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goguma setup guide: the mobile IRC client done right

Updated July 22, 2026

A mobile IRC client by soju's author, goguma is built around IRCv3: history fills in when you return, read state follows you between devices, notifications actually arrive. It is the client we recommend on both Android and iOS, without caveats.

goguma: conversation list, an open channel, and the dark theme

Download:

First connection

Out of the box goguma connects like any client: add a network, pick a nick, join channels. The one setting not to skip is authentication — add your registered nick and password under the network's SASL settings, so that every reconnect (and on a phone, there are many) identifies you automatically. TLS is the default; leave it that way.

Used like this — direct connection, no bouncer — goguma is already the best native client on either platform. But it is at the mercy of the operating system: Android will eventually kill the background connection, iOS will suspend it within seconds. You will reconnect fine, and you will have missed whatever happened in between.

The real setup: goguma + soju

Add a soju bouncer and the missing half appears. soju stays connected on a server; goguma speaks to it in native IRCv3, which means:

  • History loads on demand — scroll up, it fills in. Days away, nothing lost.
  • Multiple networks ride one bouncer connection; adding a network is a server-side command, and goguma picks it up.
  • Notifications can be delivered through the bouncer connection, properly.
  • Read state syncs — read it on your laptop (senpai or gamja against the same soju), and the phone knows.

Point goguma at your soju host with your soju credentials as SASL — that is the entire client-side setup. If you would rather not run a server, an Ergo-based network with server-side history gets you most of the way, and IRCCloud gets you all of it for $6 per month with someone else holding the keys.

Day to day

The interface needs no manual — it reads as a messenger, which is the point. A few notes from use:

  • The conversation list sorts by activity, channels and private messages together. Muting a noisy channel is a long-press away.
  • Search works across the history the bouncer holds, not just what the phone has seen.
  • The dark theme follows the system setting.
  • On Android, exempt goguma from battery optimization if you run it without a bouncer; with one, there is no need.

The verdict

goguma with soju is the best IRC currently gets on a phone. The parts are open source, and the whole thing costs at most $0.99 plus a small VPS. This is what mobile IRC should have been a decade ago.