(Pending book or magazine reviews of HexChat, since it's now included on many Linux distros)

HexChat
Initial releaseXChat-WDK 1409: March 30, 2010
Stable release
2.9.5 / April 1, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-04-01)
Written inC
Operating systemUnix-like, Windows
PlatformCross-platform
Available inMultilingual
TypeIRC client
LicenseGNU General Public License Version 2
WebsiteHomePage Documentation

HexChat is an open source Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Client based on the popular, but now defunct, XChat client.[1] HexChat is free for both Windows and Unix OS users. The latest stable release is version 2.9.5, which was released on April 1, 2013.[2] Version 2.9.6 is being developed for a future release and is available for testing.[3]

History

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HexChat started its life in 2009 as freakschat, a maintenance branch of the XChat source-code that only provided Windows builds.[4] In 2010 freakschat was superseded by XChat-WDK. The first release of XChat-WDK was in March 2010 with build 1409. In July 2012 the client was re-branded to HexChat[5] and the development portal moved to GitHub. With the rebranding came a larger focus on new features and supporting platforms other than Windows.

Features

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The current version of HexChat includes the following features:

  • Customizable interface with Theme support[6]
  • Cross-platform on Windows and Unix-like OSes
  • Highly scriptable with Python, Perl, and JavaScript[7]
  • Translated in multiple languages[8]
  • Fully open source and actively developed
  • Multi-network with auto-connect, join, and identify
  • Spellcheck, Proxies, SASL, DCC support and more
 
Screenshot of HexChat in Windows 8

Addons

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HexChat ships with a handful of useful plugins that extend the functionality of the client. These plugins are:

Reception

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In a brief review on IRCreviews.com, Hexchat was described as "a very full-featured IRC program, and includes 64-bit support, Lua scripting, non-admin install, localization and spelling support, and more."[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "HexChat" project page. Hexchat.github.io.
  2. ^ "HexChat version 2.9.5 released". Hexchat.github.io.
  3. ^ "HexChat Changelog". readthedocs.org.
  4. ^ "Freakschat". ohloh.net.
  5. ^ "HexChat Announcement". Hexchat.github.io.
  6. ^ "HexChat Themes". Hexchat.github.io.
  7. ^ "HexChat JavaScript". TingPing, github.com.
  8. ^ "HexChat". Transifex.com
  9. ^ "IRC Clients: Microsoft Windows: HexChat". ircreviews.org. August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
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[[Category:Internet Relay Chat clients]] [[Category:Windows Internet Relay Chat clients]] [[Category:Unix Internet Relay Chat clients]] [[Category:Free Internet Relay Chat clients]] [[Category:GTK+]]