Bridging IRC and Matrix: what still runs in 2026

Bridging IRC and Matrix is technically solved and politically messy. The code is maintained and works. The free hosted bridges are the part that keeps disappearing.

What you can join today without hosting anything #

A handful of networks are still bridged on infrastructure someone else pays for. Join the room alias from any Matrix client:

• OFTC — #_oftc_#channel:matrix.org
• hackint — #channel:hackint.org (run by hackint itself)
• IRCnet — #_ircnet_#channel:irc.snt.utwente.nl
• Snoonet — #_snoonet_#channel:matrix.org
• W3C — #_w3c_#channel:matrix.org

Libera.Chat is not on that list and will not be.

Why Libera's bridge died #

Libera pulled the plug themselves on 5 August 2023, after a regression that let Matrix users read channel content they had no business seeing went unfixed for three days. The Matrix.org Foundation made it permanent on 28 November 2023. freenode's bridge had already gone in December 2021.

The OFTC bridge survived a closer call. In February 2025 the Matrix.org Foundation said it would shut down its remaining bridges without new funding; Element committed the money that April, and OFTC remains bridged.

The trend is communities running their own — postmarketOS moved to a self-hosted bridge in March 2025 for exactly this reason.

matrix-appservice-irc — the puppeting bridge #

Built for whole communities: every Matrix user in a bridged room gets their own IRC connection and nick, and permissions are kept in sync across both sides. IRC regulars see real users they can /whois, op and ban, which is why this is what ran the big public bridges.

The cost is operational. It registers as an application service on the homeserver, so you need admin rights there, and one Matrix room can mean dozens of IRC connections from your host.

Version 4.0.0 landed in October 2025 and the project is actively developed.

Download: matrix-org/matrix-appservice-irc

Heisenbridge — the personal bouncer #

A much smaller idea: one Matrix user, one set of IRC connections, behaving like a bouncer whose interface happens to be Element. Nobody else on the homeserver is involved, IRC users see one normal client, and there is no puppeting to negotiate with the network.

Install is pip install heisenbridge plus a generated registration file. You still need to add that to your homeserver config, so still admin rights, but far less machinery. Latest release 1.15.4, October 2025.

Download: hifi/heisenbridge (also on PyPI and Docker Hub)

Which one #

Pick Heisenbridge if you personally want to read IRC in Element. It is a bouncer for one person and should be treated as one.

Pick matrix-appservice-irc if a community needs both sides to see each other as first-class members, and you have someone willing to operate it.

Pick Matterbridge if you only need messages to flow and do not care that everyone arrives under one nick. It is by far the least work.

Libera's rules for third-party bridges #

Bridges to Libera.Chat are still permitted, with conditions the network states plainly:

• Prefer a single IRC puppet over one connection per Matrix user.
• Bridge only between consenting rooms and channels.
• Never join users to channels without the channel operators' consent.
• Never let the bridge direct-message arbitrary IRC users.
• Never double-bridge IRC to IRC through Matrix.

Those exist because the official bridge violated most of them in practice. Read them as the price of admission, not as suggestions.

Where to go next #

• The other platforms, and the one that needs no bridge — bridging IRC to other platforms
• The protocols themselves, compared — IRC vs Matrix
• The simplest bridge that works — Matterbridge setup guide