words.

What is new in version 1.30:

• User interface improvements and fixes for two crashes.
• Favorites and auto-join can now be edited from within the program.
• The CTCP implementation was enhanced.
• Mouse support was added. "Search in all channels" was added.
• It is now possible to log all conversations.

What is new in version 1.29:

• User interface improvements and networking stability improvements.

What is new in version 1.28:

• This version adds more connectivity fixes.

What is new in version 1.27:

• A fix for persistent ignores.