online since 1994

Real people,
real channels,
right now.

Undernet is one of the world's original IRC networks — open chat rooms where conversation happens live, in plain text, with no account and no algorithm deciding what you see.

Start chatting in your browser → Visit undernet.org

No sign-up. Pick a nickname, join a channel, say hello.

Undernet — #undernet — irc.undernet.org

topic: Welcome to Undernet! Be kind, /join a channel, and ask if you get stuck.

* Now talking in #undernet * Topic set by X <chief> hey, just connected — is there a general channel? <[Marius]> welcome chief! #undernet is the main one, #help if you get stuck :) <[a]> or #os if you're building something * Tayzilla has joined #undernet <Tayzilla> hey all o/ <chief> wait this is way friendlier than i expected <rena> welcome chief 👑 make yourself at home <Telac> no algorithm here, just us deciding what you see, badly <}P{> that's kind of the whole point 🙂

connect

Two ways in. Both take about thirty seconds.

Easiest is the browser — nothing to install. Prefer a dedicated IRC client? Point it at the server below.

Point any IRC client here

Server address

irc.undernet.org

Ports: 6660–6669 and 7000
Network: Undernet
IPv6: irc6.undernet.org
Regions: us6 · eu6 · worldwide

Chat straight from your browser

No client to install and nothing to configure. Pick a nickname, hit connect, and you're in — the quickest way onto Undernet.

Looking for a room? Browse the channel directory below.

Open web chat →

why undernet

Everything chat should be — and has been since 1994.

Undernet pairs the openness of classic IRC with the services that keep communities safe and welcoming — no ads, no tracking, no algorithm. Just real people, in real time, on a network built and run by the people who use it.

&nowhere

No account, no algorithm

Pick a nickname and you're chatting — no sign-up, no profile, no ads. Nothing ranks or hides what you read: you see every message, in the order it was sent.

/connect

Chat your way

IRC is an open standard, so the client is your call — chat straight from the browser, or bring mIRC, HexChat, Textual, WeeChat, irssi or a mobile app. One network, wherever you like it.

~40 servers

Always on, worldwide

Around forty volunteer-run servers span the Americas, Europe and beyond, all speaking ircu — the server software Undernet wrote and has spent decades refining to stay fast and ride out netsplits.

#help

Newcomers always welcome

Never touched IRC? You're in good company. Ask anything in #help, or join OpSchool to learn the ropes of running a channel. Undernet has been showing newcomers around since 1994.

#usernames

Run by its community

Undernet is a volunteer project, steered by open committees — Routing, Channel Service, Coder and User — and shaped by the people who log in every day. It answers to its community, not shareholders.

#cservice

Your channel, protected

Register your channel with X, Undernet's Channel Service, and set ops, bans and access lists exactly how you want them. CService guards your community's home — even while every op is asleep.

channels

Find your room.

A sampling of what's live on Undernet — from the network's own help desks to topic hangouts and busy regional communities. Open the web chat and /join any of them.

Official Undernet

The network's own help desks and services.

#undernetMain channel
#helpNew-user help
#classIRC lessons
#usernamesLogin help
#ipv6-helpIPv6 help
#ztReop help
#cserviceChannel Service
#ChanFixChannel recovery
#user-comUser Committee
#coder-comCoder Committee
#routing-comRouting Committee

Topics & interests

Tech, Linux, games, media and general hangouts.

#linuxLinux
#redhatRed Hat
#centosCentOS
#debianDebian
#tcl-helpTcl scripting
#darkwebDark web
#hackteamHacking crew
#₿Bitcoin
#politicsPolitics
#worldcupWorld Cup
#musicMusic
#radioRadio
#bookzEbooks
#scrabbleWord games
#chatGeneral chat
#allnitecafeLate-night café
#idlezoneIdling
#family_chatFamily chat
#hayaletTurkish chat
#offlineCasual chat
#officialOfficials
#operatorChannel ops
#skyChill chat
#underlandCommunity
#wonderlandSocial lounge

Around the world

Country and city hangouts.

#usaUnited States
#dallasDallas
#canadaCanada
#torontoToronto
#montrealMontréal
#quebecQuébec
#mexicoMexico
#brazilBrazil
#irelandIreland
#dublinDublin
#englandEngland
#londonLondon
#brusselsBrussels
#osloOslo
#portugalPortugal
#tenerifeTenerife
#genovaGenoa
#macedoniaMacedonia
#skopjeSkopje
#gradisteGradište
#pakistanPakistan
#manilaManila
#makatiMakati
#cebuCebu
#phillippinesPhilippines

România

One of Undernet's largest communities — channels for the country and its cities.

#romaniaRomania
#bucurestiBucharest
#aradArad
#barladBârlad
#brasovBrașov
#buzauBuzău
#clujCluj-Napoca
#craiovaCraiova
#devaDeva
#iasiIași
#oradeaOradea
#severinDrobeta-Turnu Severin
#sibiuSibiu
#suceavaSuceava
#timisoaraTimișoara
#tulceaTulcea
#valceaRâmnicu Vâlcea
#mehedintiMehedinți county
#transfagarasanTransfăgărășan

the network

Three decades of staying online.

Undernet launched in 1994 and has been carrying live conversation ever since — through the rise and fall of a dozen shinier chat apps.

1994

Serving real-time chat without a break

~40

Servers keeping the network reachable worldwide

The Channel Service bot that guards your rooms

Ads, algorithms, or accounts required

Real people,real channels,right now.