What is Convos used for?

Convos is a multiuser, browser-based chat client for IRC with a Mojolicious backend and a Svelte frontend, easy to run locally or in Docker. It is a good fit for hosting a shared IRC web client for a community, staying connected to IRC from multiple devices and providing a friendly IRC interface to newcomers.

Is Convos open source?

Yes. Convos is open source under the Artistic-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at convos-chat/convos and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Convos is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Convos?

Yes. Convos can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Convos?

Similar open-source tools in the Team Chat category include The Lounge, Campfire and VoceChat. SaaS products in the same category include Kik, Troop Messenger and Beeper.

Is Convos actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Convos was on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.

Convos: open-source team chat

About Convos

Convos is a multiuser chat application that runs in the web browser. It currently supports the IRC protocol and is meant to be the simplest way to use IRC, with a persistent connection on the server so you can pick up conversations from any device, though it can be extended to other protocols.

The backend is built on the Mojolicious web framework in Perl and the frontend uses Svelte. The README offers a quick start for installing locally, which gets you chatting at a local address after two commands, and for running in Docker, with the official image hosted on GitHub. The project keeps a stable branch for people who want to clone and run Convos, and a main branch for developers that may need extra tools.

Convos is licensed under Artistic-2.0 and is self-hosted, so you control where your chat history lives. The website and Getting Started documentation provide further options. It suits teams, communities and individuals who use IRC and want a web interface that stays connected on their behalf.

Key features

Browser-based IRC client
Multiuser support
Persistent server-side connections
Mojolicious backend with Svelte frontend
Local install or Docker image
Extensible to other chat protocols

Good fit for

→Hosting a shared IRC web client for a community
→Staying connected to IRC from multiple devices
→Providing a friendly IRC interface to newcomers

Built with: Go
Tags: irc; chat; web-client; self-hosted; perl; svelte; docker; multiuser; messaging

Convos: questions and answers

What is Convos used for?: Convos is a multiuser, browser-based chat client for IRC with a Mojolicious backend and a Svelte frontend, easy to run locally or in Docker. It is a good fit for hosting a shared IRC web client for a community, staying connected to IRC from multiple devices and providing a friendly IRC interface to newcomers.
Is Convos open source?: Yes. Convos is open source under the Artistic-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at convos-chat/convos and is written mainly in Go.
Is Convos free?: Yes. Convos is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Convos?: Yes. Convos can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Convos?: Similar open-source tools in the Team Chat category include The Lounge, Campfire and VoceChat. SaaS products in the same category include Kik, Troop Messenger and Beeper.
Is Convos actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Convos was on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.2k stars on GitHub.