Textual has a new home, and it is us
Let us start with the thing that matters, because we know how announcements like this usually go: someone takes over a beloved app, writes a cheerful post about "exciting new chapters", and six months later it is a bloated Electron rewrite with a monthly subscription, and you need an account before it will even let you join a channel.
That is not this. We promise.
Here is what actually happened. After fifteen years of building and looking after Textual, Codeux Software, LLC decided it was time to step back. Rather than let it quietly rot, which would have been the easy thing, they went looking for someone who actually used it and cared about it. They found us. We said yes before they had finished asking.
So Textual now belongs to Blendbyte. We are an engineering company in Berlin and Taipei that builds and runs hosting, software and infrastructure for businesses, and if that sounds like the beginning of a bad story, bear with us for a paragraph.
Who on earth are we
We have been on IRC for over twenty years. Not "we tried it once in 2004", we mean continuously, through the years when everyone else left for Slack and then Discord, because it still works and nobody has managed to ruin it yet. We have used Textual as our client for well over a decade. It is open on our Macs right now.
This is not an acquisition in the corporate sense. It is more like being handed the keys to the pub you have been drinking in since your twenties. It is a huge honour, it is slightly terrifying, and we intend to take it seriously.
What is not changing
The standalone version of Textual 7 remains available from this website. Your existing licence remains valid under the terms of your purchase.
It is still called Textual. Same name, same website, same domains, same #textual on Libera Chat. We are not rebranding it, we are not "reimagining" it, and the icon stays exactly as it is, gradient and all.
It is still open source. BSD licensed, as it has been since 2010, and now at blendbyte/Textual on GitHub. The old Codeux-Software URLs redirect there. If you would rather compile it yourself than pay us, go right ahead. That has always been the deal and it still is.
What is coming
We are building Textual 8, and before anyone reaches for the pitchforks: it is not a rewrite. It is the same codebase, the same app, brought properly up to date, roughly in this order.
First, the foundations. Make sure it runs well on current macOS and keeps doing so on whatever Apple ships next, and fold Textual's separate frameworks and helper projects back into one codebase that is easier to look after.
Then, catch up with IRC itself. IRC has not stood still while Textual was quiet. IRCv3 has brought message tags, chat history, read markers, replies, reactions and better account handling. Textual supports some of the earlier work, and we intend to catch up properly.
Then, the annoyances. We have our own list of long-standing bugs and small irritations that we have quietly put up with for years, and we suspect you have yours. Those get fixed.
And then, the fun part. Things we have always wished an IRC client did: some to make IRC friendlier to newcomers, because the network only survives if new people keep arriving, and some just for the long-timers. Everything that makes Textual feel like Textual stays. If you have been here since version 2, Textual 8 should feel like home, with fewer rough edges and a few things that make you grin.
One practical note. Textual 8 will be signed by us rather than by Codeux Software, so the built-in updater cannot install it on its own. When 8 is ready, the standalone version of Textual 7 will tell you where to get it, and Textual 8 will offer to bring your servers, settings and history across on first launch. That happens entirely on your Mac; nothing is uploaded.
Your licence
Every new Textual 7 licence bought through our checkout, including each licence in a bulk order, includes Textual 8 for free when it is released. If you bought a standalone Textual 7 licence recently, Textual 8 is free too. If you bought it a good while ago, it will be a small upgrade fee rather than a new purchase. We will publish the exact details when 8 ships, and we will be generous about where the line falls.
Textual 7 was taken off sale in the Mac App Store in 2024, and continued downloads there are not guaranteed. If you use that version, keep your installed copy with its receipt and back up your preferences separately; our App Store guidance explains how. Migration and Textual 8 eligibility for Mac App Store purchases are still undecided. Any rights agreed when you purchased remain unchanged. We intend to bring Textual back to the Mac App Store with version 8, but that does not establish an upgrade path from the old listing.
Your data, which we do not have
No customer data changed hands in this handover. No names, no email addresses, no purchase history, no activation logs. Nothing. Codeux made that clear in the very first email, and we agreed on the spot, because it is exactly how we would have wanted it anyway.
How, then, can Textual 8 honour your Textual 7 licence without a list of who bought what? Your licence file is cryptographically signed, and the app checks that signature itself, on your Mac, without phoning anyone. Once Textual is activated, it never needs a server to know you are a real customer, so neither do we.
The old licensing and checkout systems are not coming with the project either. We have built our own, and it holds the bare minimum needed to sell you a licence and help you if you lose it. Sales open as soon as our payment provider has finished verifying us. GDPR applies to us as a German company, but this is not a compliance thing. It is just how we think software should be made.
Thank you
To Codeux Software and Michael Morris, who started Textual and wrote most of it, for fifteen years, and for caring enough about the people using Textual to find it a new home rather than just switching off the lights. In Michael's words:
"Textual, which began as nothing more than a pet project in 2010, somehow exploded into an app enjoyed by a large, enthusiastic community. Fifteen years later, I have unfortunately lost my love for the craft of programming. This bothered me because there were still so many people that enjoyed the app. I was ecstatic when I learned that Daniel created a fork and was breathing new life into the project. It was obvious from that moment who should take the reins. I am confident Textual will thrive under their leadership. I wish them all the best!"
Note: The Daniel in Michael's words is Blendbyte's EU managing director, whose fork of Textual, textwerk, is where all of this started.
To the people who have kept #textual alive for over a decade, answering the same questions with the same patience long after the project had gone quiet. You know exactly who you are, and you will be hearing from us directly rather than reading about it here. That includes everyone who patiently explains, once a year, why someone's Textual icon has suddenly turned into a balloon. Yes, it is that time of year again, and yes, Balloon Day stays.
And to everyone who kept using Textual, kept buying it, and kept it worth saving. This happened because of you.
Come and find us in #textual on Libera Chat (reading this on your phone? join from your browser), whether you have been there for years or are just dropping in to say hello. IRC is about people talking to each other, and that is how we want to build Textual: together with the people who actually use it. Tell us what has annoyed you about Textual over the years, what you think we should improve, and what you wish it did. That list shapes Textual 8, and every bit of feedback is appreciated, the grumpy kind included.
The questions we expect
Do I need to do anything right now?
If you use the Mac App Store version, keep your installed copy and its receipt, as described above. If you use the standalone version, keep your licence email and a normal backup of your Mac, such as Time Machine. We do not have the old licence records, so if you need to activate an older licence on a new Mac and only have the key, contact us with whatever proof of purchase you have, and we will look into it.
Why pay for a licence if I can compile it myself?
You absolutely can, and we will not think any less of you. Textual is not a money-maker for us, and it is not meant to be: it is our way of giving something back to a community we have been part of for over twenty years. A licence pays for the unglamorous parts: signed builds that macOS opens without a fuss, updates that keep working when Apple ships a new macOS, fixes for the bugs you report, the servers behind licensing and updates, and a real person answering when something breaks. Buying one is how you keep Textual looked after for the long haul.
Can I support you beyond a licence?
Glad you asked. Textual is paid for by our commercial work: hosting, custom web applications, security and infrastructure consulting for businesses. If you or your company ever need any of that, have a look at what we do. You talk directly to the engineers who build and run your systems. That is the best support there is. Telling a friend about Textual is a close second.
What was textwerk?
That was our fork while we worked out whether to do this properly. It is being folded back into Textual, where it belongs. If you were using it, you will be moved across with everyone else.