diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5a0551298..1b7e573bd 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ STRING(REPLACE "\";\"" "\ " PKG_STRING ${PKG_STRING})
 
 OPTION(DISABLE_NCURSES "Disable Ncurses interface")
 OPTION(ENABLE_GTK      "Enable GTK interface")
+OPTION(DISABLE_IRC     "Disable IRC protocol")
 OPTION(DISABLE_NLS     "Disable Native Language Support")
 OPTION(DISABLE_GNUTLS  "Disable SSLv3/TLS connection support")
 OPTION(DISABLE_PLUGINS "Disable Plugins support")
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 8351c8656..d603fb8dc 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ AC_CHECK_FUNCS([gethostbyname gethostname getsockname gettimeofday inet_ntoa mem
 AH_VERBATIM([PREFIX], [#undef PREFIX])
 AH_VERBATIM([WEECHAT_LIBDIR], [#undef WEECHAT_LIBDIR])
 AH_VERBATIM([WEECHAT_SHAREDIR], [#undef WEECHAT_SHAREDIR])
+AH_VERBATIM([PROTOCOL_IRC], [#undef PROTOCOL_IRC])
 AH_VERBATIM([PLUGINS], [#undef PLUGINS])
 AH_VERBATIM([PLUGIN_PERL], [#undef PLUGIN_PERL])
 AH_VERBATIM([PLUGIN_PYTHON], [#undef PLUGIN_PYTHON])
@@ -110,6 +111,7 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(ncurses,      [  --disable-ncurses         Turn off ncurses interf
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(wxwidgets,    [  --enable-wxwidgets        Turn on WxWidgets interface (default=no wxwidgets)],enable_wxwidgets=$enableval,enable_wxwidgets=no)
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(gtk,          [  --enable-gtk              Turn on Gtk interface (default=no Gtk)],enable_gtk=$enableval,enable_gtk=no)
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(qt,           [  --enable-qt               Turn on Qt interface (default=no Qt)],enable_qt=$enableval,enable_qt=no)
+AC_ARG_ENABLE(irc,          [  --disable-irc             Turn off IRC protocol support (default=compiled)],enable_irc=$enableval,enable_irc=yes)
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(gnutls,       [  --disable-gnutls          Turn off gnutls support (default=compiled if found)],enable_gnutls=$enableval,enable_gnutls=yes)
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(plugins,      [  --disable-plugins         Turn off plugins support (default=plugins enabled)],enable_plugins=$enableval,enable_plugins=yes)
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(perl,         [  --disable-perl            Turn off Perl script plugin (default=compiled if found)],enable_perl=$enableval,enable_perl=yes)
@@ -125,6 +127,10 @@ AC_ARG_WITH(doc_xsl_prefix, [  --with-doc-xsl-prefix=DIR Docbook html/chunk.xsl
 AC_ARG_WITH(debug,          [  --with-debug              Debugging: 0=no debug, 1=debug compilation, 2=debug compilation + verbose msgs (default=1)],debug=$withval,debug=1)
 
 not_found=""
+WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS=""
+WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS="$WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS ../lib_weechat_gui_common.a"
+WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS="$WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS ../../common/lib_weechat_main.a"
+WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS="$WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS ../../protocols/lib_weechat_protocols.a"
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #                                    GUI
@@ -192,6 +198,15 @@ if test "x$enable_gtk" = "xyes" ; then
     fi
 fi
 
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#                                   IRC
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+if test "x$enable_irc" = "xyes" ; then
+    WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS="$WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS ../../protocols/irc/lib_weechat_irc.a"
+    AC_DEFINE(PROTOCOL_IRC)
+fi
+
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #                                  iconv
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -239,7 +254,9 @@ fi
 
 PLUGINS_LIBS=
 
-if test "x$enable_plugins" != "xyes" ; then
+if test "x$enable_plugins" = "xyes" ; then
+    WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS="$WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS ../../plugins/lib_weechat_plugins.a"
+else
     enable_plugins="no"
     enable_perl="no"
     enable_python="no"
@@ -723,6 +740,8 @@ if test "$GAS"; then
 else
     AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
 fi
+
+AC_SUBST(WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS)
  
