What is The Lounge used for?

The Lounge is a self-hosted, always-connected web IRC client with push notifications, link previews and synced state across desktop and mobile. It is a good fit for staying on IRC from any device and hosting a shared IRC web client for a community.

Is The Lounge open source?

Yes. The Lounge is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at thelounge/thelounge and is written mainly in TypeScript.

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

Can I self-host The Lounge?

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

What are some alternatives to The Lounge?

Similar open-source tools in the Team Chat category include Convos, Haven and Kiwi IRC. SaaS products in the same category include Kik, TeamSpeak and Telegram.

Is The Lounge actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to The Lounge was on 30 September 2026, and the latest release is v4.5.2, published on 12 July 2026. The project has 6.3k stars on GitHub.

The Lounge: open-source team chat

About The Lounge

The Lounge is a modern web client for IRC designed to be self-hosted. You run it on a server, connect it to your IRC networks, and use it from any browser, so you stay online in channels even when your own devices are closed.

It adds conveniences that traditional IRC clients often lack: push notifications, link previews and new-message markers. The interface is responsive and works on desktop, phone and tablet, and your session stays synchronized so you can resume where you left off on another device. It runs anywhere Node.js does, and the front end is built with Vue and TypeScript.

The Lounge is MIT-licensed, with a Docker image and documentation provided, and it is maintained by the community. It suits people and communities who still use IRC and want a persistent connection plus a web interface in one package.

Key features

Persistent IRC connections while offline
Push notifications for new messages
Link previews in chat
New message markers
Responsive interface for desktop and mobile
Synchronized state across devices

Good fit for

→Staying on IRC from any device
→Hosting a shared IRC web client for a community

Built with: TypeScript; JavaScript; Node.js; Vue
Tags: irc; chat; self-hosted; web-client; nodejs; vue; docker

The Lounge: questions and answers

What is The Lounge used for?: The Lounge is a self-hosted, always-connected web IRC client with push notifications, link previews and synced state across desktop and mobile. It is a good fit for staying on IRC from any device and hosting a shared IRC web client for a community.
Is The Lounge open source?: Yes. The Lounge is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at thelounge/thelounge and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is The Lounge free?: Yes. The Lounge is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host The Lounge?: Yes. The Lounge can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to The Lounge?: Similar open-source tools in the Team Chat category include Convos, Haven and Kiwi IRC. SaaS products in the same category include Kik, TeamSpeak and Telegram.
Is The Lounge actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to The Lounge was on 30 September 2026, and the latest release is v4.5.2, published on 12 July 2026. The project has 6.3k stars on GitHub.