Show HN: Halloy – Modern IRC client

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reception

  • Many commenters use Halloy daily and describe it as smooth, fast, robust, and a joy to use, often after years with terminal clients (irssi, weechat) or older GUI clients (Hexchat, Textual, Konversation).
  • Several mention that they adopted it specifically because it’s native and not Electron, and praise its TOML-based configuration.
  • Some are discovering it for the first time and say they will try it as a native alternative to web-based clients like The Lounge.

UX, features, and missing pieces

  • Strong desire for tab-like behavior when using multiple servers and many channels; lack of tabs is a dealbreaker for some. A config option ([actions.sidebar] buffer = "replace-pane") is suggested as a partial workaround.
  • Requests for tray/AppIndicator support and the ability to close the main window while keeping the client running.
  • Users want always-visible channel modes and user modes; these partly exist via /mode, with plans mentioned to improve visibility.
  • Other pain points: inability to paste long messages due to single-message limits, lack of simple local log files (feature tracked in an issue), and no Windows/Mac installers (.exe/.msi/.dmg) with Start Menu integration.
  • Several praise the visual design and text layout as significantly improving IRC readability.

IRC’s role today

  • Some are surprised IRC is still used, noting communities moving to Discord around 2020, yet others highlight active networks like Libera.Chat, OFTC, Rizon, Hackint, and project-specific channels.
  • The Freenode exodus and move to Libera and others is referenced.
  • One commenter argues IRC is best used for goal-directed interaction (e.g., open source support, incident-response backchannels), not “content consumption.”

Rust, iced, and GUI ecosystem

  • Halloy is seen as a flagship example of Rust desktop apps and the iced GUI framework; it’s recommended as a reference project.
  • Multiple comments discuss why Rust is attractive for desktop apps: single static binaries, cross-platform, C interop, performance, safety, and strong typing versus Python, Go, and Java.
  • There is broader debate about the scarcity and quality of GUI frameworks in other languages and the challenges of distributing Python GUIs.

Accessibility

  • Screen reader users report Halloy is currently inaccessible because iced lacks accessibility support; iced’s roadmap and issues show plans for future screen-reader integration.
  • Commenters note both the importance and practical difficulty of accessibility work.

“Modern” aspects

  • Halloy’s “modern” label is tied to extensive IRCv3 support, especially chathistory, and more polished UI/UX compared to legacy clients.