qtpyrc

A full-featured IRC client written in Python with PySide6. Written mostly with the help of Claude Code.

It's a little sluggish, I guess because of PySide6, maybe partly Claude's fault, too.

I haven't tested all the features, so please submit an issue if something doesn't work right.

It should be cross-platform, but I haven't tested that yet either.

Features

IRC Protocol

• IRCv3 support: CAP negotiation, SASL (PLAIN/EXTERNAL), message tags, server-time, typing notifications, BATCH
• Token-bucket flood protection with configurable burst and rate
• Multiple server support per network with automatic cycling on failure
• Bouncer-friendly: handles playback batches (ZNC, chathistory)

Interface

• Tabbed or MDI (free-floating window) view modes
• Multi-row tab bar with network grouping and activity indicators
• Network tree sidebar (tabs, tree, or both)
• Configurable toolbar with SVG icons
• Color picker with RGB, HSB, HSL, L*a*b*, and L*C*h* color spaces, eyedropper, and saved colors
• Font picker with live preview
• mIRC color code rendering (16 + extended 99-color palette)
• Searchable chat output (Ctrl+F) with regex support
• Inline link previews with Open Graph thumbnails (opt-in, proxy support)

Configuration

• YAML config with 3-level cascading: global > network > server/channel
• Settings dialog with live preview for fonts and colors
• Integrated file editor for config, toolbar, popups, startup scripts, and variables
• Per-network identity, flood control, SASL, and auto-join overrides
• Per-channel ignores, auto-ops, highlights, and notification control

Scripting & Automation

• Python plugin API with full access to IRC events and client state (see plugins/triviabot/ for an example)
• /exec for inline Python evaluation
• /on event hooks with pattern matching, sounds, and desktop notifications
• /timer for recurring commands
• Startup command scripts
• mIRC-compatible popup menus (right-click context menus for nicks, channels, tabs)

Notifications

• Desktop notifications and sound alerts per event type (highlights, queries, notices, connect/disconnect)
• Nick notify list with ISON polling (online/offline alerts)
• Highlight patterns with regex support and {me} substitution
• Per-channel notification suppression

Other

• Headless mode (--headless) for running bots and scripts without a GUI
• Channel history replay from SQLite database
• IRC log files with optional per-network and per-channel subdirectories and monthly rotation
• URL catcher
• Built-in ident server
• Persistent user variables (/set)
• Tab-completion for nicks with recency sorting

Installation

git clone https://github.com/inhahe/qtpyrc.git
cd qtpyrc
pip install -r requirements.txt

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• PySide6
• ruamel.yaml
• qasync

Quick Start

# Create a new config directory
python qtpyrc.py --init myconfig/

# Edit myconfig/config.yaml to add your networks, then run:
python qtpyrc.py -c myconfig/config.yaml

See the Reference Manual for commands, variables, CLI options, and the scripting API.