 CFLAGS=`echo $CFLAGS | sed s/-g//g`
 if test "x$CFLAGS" = "x" ; then
@@ -775,6 +794,7 @@ AM_CONDITIONAL(GUI_NCURSES,    test "$enable_ncurses" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(GUI_WXWIDGETS,  test "$enable_wxwidgets" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(GUI_GTK,        test "$enable_gtk" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(GUI_QT,         test "$enable_qt" = "yes")
+AM_CONDITIONAL(PROTOCOL_IRC,   test "$enable_irc" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(PLUGINS,        test "$enable_plugins" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(PLUGIN_PERL,    test "$enable_perl" = "yes")
 AM_CONDITIONAL(PLUGIN_PYTHON,  test "$enable_python" = "yes")
@@ -825,13 +845,13 @@ if test "x$enable_ncurses" = "xyes" ; then
     listgui="$listgui ncurses"
 fi
 if test "x$enable_wxwidgets" = "xyes"; then
-   listgui="$listgui WxWidgets"
+   listgui="$listgui wxwidgets"
 fi
 if test "x$enable_gtk" = "xyes" ; then
-    listgui="$listgui Gtk"
+    listgui="$listgui gtk"
 fi
 if test "x$enable_qt" = "xyes" ; then
-    listgui="$listgui Qt"
+    listgui="$listgui qt"
 fi
 
 if test "x$listgui" = "x" ; then
@@ -840,6 +860,16 @@ if test "x$listgui" = "x" ; then
 *** Please enable at least ncurses, WxWidgets, Gtk or Qt.])
 fi
 
+listprotocols=""
+if test "x$enable_irc" = "xyes" ; then
+    listprotocols="$listprotocols irc"
+fi
+
+if test "x$listprotocols" = "x" ; then
+    AC_MSG_WARN([
+*** WeeChat will be built without any protocol, is that really what you want ?])
+fi
+
 if test "x$not_found" != "x" ; then
     echo ""
     echo "Following components were asked but not found, they will not be built:"
@@ -879,6 +909,7 @@ fi
 
 echo ""
 echo "Interfaces........................ :$listgui"
+echo "Protocols......................... :$listprotocols"
 echo "Build with GNUtls support......... : $enable_gnutls"
 echo "Build with flock support.......... : $enable_flock"
 echo "Build with Plugin support......... : $enable_plugins"
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 343ab8fc4..2b53eb7f3 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -107,7 +107,11 @@ ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( common )
 LIST(APPEND STATIC_LIBS weechat_main)
 
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( protocols )
-LIST(APPEND STATIC_LIBS weechat_irc)
+LIST(APPEND STATIC_LIBS weechat_protocols)
+
+IF(NOT DISABLE_IRC)
+  LIST(APPEND STATIC_LIBS weechat_irc)
+ENDIF(NOT DISABLE_IRC)
 
 IF(NOT DISABLE_PLUGINS)
   ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( plugins )
diff --git a/src/gui/curses/CMakeLists.txt b/src/gui/curses/CMakeLists.txt
index 667564698..53c5bb4ee 100644
--- a/src/gui/curses/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/gui/curses/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ IF(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "OpenBSD")
 ENDIF(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "OpenBSD")
 
 ADD_EXECUTABLE(${EXECUTABLE} ${WEECHAT_CURSES_SRC})
-INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(.. ../../common ../../protocols/irc ../../plugins)
+INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(.. ../../common ../../protocols ../../protocols/irc
+../../plugins)
 TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${EXECUTABLE} ${STATIC_LIBS} ${EXTRA_LIBS})
 
 INSTALL(TARGETS ${EXECUTABLE} RUNTIME DESTINATION bin)
diff --git a/src/gui/curses/Makefile.am b/src/gui/curses/Makefile.am
index 8188ce434..ac5290a16 100644
--- a/src/gui/curses/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/gui/curses/Makefile.am
@@ -18,22 +18,10 @@ INCLUDES = -DLOCALEDIR=\"$(datadir)/locale\"
 
 bin_PROGRAMS = weechat-curses
 
-if PLUGINS
-weechat_curses_LDADD = ../lib_weechat_gui_common.a \
-                       ../../common/lib_weechat_main.a \
-                       ../../protocols/irc/lib_weechat_irc.a \
-                       ../../plugins/lib_weechat_plugins.a \
+weechat_curses_LDADD = $(WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS) \
                        $(PLUGINS_LIBS) \
                        $(NCURSES_LIBS) \
                        $(GNUTLS_LFLAGS)
-else
-weechat_curses_LDADD = ../lib_weechat_gui_common.a \
-                       ../../common/lib_weechat_main.a \
-                       ../../protocols/irc/lib_weechat_irc.a \
-                       $(PLUGINS_LIBS) \
-                       $(NCURSES_LIBS) \
-                       $(GNUTLS_LFLAGS)
-endif
 
 weechat_curses_SOURCES = gui-curses-chat.c \
                          gui-curses-color.c \
diff --git a/src/gui/gtk/CMakeLists.txt b/src/gui/gtk/CMakeLists.txt
index ac5964aee..68704769e 100644
--- a/src/gui/gtk/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/gui/gtk/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ IF(PKG_CONFIG_FOUND)
 ENDIF(PKG_CONFIG_FOUND)
 
