Sudar Muthu

Well WP-IRC Plugin (for lack of a better name 😉 ) can fetch the number of users online in any IRC channel and can be scheduled to auto refresh it every x.minutes. The count thus fetched can be displayed in the sidebar of your blog using a sidebar widget provided by the Plugin.
More details about the Plugin can be found at the <a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/wordpress/wp-irc" rel="nofollow ugc">Plugins Home page</a>.
<h3>Translation</h3>
The pot file is available with the Plugin. If you are willing to do translation for the Plugin, use the pot file to create the .po files for your language and let me know. I will add it to the Plugin after giving credit to you.
<h3>Development and Support</h3>
The development of the Plugin happens over at <a href="https://github.com/sudar/wp-irc" rel="nofollow ugc">github</a>. If you want to contribute to the Plugin, fork the <a href="https://github.com/sudar/wp-irc" rel="nofollow ugc">project at github</a> and send me a pull request.
If you are not familiar with either git or Github then refer to this <a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/blog/contributing-to-project-hosted-in-github" rel="nofollow ugc">guide to see how fork and send pull request</a>.
Support for the Plugin is available from the <a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/wordpress/wp-irc" rel="nofollow ugc">Plugin’s home page</a>. If you have any questions or suggestions, do leave a comment there or contact me in <a href="http://twitter.com/sudarmuthu" rel="nofollow ugc">twitter</a>.
<h3>TODO</h3>
<ul>
<li>Create a settings page where people can test connection</li>
<li>Add support for shortcode</li>
<li>Add support for alerts</li>
</ul>
<h3>Stay updated</h3>
I would be posting updates about this Plugin in my <a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/blog" rel="nofollow ugc">blog</a> and in <a href="http://twitter.com/sudarmuthu" rel="nofollow ugc">Twitter</a>. If you want to be informed when new version of this Plugin is released, then you can either subscribe to this <a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/feed" rel="nofollow ugc">blog’s RSS feed</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/sudarmuthu" rel="nofollow ugc">follow me in Twitter</a>.
<h3>Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/wordpress/wp-irc" rel="nofollow ugc">Plugin home page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/blog" rel="nofollow ugc">Author’s Blog</a></li>
<li><a href="http://sudarmuthu.com/wordpress" rel="nofollow ugc">Other Plugins by the author</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Readme Generator</h3>
This Readme file was generated using <a href='http://sudarmuthu.com/wordpress/wp-readme' rel="nofollow ugc">wp-readme</a>, which generates readme files for WordPress Plugins.

WP IRC

Retrieves the number of people who are online in an IRC Channel, which can be displayed in the sidebar using a widget.

yoren

jtzl

This plugin provides a shortcode that renders a lightweight IRC client written in vanilla JavaScript. It supports direct WebSocket connections to IRC servers (IRCv3-friendly) and includes an optional WebIRC gateway.
Security-conscious defaults:
<ul>
<li>Server allow-list (host:port format), WSS (WebSockets over SSL/TLS) only</li>
<li>Optional WebSocket subprotocols (e.g., <code>text.ircv3.net</code>)</li>
<li>Optional WS path (e.g., <code>/webirc</code>)</li>
<li>Optional CSP connect-src helper (off by default)</li>
<li>Input sanitization and validation</li>
<li>Proper escaping of output</li>
</ul>
Features:
<ul>
<li>Image Sharing: Upload and share images directly in chat with drag-and-drop support</li>
<li>Custom Avatars: Personalized user avatars with upload, crop, and preview functionality</li>
<li>Smart Image Processing: Automatic optimization, resizing, and format conversion (WebP support)</li>
<li>Performance Optimized: Memory-efficient processing with caching and lazy loading</li>
<li>Mobile-First Images: Touch-friendly upload interface with responsive image display</li>
<li>Modern Responsive Design: Mobile-first approach with adaptive layouts for all screen sizes</li>
<li>Enhanced Mobile Experience: Touch-optimized interface with proper virtual keyboard support</li>
<li>Smart Responsive Behavior: Overlay sidebar on mobile, collapsible on tablet, side-by-side on desktop</li>
<li>Editable Username: Click-to-edit nickname with real-time validation and user persistence</li>
<li>User Persistence: Automatic nickname saving for logged-in WordPress users</li>
<li>Lightweight vanilla TypeScript/JavaScript implementation (no frameworks)</li>
<li>Fully responsive design with semantic HTML</li>
<li>Internationalization ready (i18n strings)</li>
<li>Configurable server allow-list with strict validation</li>
<li>WebSocket subprotocol support (IRCv3)</li>
<li>Optional WebIRC gateway fallback</li>
<li>Comprehensive IRC slash commands: 30+ commands including /join, /part, /nick, /msg, /whois, /topic, /away, /help, and more</li>
<li>Automatic nickname generation and collision handling</li>
<li>Debug logging and connection status indicators</li>
<li>Optional Content Security Policy (CSP) header generation</li>
<li>WordPress hooks and filters for extensibility</li>
<li>Follows WordPress Coding Standards</li>
</ul>
<h3>Usage</h3>
Basic Usage: 
Simply add the shortcode <code>[chat_webirc]</code> to any page or post where you want the IRC chat to appear. The plugin will use secure default settings to connect to a test IRC server.
Shortcode Examples: 
* Basic: <code>[chat_webirc]</code> – Uses default server and channel 
* Custom channel: <code>[chat_webirc channel="#mychannel"]</code> 
* Custom server: <code>[chat_webirc server="irc.example.com:7443" channel="#general"]</code>
Available IRC Commands: 
Once the chat is loaded, users can use these commands:
Basic Commands: 
* <code>/join #channel</code> – Join a channel 
* <code>/part [#channel]</code> – Leave current or specified channel 
* <code>/nick newname</code> – Change nickname 
* <code>/quit [message]</code> – Disconnect 
* <code>/help</code> – Show all available commands
Communication: 
* <code>/msg <nick> <message></code> – Send private message 
* <code>/notice <target> <message></code> – Send notice message 
* <code>/me <action></code> – Send action message 
* <code>/query <nick></code> – Open private chat context
User & Channel Info: 
* <code>/whois <nick></code> – Get detailed user information 
* <code>/who [channel]</code> – List users in channel 
* <code>/list [pattern]</code> – List available channels 
* <code>/names [channel]</code> – List nicknames in channel 
* <code>/topic [text]</code> – View/set channel topic
Status & Utility: 
* <code>/away [message]</code> – Set away status 
* <code>/back</code> – Remove away status 
* <code>/ping <nick></code> – Ping user 
* <code>/version [nick]</code> – Get version info
Advanced Commands: 
* <code>/ctcp <nick> <command></code> – Send CTCP command 
* <code>/motd [server]</code> – View message of the day 
* <code>/stats <query> [server]</code> – View server statistics 
* <code>/raw <command></code> – Send raw IRC command (if enabled)
Type <code>/help</code> in the chat for the complete command reference.
Configuration: 
Go to Settings → Chat for WebIRC in your WordPress admin to customize servers, channels, and security options.
<h3>Notes</h3>
<ul>
<li>Some public IRC networks may restrict WebSocket connections to certain origins. The included test server permits connections for testing purposes.</li>
<li>Do not send sensitive information. This client is intentionally minimal and does not yet support SASL authentication.</li>
</ul>

Chat for WebIRC

A framework-light WordPress plugin that embeds a WebSocket IRC client.

WP IRC vs Chat for WebIRC