# Glowing Bear

> Glowing Bear is a free, open-source app you can self-host in the IRC & XMPP category. A web frontend for WeeChat. It has 980 GitHub stars, is released under the GPL-3.0 license.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/glowing-bear/glowing-bear |
| GitHub stars | 980 |
| Demo | https://www.glowing-bear.org/ |
| Forks | 186 |
| Open issues | 139 |
| License | GPL-3.0 |
| License type | Open source |
| Language | JavaScript |
| Docker image | No |
| Platforms | Nodejs |
| Categories | IRC & XMPP |
| Commits, last 12 months | 19 |
| Last commit | Aug 6, 2026 |
| Latest release | 0.9.0 (Jul 6, 2020) |
| Created | Feb 18, 2013 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained |
| Archived | No |

Topics: weechat, irc, websocket

## Install

Glowing Bear installs natively; follow the README at https://github.com/glowing-bear/glowing-bear.

Need it installed for you? [appsgit installation help](https://appsgit.com/services/install): a fixed quote by email, single app installs from $79.

## Similar apps in IRC & XMPP

- [ejabberd](https://appsgit.com/apps/ejabberd): XMPP instant messaging server. (6,736 stars, GPL-2.0, Erlang, Docker)
- [The Lounge](https://appsgit.com/apps/the-lounge): Self-hosted web IRC client. (6,345 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker)
- [Weechat](https://appsgit.com/apps/weechat): Fast, light and extensible chat client. (3,397 stars, GPL-3.0, C, Docker)
- [Ergo](https://appsgit.com/apps/ergo): Modern IRCv3 server written in Go, combining the features of an ircd, a services framework, and a bouncer. (3,347 stars, MIT, Go, Docker)
- [Converse.js](https://appsgit.com/apps/converse-js): XMPP chat client in your browser. (3,297 stars, MPL-2.0, JavaScript)
- [Openfire](https://appsgit.com/apps/openfire): Real time collaboration (RTC) server. (3,068 stars, Apache-2.0, Java)
- [ZNC](https://appsgit.com/apps/znc): Advanced IRC bouncer. (2,127 stars, Apache-2.0, C++)
- [MongooseIM](https://appsgit.com/apps/mongooseim): Mobile messaging platform with a focus on performance and scalability. (1,757 stars, GPL-2.0, Erlang, Docker)

---

Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/apps/glowing-bear
Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly.
Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.