macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install bitlbeelocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install bitlbeeMacPorts ports tree · irc/bitlbee/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install bitlbee with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper
IRC to other chat networks gateway. Version 3.6 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add bitlbeeAlpine Linux edge package indexes · bitlbee · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install bitlbeeDebian stable package indexes · bitlbee · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install bitlbeeFedora Rawhide package metadata · bitlbee · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#bitlbeenixpkgs package indexes · bitlbee · source: raw.githubusercontent.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install bitlbeeopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · bitlbee · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
IRC to other chat networks gateway
Project links
Commands and aliases
- bitlbee
history
Project history and usage
BitlBee is an IRC gateway to other chat networks. Instead of replacing an IRC client, it lets users connect to a BitlBee server from their existing IRC client and interact with IM accounts through a control channel and IRC-like conversations.
Project history
The official site describes BitlBee as bringing IM to IRC clients for people who already keep an IRC client running. The current README summarizes the project as an IRC-to-other-chat-networks gateway, with the main site, wiki, and bug tracker as official support surfaces.
BitlBee historically supported networks such as Jabber/XMPP, MSN, OSCAR/AIM/ICQ, Yahoo, and Twitter; the user guide and wiki document account commands, the `&bitlbee` control channel, protocol-specific setup, and plugin or libpurple-based expansion. As proprietary IM networks changed or shut down, BitlBee's supported protocols changed with them.
Adoption history
BitlBee was adopted by IRC users who wanted one always-open terminal or GUI IRC client to cover both IRC and instant messaging. Public BitlBee servers also lowered the barrier for users who could not or did not want to run their own daemon.
The package metadata in this batch shows BitlBee available through Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE, which is broad packaging for a niche chat gateway. The official README also says it is available in most distro package managers.
How it is used
A user connects an IRC client to BitlBee, joins the `&bitlbee` control channel, registers or identifies, adds accounts, and then chats with contacts as IRC users or queries. Account data is saved server-side, which is why the package has credential-bearing account files.
Admins can run BitlBee as a daemon or inetd-style service, and users can alternatively connect to public servers. Plugins and libpurple support extend the gateway to networks beyond the built-in protocols.
Why package nerds care
BitlBee is a classic example of a Unix network shim: it preserves a beloved client interface, IRC, while translating newer or different chat protocols behind it. Packaging it means packaging both a daemon and a social workflow.
It is also significant because its history tracks the churn of consumer messaging networks. Package maintainers have had to deal with protocol removals, plugin splits, libpurple integration, TLS dependencies, account storage, and security fixes as upstream networks changed.
Timeline
- 2000s: BitlBee establishes the IRC-to-IM gateway model for users who keep an IRC client running.
- 2010s: The user guide documents the control channel, account commands, and protocols including Jabber, MSN, OSCAR, Yahoo, and Twitter.
- 2017: BitlBee 3.5 adds protocol and enterprise-deployment improvements, according to the official news feed.
- 2019: BitlBee 3.6 removes several obsolete built-in protocols and points users toward plugins for networks such as Skype, ICQ, Discord, and Mastodon.
- 2025: The official site still shows current Git activity in the GitHub development tree.
Related projects
- IRC clients such as irssi, WeeChat, and HexChat are common front ends for BitlBee users.
- XMPP/Jabber is one of BitlBee's central built-in protocol families.
- libpurple provides optional access to many more chat protocols.
- Third-party plugins cover networks such as Discord, Mastodon, Steam, Facebook, and others documented on the BitlBee wiki.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. formula declares a Homebrew service.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- formula declares a Homebrew service
Signals
- metadata:service
- text:network
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 5 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Credential files
Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.
- Unix
/var/lib/bitlbee/*.accounts
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
bitlbee | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version3.6
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.bitlbee.org/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:bitlbee |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.6 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/bitlbee |
| Homepage | https://www.bitlbee.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/bitlbee/bitlbee |
| Upstream docs | https://wiki.bitlbee.org/ |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://get.bitlbee.org/src/bitlbee-3.6.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | gettext, glib, gnutls, libgcrypt, libgpg-error |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | bitlbee |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
bitlbee 3.6-1.5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (default version)
sudo apt install bitlbee- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Debian apt95%
bitlbee-common 3.6-1.5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (common files/docs)
sudo apt install bitlbee-common- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Debian apt95%
bitlbee-dev 3.6-1.5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (dev files)
sudo apt install bitlbee-dev- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Debian apt95%
bitlbee-libpurple 3.6-1.5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (using libpurple)
sudo apt install bitlbee-libpurple- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Debian apt95%
bitlbee-plugin-otr 3.6-1.5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (OTR plugin)
sudo apt install bitlbee-plugin-otr- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Nix95%
bitlbee
nix profile install nixpkgs#bitlbee- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Ubuntu apt95%
bitlbee 3.6-1.3build5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (default version)
sudo apt install bitlbee- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Ubuntu apt95%
bitlbee-common 3.6-1.3build5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (common files/docs)
sudo apt install bitlbee-common- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Ubuntu apt95%
bitlbee-dev 3.6-1.3build5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (dev files)
sudo apt install bitlbee-dev- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Ubuntu apt95%
bitlbee-libpurple 3.6-1.3build5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (using libpurple)
sudo apt install bitlbee-libpurple- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 7 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
Ubuntu apt95%
bitlbee-plugin-otr 3.6-1.3build5
IRC to other chat networks gateway (OTR plugin)
sudo apt install bitlbee-plugin-otr- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
apk95%
bitlbee 3.6-r4
An IRC to other chat networks gateway
sudo apk add bitlbee- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
apk95%
bitlbee-dev 3.6-r4
An IRC to other chat networks gateway (development files)
sudo apk add bitlbee-dev- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
apk95%
bitlbee-doc 3.6-r4
An IRC to other chat networks gateway (documentation)
sudo apk add bitlbee-doc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
apk95%
bitlbee-openrc 3.6-r4
An IRC to other chat networks gateway (OpenRC init scripts)
sudo apk add bitlbee-openrc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
apk95%
bitlbee-otr 3.6-r4
An IRC to other chat networks gateway
sudo apk add bitlbee-otr- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: bitlbee
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Bitlbee
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment