The Lounge

A self-hosted web IRC client that stays connected while you are away and syncs your conversations across desktop, phone and tablet.

6.4k stars, 790 forks TypeScript On GitHub since February 2016

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is The Lounge?

The Lounge brings modern conveniences to IRC: push notifications, link previews, markers for new messages and a responsive interface that works on any screen. The server keeps your IRC connections open while you are offline, so you can pick up the conversation where you left off from another device. It runs anywhere Node.js does and is the official, community-run fork of Shout by Mattias Erming.

Good fit if

  • You live on IRC networks and want an always-on client without a paid bouncer service.
  • You switch between computer and phone and want the same scrollback on both.

Look elsewhere if

  • Your team is choosing a chat system rather than joining IRC networks: Zulip.
  • You prefer a federated modern protocol: Element.

Before you adopt it

The Lounge is MIT-licensed and has no paid parts. Development is slow but steady, with a handful of contributors and a release in July 2026. It needs the current Node.js LTS; do not run the development branch in production or as root.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

The Lounge health: is it still maintained?

61 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    18 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 17 October 2026.
    15 / 30
  • Contributors
    8 people wrote the 18 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 50% of them.
    13 / 20
  • Releases
    3 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v4.5.2, on 12 July 2026.
    12 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 38% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 9 hours.
    15 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 6.2 of 10.
    6 / 10

Read from GitHub on 4 November 2026. How the score works

The Lounge license: is it open source?

The Lounge uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. February 2016First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run The Lounge yourself

Docker
No Docker files in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: thelounge.chat or the README on GitHub.

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All 12 projects in Team chat

Questions about The Lounge

Is The Lounge open source?

Yes. The Lounge is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is The Lounge still maintained?

Its health score is 61 of 100 (actively developed). It had 18 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 17 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 12 July 2026.

How do I run The Lounge?

You can run it as an app for Linux. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to The Lounge?

Close alternatives in the Team chat category include Zulip, Rocket.Chat, ejabberd.