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 Insert emoji in the composer, or open a message's reaction picker, to search or browse emoji by category. The Recent category keeps selections on this device for the current account; Clear recent removes that list.
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.
Recoverable drafts¶
In Relay 0.11.4–0.11.5, enable Settings > Chat > Recoverable drafts in a private session to restore unsent messages after a reload. It is off by default and device-local. Conversation and thread drafts are kept separately; restoration never sends a message or overwrites existing composer text.
Drafts are readable text in browser storage, even for encrypted conversations. Avoid enabling this on shared devices. Slash commands and uploads are excluded. Drafts expire after seven days; clearing or submitting the composer removes its saved draft, and disabling recovery or signing out clears saved drafts on that device. This is reload recovery, not a delivery queue. Review any notice about an unavailable reply target or storage failure before sending.
On master after 0.11.5, Settings > Chat > Draft storage replaces the toggle with Off, This device, and Across devices. The last choice also saves readable draft text in your account file on the Relay server so another signed-in device can restore it. This preference works independently of general settings synchronization. Encrypted conversation drafts remain on the device; slash commands and file uploads are excluded. A conflict between devices requires you to choose Keep my draft or Use other draft before syncing continues. Signing out clears this device's drafts, while leaving Across devices deletes server drafts. Public sessions cannot use draft storage.
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 are excluded. Open Activity from the sidebar after enabling it. It does not reconstruct activity from text logs.
Conversation history settings¶
In Relay 0.11.5, private accounts can open a channel or DM's sidebar context menu and choose History settings…. Change Store history for this conversation (on by default), then choose Save history setting and wait for confirmation. On mobile, long-press the sidebar entry to open its menu.
Turning storage off stops saving new messages and message updates to structured history and plain-text logs. Live chat continues, and existing stored messages remain available in scrollback and search. It does not delete old history or free disk space, and does not disable explicit saved messages, sharing or uploads, or device-local draft recovery.
The preference is account-specific on that network, syncs across its sessions, and survives restarts, closing/reopening conversations, and channel renames. Turning it on still requires server storage and account logging to be enabled; it cannot override either or backfill messages that were not stored. Public sessions do not have this control.
Jump to saved history (newer master)¶
On master after 0.11.5, scrolling back in a channel or DM shows a floating date range for the messages in view. Select it to open Jump to date and time, enter a time in your local timezone, and choose Jump. Relay opens the last saved message at or before that time. This requires connected, structured saved history and account logging; a conversation with history storage disabled cannot supply newer saved messages. Retention or missing upstream history can leave gaps that the jump cannot reconstruct. The control does not appear at the newest message.
Message presentation¶
In Relay 0.11.3, 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.
In Relay 0.11.5, choose Reply on any loaded message inside the thread to select it as your target, or Reply to original to return to the root message. Check the Replying to preview before sending; changing targets preserves your text, and the target remains selected after sending. Use Show/Hide loaded replies to expand or collapse a branch, its parent preview to jump back, and New replies to reveal arrivals while reading earlier or collapsed replies. These controls describe loaded messages, not a count of all server history.
Scheduled messages (newer master)¶
On master after 0.11.5, private accounts can enable Scheduled messages in Settings > Chat. Use the arrow beside Send to choose Schedule message…, review the destination and local date/time, and confirm. The private Scheduled messages manager lets you edit, reschedule, cancel, or send an entry now. Scheduled text is readable in the server's account file and can be submitted to IRC without a browser connected. Commands, replies, and encrypted conversations cannot be scheduled.
A missed time, unavailable IRC destination, or uncertain send can leave an entry marked Needs attention. Review the conversation and destination before rescheduling or sending again; Submitted to IRC does not prove recipient delivery. Turning scheduling off pauses pending entries, and turning it back on does not rearm them automatically. This feature is disabled by default and is unavailable in public sessions.
See commands and shortcuts for search and navigation keys.
Private saved messages¶
This feature is available in Relay 0.11.3.
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.
In Relay 0.11.4, Open conversation locates a saved message in its original channel or DM. Relay uses loaded messages or requests available history context when connected; it does not reconnect, join, or reopen conversations automatically. If the original is unavailable, the saved snapshot and notes remain.
Guided moderation¶
This feature is available in Relay 0.11.3.
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.