Port 194: IRC
Port 194 is the original IANA-registered port for IRC, Internet Relay Chat. In practice almost every IRC network instead listens on port 6667 and its encrypted neighbors, leaving port 194 rarely used.
| Port number | 194 |
|---|---|
| Service | Internet Relay Chat |
| Protocol | TCP |
| Category | Chat & messaging |
| Default encryption | No |
How do I check whether port 194 is open?
Port 194 carries TCP, so a connection either completes its handshake or it does not, which makes the check definitive.
| Question | Command | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Is it open on a remote host? | nc -vz example.com 194 | A TCP handshake either completes or it does not, so netcat gives a definitive answer in one line. |
| Same check on Windows | Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 194 | Built into PowerShell. TcpTestSucceeded in the output is the answer; telnet is not installed by default on modern Windows. |
| What is listening locally? | ss -tlnp | grep ':194 ' | Lists the process bound to port 194 on Linux. On macOS use lsof -nP -iTCP:194 -sTCP:LISTEN, on Windows netstat -ano | findstr :194 |
Replace example.com with the host you are testing. A blocked port and a port with nothing listening on it look identical from the outside, so if a service should be running, check locally before blaming the firewall.
Frequently asked questions
What is port 194 used for?
Port 194 is the original IANA-registered port for IRC, Internet Relay Chat. In practice almost every IRC network instead listens on port 6667 and its encrypted neighbors, leaving port 194 rarely used.
Is port 194 TCP or UDP?
Port 194 (IRC) uses TCP.
Is port 194 secure?
Port 194 is not encrypted by default. Where possible, use an encrypted alternative or tunnel it over TLS or a VPN.
Should I open port 194 on my firewall?
Only if you specifically need IRC. Expose it to the smallest set of trusted sources, and never open database or Windows-service ports to the whole internet.