macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install weechatlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install weechatMacPorts ports tree · irc/weechat/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install weechat with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Extensible IRC client. Version 4.9.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-05.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add weechatAlpine Linux edge package indexes · weechat · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install weechatDebian stable package indexes · weechat · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install weechatFedora Rawhide package metadata · weechat · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#weechatnixpkgs package indexes · weechat · source: raw.githubusercontent.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S weechatArch Linux sync databases · weechat · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install weechatopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · weechat · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Extensible IRC client
Project links
Commands and aliases
- weechat
- weechat-curses
- weechat-headless
history
Project history and usage
WeeChat is a long-running terminal chat client whose name expands to "Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat." It began in 2003 as Sebastien Helleu's answer to a missing combination of free software, Linux support, text UI, real nicklist, and multi-language extensibility.
Project history
The official history page dates the first line of code to June 2003 and the first public version, 0.0.1, to September 2003. Early releases added Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Aspell, DCC, proxy support, IPv6, SSL, and full UTF-8 support, establishing WeeChat as an extensible IRC client rather than a minimal terminal frontend.
A major rewrite landed in version 0.3.0 in September 2009 with the new weechat.org site, a new plugin API, and Tcl plugin support. Later milestones added SASL authentication, 256-color display, IRC proxy support, mouse support, relay protocol features, the script manager, secured data, trigger and exec plugins, and eventually headless mode.
Adoption history
WeeChat became one of the standard terminal IRC clients for users who wanted the scriptability and persistence of Irssi-style workflows with a broad plugin system and modern UI affordances. Its official site emphasizes multi-server IRC, proxy support, IPv6, SASL, nicklist, DCC, smart filtering, split windows, customizable bars, and eight scripting languages.
The 2012 relay protocol and later remote-interface work helped WeeChat fit persistent-server setups where the client runs on a shell host and users connect from browsers, phones, GUI clients, Emacs, or another WeeChat instance. The 2021 move to XDG directories by default marked a packaging-friendly modernization of long-standing Unix config behavior.
How it is used
Typical WeeChat usage is interactive and persistent: users connect to IRC networks, join channels, keep logs and buffers open, load scripts, configure bars and filters, and often run the client inside tmux or on a remote host. The secure-data and relay configuration files are central to real deployments because they hold server passwords, SASL credentials, and relay secrets.
For package-manager users, WeeChat is the installable terminal chat environment that can start simple and then grow through scripts, plugins, relay clients, and extensive configuration. It sits in the same cultural space as Irssi and ircII, but with an intentionally broad plugin API and remote-interface story.
Why package nerds care
WeeChat matters because it is one of the rare terminal chat clients with more than two decades of continuous development and an official historical record of feature evolution. It is a package that system administrators, IRC regulars, and terminal-focused developers install once and then shape into a personal communications workstation.
Timeline
- 2003-06: First line of code.
- 2003-09: Version 0.0.1, the first version, released.
- 2005-07: Proxy support, IPv6, and SSL added.
- 2009-09: Version 0.3.0 shipped major rewrite, new plugin API, Tcl plugin, and new weechat.org site.
- 2012-02: WeeChat relay protocol and remote-interface support added.
- 2014-08: Version 1.0 added Trigger and Exec plugins, bare display, hidden buffers, and unit tests.
- 2018-03: Headless mode added.
- 2021-06: XDG directories became the default.
Related projects
- WeeChat is commonly compared with other terminal IRC clients such as Irssi and ircII, and with bouncers or relay setups that keep chat sessions alive on remote hosts. Its relay ecosystem also connects it to mobile, browser, GUI, and editor-based front ends.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:client
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 12 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 4 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.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/weechat~/.config/weechat~/.weechat
Credential files
Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.
- Unix
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/weechat/sec.conf~/.config/weechat/sec.conf~/.config/weechat/irc.conf~/.config/weechat/relay.conf~/.weechat/sec.conf
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
weechat | cli | global executable | |
weechat-curses | cli | global executable | |
weechat-headless | 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 version4.9.3
manager updated2026-07-05
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://weechat.org/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:weechat |
|---|---|
| Version | 4.9.3 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/weechat |
| Homepage | https://weechat.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/weechat/weechat |
| Upstream docs | https://weechat.org/doc |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://weechat.org/files/src/weechat-4.9.3.tar.xz |
| Last updated | 2026-07-05T16:18:44Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | cjson, enchant, gettext, gnutls, libgcrypt, libgpg-error, lua, ncurses, python@3.14, ruby, tcl-tk, zstd |
| Build dependencies | asciidoctor, cmake, gettext, pkgconf |
| Uses from macOS | curl, perl |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | weechat |
| 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%
weechat 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client (metapackage)
sudo apt install weechat- Section: net
- Architecture: all
- 2 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-core 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - core files
sudo apt install weechat-core- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 3 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-curses 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - console client
sudo apt install weechat-curses- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 9 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-dev 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - development headers
sudo apt install weechat-dev- Section: devel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-doc 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - documentation
sudo apt install weechat-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: weechat
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-guile 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Guile plugin
sudo apt install weechat-guile- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-headless 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - headless client
sudo apt install weechat-headless- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 7 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-lua 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Lua plugin
sudo apt install weechat-lua- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-perl 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Perl plugin
sudo apt install weechat-perl- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-php 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - PHP plugin
sudo apt install weechat-php- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-plugins 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - plugins
sudo apt install weechat-plugins- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 9 dependencies
- 4 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-python 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Python 3 plugin
sudo apt install weechat-python- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-ruby 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Ruby plugin
sudo apt install weechat-ruby- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Debian apt95%
weechat-tcl 4.6.3-1
Fast, light and extensible chat client - Tcl plugin
sudo apt install weechat-tcl- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: weechat
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Nix95%
weechat
nix profile install nixpkgs#weechat- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
Ubuntu apt95%
weechat 4.1.1-1build7
Fast, light and extensible chat client (metapackage)
sudo apt install weechat- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: all
- 2 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Weechat
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