IRCd Hosting
We have run IRC infrastructure since 2009. If you need a real IRC network of your own, we host and operate the IRCd for you: your daemon, your services, your rules, on hardware we keep online around the clock.
Most hosts will sell you a VPS and wish you luck. We do the opposite. xShellz has operated IRC services for well over a decade, and we run the daemon end to end: provisioning, hardening, services, links and uptime. You get a working network and an operator team behind it, not a blank Linux box and a wiki page.
A custom IRC server, run for you
Tell us what you want the network to be and we build it. Pick the daemon that fits your community, UnrealIRCd, InspIRCd or a Solanum / charybdis family server, and we configure it, attach services, and hand you a network that is ready for members on day one. Want your own hostname, your own branding and your own oper team? That is the point.
What comes with it
- Services included. NickServ and ChanServ for account and channel registration, with Atheme or Anope configured and maintained for you.
- SASL authentication. Members log in cleanly from any modern client, with account based access to registered channels.
- TLS everywhere. Encrypted client connections and encrypted server links by default, with current ciphers and valid certificates.
- Host cloaking and vHosts. Hide member IPs behind cloaks and hand out custom vHosts to staff and regulars.
- Server linking. Run a single server or a multi server spanning tree network, with linked services and shared state across nodes.
- IRCv3 support. Message tags, server time, away notify, account tags and the other capabilities modern clients expect.
- Web gateway. WEBIRC and a browser gateway so people can join from a link, with real IPs preserved for your operators.
- Abuse handling. Flood protection, K and G lines, DNSBL checks and connection throttling tuned to keep spam and floods off the network.
Operated, not just hosted
The difference is who is awake at 3am. We keep the daemon patched, watch the links, rotate certificates before they expire and respond when something breaks. You and your team handle the channels and the people. We handle the server underneath, the same infrastructure that has kept our shells and bouncers online since 2009.
Moving an existing network
Already running a network somewhere and tired of fighting it? We migrate existing IRCd and services configurations, import your registrations where the formats allow, and link or cut over with as little disruption to your members as possible. Bring your channels, your nicks and your opers.
Who this is for
Communities that outgrew a single channel, open source projects that want a home for their contributors, gaming and hobby groups, and anyone who wants the control of their own IRC network without owning the pager. If you can describe the network you want, we can run it.
Talk to us
IRCd hosting is scoped per network, so there is no checkout button. Send us an inquiry with what you have in mind, the daemon and size you are thinking of, and whether you are starting fresh or migrating, and we will come back with a plan.
Open a ticket to inquire → or read more on the support page. New to xShellz? See how we run managed shells and bouncers and which networks we connect to.