ZNC, sleep, and staying connected

A bouncer such as ZNC stays connected to IRC on another machine and lets Textual reconnect to it later. Keeping your Mac awake is a different approach: Textual itself remains connected, but the Mac must stay running and online.

Connect to ZNC

Obtain the bouncer's hostname, port, TLS setting, username, password and configured network name from whoever operates it. Create a connection in Textual using those details rather than the public IRC server's connection settings.

Use the ZNC password for the bouncer connection. In the Identity section, the original Textual guide uses the username format:

username/network

For example, alex/libera selects the network named libera in Alex's ZNC account. Use the actual configured network name, which is chosen by the bouncer operator and is not necessarily the IRC network's public name.

Save the connection after completing the required identity fields, and check the server console for any login error. Validate the bouncer's TLS certificate just as you would an IRC server's certificate. The original illustrated setup remains available for reference.

Keep your Mac awake

As of Textual 7.2.4, Caffeine is loaded with Textual and no longer needs a separate installation. The old /getscripts installation instructions therefore do not apply to the current release. This change is recorded in the 7.2.4 release notes.

Look for Sleep Mode Management under Preferences → Addons, then the option to disable sleep while Textual is connected. Keeping a Mac awake uses power, and it does not guarantee that closing a laptop lid or losing a network connection will leave IRC connected.

Choose the approach that fits

For an always-connected presence while your Mac is off, use an independently hosted bouncer. For a conversation you want to keep open while the Mac is running, the sleep-management setting may be enough. A bouncer operator may retain messages or connection information, so consider its privacy and retention practices as well as your local logging settings.