34 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
34 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
Section: Getting started
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Order: 10
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# Overview
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**Orbit** is a modern web client for **IRC** — the open chat protocol that has quietly run
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communities for decades. It runs entirely in the browser — nothing to install — and handles
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everything from a quick guest nick to a full account (SASL login and in-app registration).
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Whether a deployment lets people in as guests or asks them to register is its own choice, not
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the client's.
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It powers [tchatou.fr](https://tchatou.fr/app/), and is built to be **re-pointed at any IRCv3
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network** and **rebranded** from a single `config.json` — without recompiling.
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## What makes it different
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- **Full IRCv3.** Orbit negotiates 25 capabilities — SASL, message-tags, reactions, typing
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indicators, read-markers, multi-line messages, server-side history, account registration, and
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Web Push. See [IRCv3 capabilities](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/ircv3/).
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- **Pluggable at runtime.** A static `config.json` is fetched on startup and sets the server,
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channels, branding, themes and feature flags. One build can serve any community. See
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[config.json reference](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/config/).
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- **Installable PWA.** Mobile-first layout, offline app shell, and notifications when the tab is
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closed.
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- **Self-hostable.** A static build behind any web server. The project even runs its own git
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server with [push-to-deploy](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/push-to-deploy/).
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- **Free software.** AGPL-3.0 — use it, modify it, self-host it.
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## Tech
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React 19 · TypeScript · Vite · zustand. Tested with Vitest, linted, and built in CI. The codebase
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is a clean modular tree — see [Architecture](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/architecture/).
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> New here? Jump to the [Quick start](https://orbit.tchatou.fr/docs/quick-start/) to run your own in a minute.
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