Bouncers
Every network, one sidebar.
Point Arkhe at your bouncer or straight at a network. Channels arrive with their recent history, and when you reconnect only what you missed is fetched, so the conversation is simply there.
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iPhone & iPad
iOS 17+ Open source No account · No tracking
A native IRCv3 client
IRC that keeps up with you.
Arkhe is a fast, native IRC client for iPhone and iPad, built for IRCv3 and for bouncers like soju. Your bouncer stays online; Arkhe picks up exactly where you left off, with the history, reactions and notifications you expect from a modern chat app.
IRC network → Your bouncer → Arkhe
The tour
Feels like home on iOS.
A SwiftUI app with a three-column layout on iPad, drag and drop, and none of the clutter of a desktop client squeezed onto a phone.
Conversations
Reply, react, carry on.
Long-press a message to reply or react with any emoji. Replies are threaded, and tapping the arrow jumps to the original message, even when it is far back in history.
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IRCv3
Modern features, standard protocol.
Reactions, typing indicators, read markers synced across your devices, multi-line messages and deletions. All of it is open IRCv3, so it works with other clients on the same network.
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People
See who is around.
Member lists show operators, away status and bots at a glance. On large channels the list loads only when you open it, so joining stays fast.
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Media
Images inline, files in one tap.
Images and link previews appear right in the conversation. Attach a photo or file and Arkhe uploads it to your bouncer’s file host or your own uploader, then drops the link into your message.
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Your way
Quiet when you want it.
Hide or collapse joins and parts, pick your clock, choose what notifies you, and decide whether media loads on its own. Push notifications reach you even with the app closed.
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How it works
Your bouncer stays online. Arkhe catches up.
A phone can’t hold an IRC connection open all day, and it shouldn’t have to. A bouncer keeps you in your channels around the clock; Arkhe speaks the IRCv3 extensions that let it sync with the bouncer in seconds whenever you open it.
- 01 CONNECT Sign in with SASL. Arkhe upgrades to SCRAM-SHA-256 when the server supports it, or uses a client certificate (CertFP) with no password at all.
- 02 SYNC Recent history is kept on the device, so chats open instantly. Chat history then fills in only what you missed, and read markers keep every device on the same page.
- 03 NOTIFY With the app closed, your bouncer sends mentions and private messages as end-to-end encrypted Web Push. Only your device can read them.
on the wire IRCv3
» CAP LS 302 « CAP * LS :sasl=PLAIN,SCRAM-SHA-256 draft/chathistory draft/read-marker message-tags labeled-response … » AUTHENTICATE SCRAM-SHA-256 « 903 :SASL authentication successful » CAP END « :you JOIN #channel » CHATHISTORY AFTER #channel timestamp=… 100 « BATCH +1 chathistory #channel … only the messages you missed … « BATCH -1
works withsoju, Ergo, any IRC network
sign-inSASL PLAIN · SCRAM · CertFP
transportTLS
No bouncer? Arkhe connects directly to any network too. You just won’t get history from while you were away.
What's inside
Everything you’d expect from chat. Still IRC.
For people who never left IRC, and for anyone who wants an open, decentralised chat that works properly on a phone.
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Built for bouncers
Made with soju in mind: bind to a single network, keep per-device history, and catch up after every reconnect without duplicates.
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Push, even when closed
Mentions and private messages arrive as notifications through your bouncer’s Web Push, end-to-end encrypted to your device.
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Secure sign-in
SASL PLAIN, SCRAM-SHA-256 when available, or a client certificate (CertFP). Passwords and keys live in the iOS Keychain.
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Instant history
Recent conversations are kept on the device, so they open immediately. Scroll up and older history loads from your bouncer.
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Replies and reactions
Threaded replies, emoji reactions, typing indicators and message deletion, using open IRCv3 tags other clients understand.
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Read markers
Read a channel in another client and it is read in Arkhe too. Unread counts follow you between devices.
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Images and uploads
Inline images and link previews (you can turn auto-loading off). Attach files through your bouncer’s file host or your own uploader.
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Made for iPad too
A three-column layout, keyboard-friendly compose with nick completion, and drag and drop to share files into a channel.
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Open source
The full source is public under the Apache 2.0 license. No account, no analytics, no ads, ever.
Join the conversation
Get Arkhe.
One purchase, no subscription, no account, no tracking. Buying it on the App Store supports development; the source is open if you’d rather build it yourself.
- Devices
- iPhone & iPad
- Requires
- iOS 17 or later
- Connects to
- Any IRC network or bouncer
- License
- Apache 2.0
Arkhe is a chat client: you need access to an IRC network or a bouncer. The support page explains how to connect.