Textual, the macOS IRC client, has been sunset

For most of the 2010s, Textual was the answer to "IRC client on a Mac". Now it has been sunset. The GitHub repository was archived on July 3rd, and the developer has confirmed there will be no further updates. The final release is 7.2.7.

For owners: the app keeps working, and nothing needs doing today. The checkout reportedly remains open for anyone who wants to show appreciation. But it left the Mac App Store back in 2024, and one macOS release will eventually be the one that breaks it.

For everyone else: the maintained field is small and the answer is short — Halloy for a GUI, WeeChat or Irssi in the terminal. The full picture is in best IRC clients for macOS.

Fifteen years is a long run for a one-person Mac app. It earned the retirement.