The Lounge

The Lounge modernizes IRC access for users who want the benefits of IRC communities without the limitations of traditional clients that require desktop installation and lose messages when closed. As IRC experiences renewed interest for open-source project communication, developer communities, and privacy-conscious chat, The Lounge provides a way to participate fully from any device while maintaining the always-connected presence that IRC culture expects. The project has grown into one of the most popular self-hosted IRC solutions, combining the simplicity of web access with the reliability of a dedicated bouncer service.

Common Use Cases

Open-source contributors stay connected to project IRC channels around the clock, catching up on discussions that happened in different time zones without running a separate bouncer. Many major open-source projects maintain IRC channels for real-time collaboration, and The Lounge ensures contributors never miss important conversations or decisions made while they were offline.

Developers maintain presence in technical support channels where questions might be answered hours after being asked, ensuring they see responses regardless of when they check in. The persistent connection means help requests receive attention even when the original poster has stepped away, with full context preserved in the message history.

Community moderators monitor multiple channels across different networks from a single interface, with history ensuring nothing is missed during offline periods. The multi-network support allows managing presence across Libera.Chat, OFTC, and private IRC networks simultaneously.

Privacy-conscious users prefer IRC over commercial chat platforms, and The Lounge makes IRC accessible without sacrificing convenience. Teams use IRC for internal communication with the security of self-hosted infrastructure and the flexibility of web-based access, avoiding dependence on third-party chat services.

Key Features

• Always-on IRC connections with comprehensive message history
• Responsive web interface optimized for desktop and mobile browsers
• Push notifications for mentions, private messages, and highlights
• Link previews with image, video, and media thumbnails
• File upload and image sharing within channels
• Multi-user support with separate accounts and configurations
• Multiple simultaneous IRC network connections
• LDAP authentication support for enterprise deployments
• Customizable themes and appearance settings
• Keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation
• Full-text message search across history
• SASL and client certificate authentication for secure connections
• Automatic away message management
• Synchronized read markers across all connected devices
• Nick and channel password management
• Configurable notification rules and filters

Technical Architecture

The Lounge operates as a Node.js application that maintains persistent connections to IRC networks while serving a web interface to users. This architecture means IRC connections continue running on the server regardless of whether any browser is connected, accumulating message history continuously. The application stores user configurations, network credentials, and chat logs in persistent storage, ensuring nothing is lost between restarts. Each user account maintains independent settings, network configurations, and message history, making The Lounge suitable for both personal use and shared deployments serving multiple users.

Why deploy The Lounge on Hostinger VPS

Running The Lounge on a Hostinger VPS provides the always-on IRC presence that makes the protocol practical for modern use. Unlike running an IRC client on a personal computer that disconnects during sleep, shutdown, or network changes, VPS deployment maintains continuous connections to all configured networks. Message history accumulates reliably without gaps from connectivity interruptions, and you can catch up on any device simply by opening a browser.

The dedicated hosting ensures IRC connections remain stable even during home network issues, and the web interface means no client software to install or update on your devices. For users participating in global open-source communities, the VPS location can be chosen to optimize latency to frequently used IRC networks.

Self-hosting The Lounge on your own VPS ensures complete control over your chat data and credentials. Unlike cloud-hosted IRC services, your message history and network passwords remain on your infrastructure. The deployment can be customized with SSL certificates for secure access and integrated with existing authentication systems through LDAP for team deployments.