Cathode

A terminal-style web client for WeeChat, using the modern API relay protocol (WeeChat ≥ 4.0). No build step. No framework. Drop three files on a web server and go.

Inspired by Glowing Bear.

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Features

• Real-time IRC via WeeChat's JSON/WebSocket relay API
• Terminal aesthetic — white on black (default) and black on white, togglable
• Buffer list, nicklist, message history, input with command history (↑/↓)
• ANSI colour rendering, URL linkification
• Warns on browser-blocked ports before you try to connect
• Self-signed cert helper (opens relay URL in a new tab to accept the warning)
• Zero dependencies, zero build step — plain HTML/CSS/ES-module JS

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Requirements

• WeeChat ≥ 4.0 with the relay plugin enabled and the api protocol configured
• A web server to serve the three static files (nginx, Caddy, Apache, or even python3 -m http.server)
• A domain + TLS cert for production use (certbot/Let's Encrypt recommended)

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WeeChat relay setup

# Inside WeeChat:

# Load the relay plugin if not already loaded
/plugin load relay

# Set a relay password (required)
/set relay.network.password "your_strong_password_here"

# Create the API relay listener on port 9000
# Do NOT use port 6667/6697 — those are blocked by browsers
/relay add api 9000

# For TLS (recommended for non-localhost):
/relay add tls.api 9000

# Verify it's listening:
/relay listport

Port note: Ports 6665–6669 and 6697 (the traditional IRC port range) are blocked by all major browsers. Use any other port — 9000 is a safe default.

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Installation

1. Copy the files

# Clone or download, then copy to your web root:
cp index.html app.js style.css /var/www/cathode/

# Or serve from the repo directly for development:
python3 -m http.server 8080

2. Set up a reverse proxy (recommended)

For production you'll want a reverse proxy to handle TLS and serve both the static files and the WeeChat relay API under the same origin — this avoids mixed-content issues and makes self-signed certs unnecessary.

See the proxy/ directory for ready-to-use configs:

Server	File
Caddy	proxy/Caddyfile
nginx	proxy/nginx.conf
Apache	proxy/apache.conf

All three configs follow the same pattern:

• Serve static files at /
• Proxy /api* to localhost:9000 (your WeeChat relay port)
• Handle WebSocket upgrade headers

3. Open in browser

Navigate to your domain. Enter the WeeChat relay host/port and password. If you're using the reverse proxy setup, the host is your domain and the port is 443 — the proxy forwards /api internally.

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Self-signed certificates

If you can't use Let's Encrypt (no domain, air-gapped, LAN-only), you can still use TLS with a self-signed cert on the WeeChat relay. The browser will refuse the WebSocket connection until you accept the cert exception:

1. Enter your host and port in Cathode's connect screen
2. Click the ⚠ CERT button — this opens https://host:port/api/version in a new tab
3. Accept the browser's security warning in that tab
4. Return to Cathode and click CONNECT

The exception is remembered by the browser for subsequent sessions.

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LAN / local use (no TLS)

If you're connecting from the same machine or a trusted LAN, you can skip TLS:

• In WeeChat: /relay add api 9000 (without tls.)
• In Cathode: uncheck USE TLS before connecting
• Serve Cathode itself over plain HTTP too (or file:// directly)

Note: ws:// from an https:// page is blocked by browsers (mixed content). Either serve Cathode over plain HTTP as well, or use the reverse proxy approach.

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Directory structure

cathode/
├── index.html          — app shell
├── app.js              — all client logic (ES module, no build step)
├── style.css           — terminal theme, dark + light
├── proxy/
│   ├── Caddyfile       — Caddy reverse proxy config
│   ├── nginx.conf      — nginx reverse proxy config
│   └── apache.conf     — Apache reverse proxy config
└── README.md

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How it works

Cathode uses WeeChat's API relay protocol — a clean JSON-over-WebSocket protocol introduced in WeeChat 4.0, replacing the old binary weechat relay protocol that Glowing Bear was built on.

On connect, Cathode:

1. Opens a WebSocket to wss://host:port/api with the password encoded in the Sec-WebSocket-Protocol header (the only header the browser WebSocket API allows you to set)
2. Sends a batched request: fetch all buffers with last 200 lines and nicks, then subscribe to real-time events
3. Listens for push events (buffer_line_added, buffer_opened, nicklist_nick_added, etc.) and updates the UI accordingly

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License

GPL-3.0 — same as WeeChat and Glowing Bear.

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Cathode — Inspired by Glowing Bear