Halloy
Dev tools
irc client
SHOW HN2025
381points
101comments
#124of 3,837 in 2025
Top 4%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
LovedMost comments that take a side are positive
22 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 4 critical, out of 40 comments about the project. Thread score +0.46.
Design: 5 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 3 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fast, smooth and highly configurable via TOML config
From 3 comments
I use Halloy on a daily basis and could not be happier. It is super smooth in use and highly configurable using the config file. Halloy is also a great show case for the iced GUI…
macmac on HNI use it, it's really good and getting better every release. It's fast and robust. The toml config is also straight forward. Highly recommended! PS: I preferred the old (bird) icon
keyle on HNHey, this looks pretty cool and it is very snappy compared to, say, Konversation. It would be fantastic if there was a way to add AppIndicator support and allow the main window…
fullstop on HN
Native, single binary, not Electron
From 2 comments
As a user, I agree, I really like downloading a single, small binary that is a full-fledged desktop app. Hell, I downloaded Halloy just because it wasn't Electron, and it looks…
stavros on HNI have a background in macOS applications, back when it was Objective-C. I have always loved native apps. When i decided to start Halloy the goal was to create a native…
culinary-robot on HN
Good showcase for iced and Rust desktop apps
From 2 comments
halloy is not only an awesome app but a fantastic example if you want to learn more about building GUI software with iced. https://github.com/iced-rs/iced If you're interested in…
airstrike on HNI use Halloy on a daily basis and could not be happier. It is super smooth in use and highly configurable using the config file. Halloy is also a great show case for the iced GUI…
macmac on HN
Objections
No accessibility support for screen readers yet
From 1 comment
I'd love to test this, however it seems to not be accessible with screen readers. I assume this is because of the GUI library not supporting accessibility. I found an open issue…
ClawsOnPaws on HN
No tabs, cannot minimize to tray, and no multi-server overview
From 2 comments
I've tried to use this, but I'm on multiple servers with tons of channels, and it gets a bit unwieldy without tabs. I also can't get it to minimize to tray, and having to "keep…
Daunk on HNHey, this looks pretty cool and it is very snappy compared to, say, Konversation. It would be fantastic if there was a way to add AppIndicator support and allow the main window…
fullstop on HN
Pasting large messages is blocked by a message length limit
From 1 comment
I can't at the top of my head remember all the minor annoyances I ran into when I tried Halloy, but things like not being able to paste a large message because "it exceeds the…
SomeUserName432 on HN
Requests
Accessibility support
From 2 comments
I'd love to test this, however it seems to not be accessible with screen readers. I assume this is because of the GUI library not supporting accessibility. I found an open issue…
ClawsOnPaws on HNNice! I'll give it whirl. For those with terrible eyesight, do you offer accessibility options? EFNet for life!
ryanmerket on HN
Tray icon and AppIndicator support, closable main window
From 2 comments
I've tried to use this, but I'm on multiple servers with tons of channels, and it gets a bit unwieldy without tabs. I also can't get it to minimize to tray, and having to "keep…
Daunk on HNHey, this looks pretty cool and it is very snappy compared to, say, Konversation. It would be fantastic if there was a way to add AppIndicator support and allow the main window…
fullstop on HN
Show channel and user modes in the UI
From 1 comment
Can it show channel modes next to the #channel_name and my nick+user mode next to the input field? Two things I find very useful in weechat and couldn't work out how to do in…
crtasm on HN
Windows MSI/EXE and macOS DMG/PKG installers
From 1 comment
I cannot seem to find the exe/msi for Windows, or the dmg/pkg for MacOS, to install with. I am looking for the exe/msi installers for Windows, in particular, for the more…
rekabis on HN
Questions
Why Rust is used for desktop apps
From 1 comment
I've started to notice there are a lot more rust based desktop application appearing vs say Go based or Java. Most of these apps are cross platforms. My guess is they are trying…
mattfrommars on HN
Where to find active IRC content today
From 1 comment
Not sure if this question will get removed but a tangent nonetheless - I’d like to use this but I don’t know what to do with it since the advent of Discord. What do people do…
Vaslo on HN
Alternatives named
HexChat
From 1 comment
Used to use Hexchat and swapped to halloy more than a year ago and couldn't be happier. The development is coming along nicely and a lot of modern features got added since I've…
lksaar on HN
Textual
From 1 comment
Thank you. Halloy is a wonderfully configurable replacement for beloved Mac IRC client Textual, whose development has sadly wound down (now officially, as of last month). I hope…
slacktivism123 on HN
weechat, senpai, irssi
From 3 comments
Looks really great. But I am gonna stick to weechat :)
udev4096 on HNi've been very happy with the combination of senpai on my laptop, goguna on Android, and soju on a cloud instance for persistence. i will try this as an alternative laptop…
khimaros on HNI switched to it some months ago and couldn't be happier. Was a die hard irssi user before but there are some parts of halloy that are just really convenient. Maybe I am getting…
BoredPositron on HN
Quassel
From 1 comment
I've tried to use this, but I'm on multiple servers with tons of channels, and it gets a bit unwieldy without tabs. I also can't get it to minimize to tray, and having to "keep…
Daunk on HN