mIRC vs WeeChat

mIRC interface is uncluttered, easy to overview and use. Additionally, it is highly customizable where fonts, layouts, aliases, popups, etc can be changed and extendable so it can be made to fit any necessities.

Scripts are short programs (sets of instructions) that can be used to automate tasks in mIRC. mIRC has its own scripting language which can be used to perform many different types of tasks, from managing IRC channels to playing multi-user online games.

mIRC scripts can also be used to perform tasks that are not IRC-related, such as managing files on the computer, sending emails, or backing up a web server.

The scripting language is being improved upon and developed further with each release of mIRC.

A vast array of scripts are available on the web.

mIRC offers easy to use graphical solutions for a wide range of different IRC commands and server configurations so it's possible to use either commands or icons based on preference.

mIRC was created in 1995 by Khaled Mardam-Bey and is still being actively developed.

mIRC offers a free 30-day trial.

It's possible to create a list of settings and action that perform when connecting to a specific server. All of these things are easy to set up and use.

Very easy to crack if you know basic Reverse Engineering.

WeeChat has a command line interface.

WeeChat has an easy to use interface and sane defaults, making it a great client for beginner users.

Easy to configure weechat connect to server using certificates

Many dotfiles are publicly available.

Weechat allows very flexible window splitting behavior to show multiple IRC channels at once. Windows can be split vertically and horizontally.

Weechat can be fully driven by keyboard shortcuts. Navigating between buffers, switching between windows and changing text styling can all be achieved with keyboard shortcuts.

Supports scripting in C, Python, Perl, Ruby, Lua, Tcl, Scheme and Javascript.

Works perfectly with a poor connection.

Smart filtering lets set a series of rules for IRC channels. For example, it allows instructing the client to show /quit and /join messages only if the user was speaking in the last 20 minutes.

WeeChat is a free program licensed under GPL with source code available on GitHub.

It's possible to leave WeeChat running at home/on a server, then connect to it with a smartphone client. This way a choppy mobile internet connection won't disconnect from IRC, and still allow using a touch screen optimized UI.

Weechat community can be found on #weechat @ Freenode. The community, including devs, is helpful in answering any WeeChat related questions.

WeeChat has a built-in tool for searching, downloading, installing and updating scripts and plugins.

By default WeeChat has a chat area surrounded by a nicklist on the right, title bar on top, and status and input bars at the bottom. The layout, though, can be completely customized and split vertically or horizontally. It supports 256 colors as long as the terminal supports 256 colors as well as bolded, italicized and underlined text. Even includes little touches as differently colored nicknames for people /away.

WeeChat scripts repository has hundreds of scripts including url shorteners, music player integrations and bandwidth monitors.

Mouse click and gestures are supported on a local terminal as well as remote terminal accessed via ssh regardless of screen/tmux. To enable mouse support use /mouse enable command or press alt+m.

You are able to modify configurations inside application or via modifying files(i.e. colors).

WeeChat has html5, qt, android, emacs and javascript remote interface options.

Text is searched through in real time as search terms are being written.