Conversations¶
Relay combines normal IRC channels and private messages with stored history, search, replies, reactions, link previews, typing indicators, and an activity feed. Availability depends on the network's IRCv3 support and the instance's storage settings.
Compose and find messages¶
Use the formatting toolbar for IRC-compatible styles and colors. Typing / opens command suggestions; Tab cycles forward and Shift+Tab cycles backward. Autocomplete also covers nicknames and channels.
Choose Search messages in this channel, enter text, and select a suggestion or submit the full search. Search defaults to the current conversation; change Search in to search all conversations on that network. Search requires structured storage and account logging; text-only logs do not qualify. Selecting a result opens the conversation at that message. Replies and reactions may be limited when connecting through some bouncers; see Compatibility and limitations.
Activity¶
Under Settings > Chat, enable Activity for all buffers, favorites, or a custom set. Directed activity can include mentions and replies separately. Activity requires structured message storage and account logging; muted buffers and the partyline are excluded. Open Activity from the sidebar after enabling it. It does not reconstruct activity from text logs.
Message presentation¶
On current master, after 0.11.2, Settings > Chat > Status messages > Smart filter limits joins, parts, and quits to recent speakers, with an adjustable Recent speech window. Older events without activity information remain visible. Minimum events to condense controls how many consecutive visible events form a summary; smaller groups remain individual events.
Chat settings control timestamps, MOTD visibility, link and media previews, speech bubbles, status-message density, fenced-code highlighting, typing indicators, and automatic away messages. Server policy can disable some media behavior.
Use a conversation's context menu to mute it, change notification behavior, or configure IRC encryption where available.
Replies and threads¶
Use Reply on a message, compose your response, then send. The View thread control on a message with replies opens that thread. Stored thread lookup requires structured history; reply/reaction interoperability depends on message IDs and network support. Local fallback IDs keep some interactions usable inside Relay but are not resolvable by other IRC clients. Use the message menu for sharing, rather than the conversation menu.
See commands and shortcuts for search and navigation keys.
Private saved messages¶
This feature is available on current master, after 0.11.2.
Enable Saved messages under Settings > Chat (off by default). On desktop, hover or focus a message's controls and choose Save; on mobile, use ⋯ > Save message privately. Add an optional note and label, then use Saved messages in the sidebar to search across networks. Refresh loads changes from another session. Disabling the toggle hides saving controls without deleting existing items.
Snapshots belong to your private Relay account, are not public links, and survive closing a conversation or deleting its network until you remove them. Saved decrypted messages and notes are readable in the server's account file: account privacy is not encryption from the administrator. Public sessions cannot save messages. Each account can retain up to 500 items within a 512 KiB collection.
Guided moderation¶
This feature is available on current master, after 0.11.2.
Channel operators on private Relay accounts can open Guided moderation from the user list's ban-list section. Select a kick, ban, ban-and-kick, or ban removal; enter the target and reason, choose Preview action, inspect the exact commands, then choose Send these commands. Changing fields invalidates the preview.
Verify hostmasks before banning: broad patterns can affect others. Account bans require the server's advertised account-ban support and an exact account name, not necessarily a nickname. Kick reasons go to IRC; ban-only reasons remain private annotations. A ban-and-kick sends separate commands that can fail independently.
The private local history records submissions, not successful enforcement. It retains up to 100 submissions in server memory until the account runtime stops; it is not a durable audit log. Check IRC responses before retrying after a timeout.