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Updated Jul 26, 2026

IRC

What you'll learn
  • How to connect an IRC server — or Twitch chat via a preset — to AutoTalk
  • Which connection fields the channel needs
  • What the channel supports and how it is billed

The IRC channel connects AutoTalk to chat rooms on any IRC server, or to Twitch chat through a built-in preset. AutoTalk hosts the connection: the bot joins the rooms you configure, room messages arrive in your Inbox, and replies are sent back under the bot's nickname.

When to use this channel​

  • Your community chats on an IRC network
  • You want employees or AI agents present in live chat rooms
  • You want to connect Twitch chat with a chat token as an alternative to the native Twitch channel

Step 1: Create the channel​

  1. In the sidebar, go to Integrations > Channels and click the + button (tooltip "Add channel") to open the New channel page.
  2. In the channel picker, select the IRC tile (in the Bots & communities group).

Step 2: Configure the connection​

Pick a Preset first:

Custom IRC server​

  • Server host — for example irc.libera.chat
  • Port — usually 6697 for TLS (the default)
  • TLS — on by default
  • Bot nickname — the nick the bot registers with
  • Channels to join — for example #mychannel, #other; comma or space separated, the # is added automatically
  • Server password (optional) — sent during registration; leave empty for open servers

Twitch chat​

  • The host is fixed to irc.chat.twitch.tv:6697 with TLS
  • Bot nickname — the Twitch account login of the bot
  • Channels to join — the Twitch channels to watch
  • Server password — a Twitch chat token (oauth:…) for the bot account, required to send messages

When the required fields are filled, click Create channel for review.

Step 3: Review and activate​

The channel is created disabled — metering only starts when you activate it. On the channel's edit page, review the connection and click Activate channel; the button shows the estimated daily cost before you commit. Once the connection is online, the header shows the live metering rate, and Disable stops both the connection and the charge.

When you activate, AutoTalk validates the server host: hosts that cannot be resolved, or that point to disallowed addresses, are rejected with an error.

For custom servers that use SASL authentication, the edit page also offers a SASL username (defaults to the nickname) and SASL password.

What the channel supports​

  • Text messages, in and out. Long replies are split into multiple lines automatically, and sending is paced to respect server flood limits.
  • Options messages are delivered as numbered text lists (IRC has no buttons).
  • Direct messages are off by default. Turn on Allow direct messages in the channel options to route private messages sent to the bot into per-user conversations.
  • No media: images and files cannot be sent or received, and sent messages cannot be edited or unsent.

Conversation behavior​

  • Use shared conversation — on by default: each IRC room appears as a single conversation, with each participant shown as the message author. Turn it off to give each user their own conversation.
  • Respond only to mentions — only respond when the bot is explicitly mentioned in chat.

A single IRC channel can join up to 50 rooms.

Billing​

IRC is a hosted connection: it is billed per minute while the channel is online, 24/7 (the channel_minutes_irc meter) — including Twitch chat connected through the Twitch preset. A disabled channel costs nothing. See Usage Rates for details.

tip

If you only want Twitch chat, consider the native Twitch channel: it connects through Twitch authorization and does not accrue hosted-connection charges. The IRC Twitch preset is an alternative that uses a chat token and is billed as a hosted connection.

Next steps​

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