IRC Framework for Node.js

irc-framework is a comprehensive and performant IRC framework designed for Node.js, suitable for building both IRC bots and full-fledged IRC clients. The current stable version is 4.14.0, with frequent releases (roughly monthly to bi-monthly) indicating active development. It emphasizes being lightweight, easy to use, and scalable for larger applications. Key differentiators include its compliance with IRCv3 specifications, support for multiple and auto-detected character encodings, and a complete test suite. The framework abstracts the IRC protocol, handles multiple simultaneous server connections, transparently manages server PONGing, and provides an event-driven model for handling IRC messages.