IRC

Internet Relay Chat
Communication protocol
Abbreviation	IRC
Purpose	Instant messaging
Developer(s)	Jarkko Oikarinen
Introduction	August 1988
Influenced	Not yet superseded; IRCv3 (standards process working group)
OSI layer	Application layer
Port(s)	6667, 6697
RFC(s)	RFC 1459

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels,^[1] but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages^[2] as well as chat and data transfer,^[3] including file sharing.^[4]

Internet Relay Chat is implemented as an application layer protocol to facilitate communication in the form of text. The chat process works on a client–server networking model. Users connect, using a client—which may be a web app, a standalone desktop program, or embedded into part of a larger program—to an IRC server, which may be part of a larger IRC network. Examples of programs used to connect include Mibbit, IRCCloud, KiwiIRC, and mIRC.

IRC usage has been declining steadily since 2003, losing 60 percent of its users.^[5] In April 2011, the top 100 IRC networks served more than 200,000 users at a time.^[6]

^ "One-to-many". Internet Relay Chat Protocol. p. 11. sec. 3.2. doi:10.17487/RFC1459. RFC 1459.
^ "One-To-One Communication". Internet Relay Chat: Architecture. p. 5. sec. 5.1. doi:10.17487/RFC2810. RFC 2810.
^ Rollo, Troy. "A Description of the DCC Protocol". IRCHelp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
^ Wang, Wallace (25 October 2004). "Instant Messaging and Online Chat Rooms: Internet Relay Chat (IRC)". Steal this File Sharing Book (1st ed.). San Francisco, California: No Starch Press. pp. 61–67. ISBN 978-1-59327-050-6.
^ Cite error: The named reference pingdom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "IRC Networks – Top 100". irc.netsplit.de. Retrieved 26 October 2023.

[1] "One-to-many". Internet Relay Chat Protocol. p. 11. sec. 3.2. doi:10.17487/RFC1459. RFC 1459.

[2] "One-To-One Communication". Internet Relay Chat: Architecture. p. 5. sec. 5.1. doi:10.17487/RFC2810. RFC 2810.

[3] Rollo, Troy. "A Description of the DCC Protocol". IRCHelp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2011.

[4] Wang, Wallace (25 October 2004). "Instant Messaging and Online Chat Rooms: Internet Relay Chat (IRC)". Steal this File Sharing Book (1st ed.). San Francisco, California: No Starch Press. pp. 61–67. ISBN 978-1-59327-050-6.

[pingdom-5] Cite error: The named reference pingdom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[irc_networks_top_100-6] "IRC Networks – Top 100". irc.netsplit.de. Retrieved 26 October 2023.

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