Linux IRC mini-HOWTO Frédéric L. W. Meunier v0.1 8 January, 2001 Revision History Revision 0.1 2001-01-08 Revised by: fredlwm Second revision. This document aims to describe the basics of IRC and respective applications for Linux. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Objectives 1.2. Miscellaneous 1.3. Translations 2. About IRC 3. Beginner's guide on using IRC 3.1. Running the ircII program 3.2. Commands 3.3. IRC Etiquette 4. Console IRC Clients 4.1. ircII 4.2. EPIC 4.3. BitchX 4.4. irssi 5. X Window IRC Clients 5.1. Zircon 5.2. xIrc 5.3. KVIrc 5.4. X-Chat 6. IRC Servers 6.1. IRCD 6.2. IRCD-Hybrid 6.3. ircu 6.4. Bahamut 7. IRC Bots 7.1. eggdrop 8. IRC Bouncers (IRC Proxy) 8.1. bnc 8.2. muh 8.3. ezbounce 9. Installation 9.1. Clients 9.2. Servers 10. But what's already included in my distribution? (Linux on x86) 10.1. Debian 10.2. RedHat 10.3. Slackware 11. Hell and Paradise 11.1. Gods 11.2. Saints 11.3. Angels 11.4. Devils 12. Revision History ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction This document is still WIP, and should be treated as such. I'll do my best to keep it updated and accurate. The following bibles shouldn't be ignored:   * RFC1459 by Jarkko Oikarinen and Darren Reed was the first about the Internet Relay Chat Protocol. It can be found at [ftp://ftp.isi.edu/ in-notes/rfc1459.txt] ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1459.txt.   * RFC2811 by Christophe Kalt updates RFC1459 and describes the Channel Management of the Internet Relay Chat. It can be found at [ftp:// ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2811.txt] ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2811.txt.   * RFC2812 by Christophe Kalt updates RFC1459 and describes the Client Protocol of the Internet Relay Chat. It can be found at [ftp:// ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2812.txt] ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2812.txt.   * RFC2813 by Christophe Kalt updates RFC1459 and describes the Server Protocol of the Internet Relay Chat. It can be found at [ftp:// ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2813.txt] ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2813.txt. Also be sure to check the following sites: [http://www.irchelp.org/] http://www.irchelp.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1. Objectives Among others, the objectives of this mini-HOWTO are:   * Link important resources about IRC;   * Avoid common misuses of IRC by writing an IRC Etiquette;   * List popular clients, servers, bots, and bouncers, along with their maintainers, #channel, small description, download location, homepage, and hints;   * List IRC tools available in the latest release of all major distributions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.2. Miscellaneous The latest version of this document is available at [http:// www.pervalidus.net/docs/IRC-mini-HOWTO/] http://www.pervalidus.net/docs/ IRC-mini-HOWTO/. A WIP of the next draft may be available at [http://www.pervalidus.net/docs/ IRC-mini-HOWTO-WIP] http://www.pervalidus.net/docs/IRC-mini-HOWTO/WIP/. You can e-mail me (in English, French, or Portuguese) with suggestions about the mini-HOWTO. I know this is far from finished, but hope you find it useful. Just don't ask me to add your application or site. Most likely I won't. Also don't ask for technical support. I have no time to help everyone. BTW, someone to work on the protocol and server sides (if needed) would be very welcome to join the project. Frédéric L. W. Meunier () - fredlwm at BRASnet and OPN. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3. Translations Proposed translations will be linked here. Although I can write in Brazilian Portuguese and French, I'm not going to translate this document in the near future, so feel free to make them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. About IRC Excerpt from RFC2810: The IRC (Internet Relay Chat) protocol is for use with text based conferencing. It has been developed since 1989 when it was originally implemented as a mean for users on a BBS to chat amongst themselves. First formally documented in May 1993 by RFC 1459 [IRC], the protocol has kept evolving. The IRC Protocol is based on the client-server model, and is well suited to running on many machines in a distributed fashion. A typical setup involves a single process (the server) forming a central point for clients (or other servers) to connect to, performing the required message delivery/multiplexing and other functions. This distributed model, which requires each server to have a copy of the global state information, is still the most flagrant problem of the protocol as it is a serious handicap, which limits the maximum size a network can reach. If the existing networks have been able keep growing at an incredible pace, we must thank hardware manufacturers for giving us ever more powerful systems. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Beginner's guide on using IRC The standard IRC client is the original ircII client. It's part of most Linux distributions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1. Running the ircII program It's easy to use ircII. Let's say you want to connect to irc.openprojects.net with the nick mini-HOWTO. At the command line, type: $ irc mini-HOWTO irc.openprojects.net You can also export variables so you won't need to use them at the command line: $ export IRCNICK=mini-HOWTO IRCSERVER=irc.openprojects.net Add them to your shell profile (e.g. ~/.bash_profile or ~/.zprofile) when you're done. Other common variables are IRCNAME and IRCUSER, to respectively set the ircname part of a /whois and username as seen at the first line 'mini-HOWTO is ~username@hostname (IRCNAME)'. Keep in mind that IRCUSER won't work if you run an ident daemon (default on most distributions). If you still need to change your username (not recommended, and I hope you're not using IRC logged as root!), install oidentd from [http://ojnk.sourceforge.net/] http:// ojnk.sourceforge.net/, create /etc/identd.spoof with a list of users allowed to spoof their ident, and ~/.ispoof with their reply (e.g. reply). Finally run '/usr/local/sbin/oidentd -g nobody -N -s -u nobody'. Add this to your startup scripts (e.g. /etc/rc.d/rc.local) when you're done. If not set, IRCNICK, IRCUSER, and IRCNAME will be retrieved from /etc/passwd . