feat: Add IRC gateway functionality and update documentation

docs/articles/getting-started.md

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 - [.NET 10 SDK](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download)
 
+Or grab a self-contained binary from [Releases](https://github.com/HueByte/EchoHub/releases) -- no runtime needed.
+
 ## Run the Server
 
 ```bash
@@ -24,6 +26,37 @@ dotnet run --project src/EchoHub.Client
 
 Connect to a server, register an account, and start chatting.
 
+## Connect via IRC
+
+Enable the IRC gateway in the server's `appsettings.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "Irc": {
+    "Enabled": true,
+    "Port": 6667
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Then connect with any standard IRC client:
+
+```bash
+irssi -c localhost -p 6667 -w <password> -n <username>
+```
+
+IRC users must have an existing EchoHub account. Authentication works via `PASS`/`NICK`/`USER` or SASL PLAIN. Messages flow bidirectionally between IRC and TUI clients.
+
+For TLS, set `TlsEnabled: true`, `TlsPort: 6697`, and provide a PKCS#12 certificate path.
+
+See the [Architecture](architecture.md) page for details on how the IRC gateway integrates with the chat service.
+
+## Configuration
+
+Server configuration is in `appsettings.json` (auto-generated on first run). See the [example config](https://github.com/HueByte/EchoHub/blob/master/src/EchoHub.Server/appsettings.example.json) for all available options.
+
+To list your server on the [public directory](https://echohub.voidcube.cloud/servers), set `Server:PublicServer` to `true` and `Server:PublicHost` to your server's public address.
+
 ## Build from Source
 
 ```bash