HexChat

XChat was a widely popular IRC client for individuals interested in public or private chat rooms. Since 2015 however, XChat was replaced by HexChat — an almost identical client that carries the legacy forward. Besides, HexChat borrowed most of its predecessor's features, but still being in development, improvements and fixes are being shipped out.

Filling in user information and selecting a network is the first thing you’ll have to get done. There is a nickname to be set, followed by a second and a third choice, as well as a username. All instances mustn't be identical, but one character is enough to differentiate them.

Next up, choosing a network to connect to is in order. HexChat sports an extensive network list and can help you create new ones if that's required. Among the network example, one can find ACN, Canternet, DaIRC, EFnet, GameSurge, Hashmark, IRC4Fun, SlashNET and many others. Below the network tab, two checkboxes allow you to list favorite instances only or skip the whole network list at startup.

Once connected to a certain room, your username along with your peers will be green-lit. Type something in to start your conversation. Connection to multiple chat rooms has no limitation. You can communicate between rooms and servers with ease.

A chat room has a basic IRC layout, being no different to most similar clients. Check out the toolbar entries to enhance and customize your experience. For example, you can use the Window drop-down menu to manage the Ban List, learn character codes, start direct chats, or even transfer files. Go to Settings and open up the Preferences panel to further fine-tune the client.

HexChat is a neat app that employs the Internet Relay Chat protocol in order to provide communication services to its users. If you are familiar with mIRC and wish to try another similar client, HexChat might be one of the best alternatives out there.