ngIRCd - Internet Relay Chat Server by ngircd
Free, portable and lightweight Internet Relay Chat server
About ngIRCd - Internet Relay Chat Server
From the project's README at github.com/ngircd/ngircd. Lightly cleaned for readability; for the full source see the upstream repo.
ngIRCd is a free, portable and lightweight Internet Relay Chat ([IRC]) server for small or private networks, developed under the terms of the GNU General Public License ([GPL]); please see the file for licensing information.
The server is quite easy to configure and runs as a single-node server or can be part of a network of ngIRCd servers in a LAN or across the internet. It optionally supports the IPv6 protocol, SSL/TLS-protected client-server and server-server links, the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) system for user authentication, IDENT requests, and character set conversion for legacy clients.
The name ngIRCd stands for next-generation IRC daemon, which is a little bit exaggerated: lightweight Internet Relay Chat server most probably would have been a better name :-) Status
Development of ngIRCd started back in 2001: The server has been written from scratch in C, tries to follow all relevant standards, and is not based on the forefather, the daemon of the IRCNet.
Health score breakdown
6-dimension composite. See methodology for formula and weights.
Adoption signals
Real-world usage data, pulled from each registry. The bigger the numbers, the more battle-tested the project.
| Signal | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 567 | github.com/ngircd/ngircd |
| GitHub forks | 79 | github.com/ngircd/ngircd |
| Docker Hub pulls | 0 | hub.docker.com / ngircd |
Release & maintenance
Is this project actively maintained, or about to die? Check the recency of last commit and last release.
| Project age | 14.5 years | since Jan 2012 |
| Last commit | 20 days ago | Jun 6, 2026 |
| Releases shipped | 11 | last: 2.2 years ago |
Self-hosting cost across providers
Detected requirements: 4GB RAM, 40GB disk minimum. Cheapest plan per provider that meets the requirement.
| Provider | Plan | Specs | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hetzner | CAX11 | 2c · 4GB · 40GB | $4.13 USD | Deploy → |
| vultr | VC2 | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5 USD | Deploy → |
| linode | Nanode 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5.12 USD | Deploy → |
| digitalocean | Basic Regular 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $6 USD | Deploy → |
Security advisories
CVE-2020-14148. Ready to self-host ngIRCd - Internet Relay Chat Server?
Spin up a hetzner CAX11 (4GB RAM, 40GB disk) for $4.13/mo and follow the project's official install docs.
Data last refreshed Jun 21, 2026.
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