 ADD_EXECUTABLE(${EXECUTABLE} ${WEECHAT_GTK_SRC})
-INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(.. ../../common ../../protocols/irc ../../plugins)
+INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(.. ../../common ../../protocols ../../protocols/irc
+../../plugins)
 TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(${EXECUTABLE} ${STATIC_LIBS} ${EXTRA_LIBS})
 
 INSTALL(TARGETS ${EXECUTABLE} RUNTIME DESTINATION bin)
diff --git a/src/gui/gtk/Makefile.am b/src/gui/gtk/Makefile.am
index a84db860c..c6968762f 100644
--- a/src/gui/gtk/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/gui/gtk/Makefile.am
@@ -18,22 +18,10 @@ INCLUDES = -DLOCALEDIR=\"$(datadir)/locale\" $(GTK_CFLAGS)
 
 bin_PROGRAMS = weechat-gtk
 
-if PLUGINS
-weechat_gtk_LDADD = ../lib_weechat_gui_common.a \
-                    ../../common/lib_weechat_main.a \
-                    ../../protocols/irc/lib_weechat_irc.a \
-                    ../../plugins/lib_weechat_plugins.a \
+weechat_gtk_LDADD = $(WEECHAT_STATIC_LIBS) \
                     $(PLUGINS_LIBS) \
                     $(GTK_LIBS) \
                     $(GNUTLS_LFLAGS)
-else
-weechat_gtk_LDADD = ../lib_weechat_gui_common.a \
-                    ../../common/lib_weechat_main.a \
-                    ../../protocols/irc/lib_weechat_irc.a \
-                    $(PLUGINS_LIBS) \
-                    $(GTK_LIBS) \
-                    $(GNUTLS_LFLAGS)
-endif
 
 weechat_gtk_SOURCES = gui-gtk-chat.c \
                       gui-gtk-color.c \
diff --git a/src/protocols/CMakeLists.txt b/src/protocols/CMakeLists.txt
index ada49f185..7d4ec7aa5 100644
--- a/src/protocols/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/protocols/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,4 +14,11 @@
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
-ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( irc )
+SET(LIB_PROTOCOLS_SRC protocols.c protocols.h)
+
+INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR})
+ADD_LIBRARY(weechat_protocols STATIC ${LIB_PROTOCOLS_SRC})
+
+IF(NOT DISABLE_IRC)
+  ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( irc )
+ENDIF(NOT DISABLE_IRC)
diff --git a/src/protocols/Makefile.am b/src/protocols/Makefile.am
index 8e8b5c2a7..185926a8b 100644
--- a/src/protocols/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/protocols/Makefile.am
@@ -14,4 +14,15 @@
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
-SUBDIRS = irc
+INCLUDES = -DLOCALEDIR=\"$(datadir)/locale\"
+
+noinst_LIBRARIES = lib_weechat_protocols.a
+
+lib_weechat_protocols_a_SOURCES = protocols.c \
+                                  protocols.h
+
+if PROTOCOL_IRC
+irc_dir=irc
+endif
+
+SUBDIRS = . $(irc_dir)
diff --git a/src/protocols/protocols.c b/src/protocols/protocols.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8851bfe96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/protocols/protocols.c
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2003-2007 by FlashCode <flashcode@flashtux.org>
+ * See README for License detail, AUTHORS for developers list.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+/* protocols.c: manages WeeChat protocols (dynamic C libraries) */
+
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+#include "../common/weechat.h"
+#include "protocols.h"
diff --git a/src/protocols/protocols.h b/src/protocols/protocols.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b5306c9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/protocols/protocols.h
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2003-2007 by FlashCode <flashcode@flashtux.org>
+ * See README for License detail, AUTHORS for developers list.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __WEECHAT_PROTOCOLS_H
+#define __WEECHAT_PROTOCOLS_H 1
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+struct t_weechat_protocol
+{
+};
+
+#endif /* protocols.h */