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2. Commands Use /help to get a list on all available commands (/help help is a good start). Replace nick by any IRCNICK.   * First, /set NOVICE off   * /nick IRC-mini-HOWTO changes your IRCNICK to IRC-mini-HOWTO   * /set realname The Linux IRC mini-HOWTO changes your IRCNAME to The Linux IRC mini-HOWTO (doesn't change on the same connection)   * /j #LinuxHelp joins channel #LinuxHelp   * /j #Slackware joins channel #Slackware   * /j #LinuxHelp changes the active current channel to #LinuxHelp   * /msg nick Hi. sends a private message to nick containing Hi.   * /notice nick (or #Linux) Hi. sends a notice to nick (or #Linux) containing Hi.   * /query nick starts a private conversation with nick. /query ends the private conversation   * /me loves Linux. sends an action to the current channel or query containing IRC-mini-HOWTO loves Linux.   * /dcc chat nick starts a chat with nick. Use /msg =nick (notice the =) to send messages over the chat   * /dcc send nick /etc/HOSTNAME sends the given file to nick   * /dcc get nick receives the file offered by nick   * /part leaves the active current channel   * /part #Slackware leaves channel #Slackware   * /discon disconnects from current IRCSERVER   * /server irc.dal.net connects to IRCSERVER irc.dal.net   * /quit Bye. quits your IRC session with a reason Bye. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3. IRC Etiquette WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING   * Never use IRC logged as root or any user with excessive privileges. Bad things may happen sooner or later. You were warned. It's safer if you create 2 users, one of them to only use IRC. $ man adduser On Linux channels you shouldn't:   * Act as an idiot. If you want to be respected, then first respect each other.   * Use colors (^C). Most Linux users don't tolerate such mIRC crazes, and ircII doesn't really support them. The same should apply for ANSI.   * Use full CAPS, bold (^B), reverse (^V), underline (^_), blink (^K), and bell (^G). The first 4 are here to emphasize words, not the whole text. The last 2 are just very annoying.   * Ask if you can ask a question. Just ask, but first read all documentation available on the subject. Start looking at [file:/usr/doc/] /usr/doc/ , otherwise go to [http://www.linuxdoc.org/] http://www.linuxdoc.org/ or [http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/] http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux /docs/. And don't repeat your question immediately. Wait at least 10 minutes. If you don't get any answer it's because nobody knows or wants to help. Respect their choice, they're not your personal assistant. Also never send mass private messages. It's like SPAM. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Console IRC Clients 4.1. ircII Maintainer: ircII project () IRC Channel: #ircii (official channel?) on [http://www.efnet.org/ servers.html] EFNet Originally written by Michael Sandrof, ircII comes with most Linux distributions. It uses termcap and shouldn't be a choice for most users, but is a standard. Mathusalem and other gurus will use it. Less ventured will regret to have it installed. You can get the latest version of ircII from [ftp://ircftp.au.eterna.com.au/ pub/ircII/] ftp://ircftp.au.eterna.com.au/pub/ircII/. Homepage at [http:// www.eterna.com.au/ircii/] http://www.eterna.com.au/ircii/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2. EPIC Maintainer: EPIC Software Labs () IRC Channel: #epic on EFNet Based on ircII, EPIC (Enhanced Programmable ircII Client) is meant for real scripters and users searching freedom. When you start it for the first time you'll notice that you should really learn the basics of scripting. You can get the latest version of EPIC from [ftp://ftp.epicsol.org/pub/epic/] ftp://ftp.epicsol.org/pub/epic/. Homepage at [http://www.epicsol.org/] http:/ /www.epicsol.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.3. BitchX Maintainer: Colten Edwards () IRC Channel: #bitchx on EFNet Based on ircII and EPIC, BitchX could be compared to the Pine MUA. Bloatware (doesn't mean you shouldn't use it) and widely used. The choice for users that want a client with built-in facilities. It can be built with the GNOME libraries by using the configure option --with-gtk. Don't be surprised if all you get is a XTerm-BitchX instead. You can get the latest version of BitchX from [ftp://ftp.bitchx.com/pub/ BitchX/source/] ftp://ftp.bitchx.com/pub/BitchX/source/. Homepage at [http:// www.bitchx.com/] http://www.bitchx.com/. Homepage of gtkBitchX at [http:// www.bitchx.org/gtk/] http://www.bitchx.org/gtk/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4. irssi Maintainer: Timo Sirainen () IRC Channel: #irssi on [http://openprojects.nu/services/irc.html] OPN and [http://www.ircnet.org/] IRCnet Timo released yagIRC ~3 years ago. It was a GUI client using the GTK+ toolkit. The army called on him, and the new maintainers wouldn't do the job. yagIRC passed away and he started irssi as a replacement. It used GTK+. GNOME and curses versions would appear later. As of 0.7.90 it's only a text client, a very good one. Supports Perl scripting. You can get the latest version of irssi from [http://irssi.org/?page= download] http://irssi.org/?page=download. Homepage at [http://irssi.org/] http://irssi.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. X Window IRC Clients 5.1. Zircon Maintainer: Lindsay F. Marshall () IRC Channel: None? Written in Tcl/Tk, uses the native network communications of Tcl. You can get the latest version of Zircon from [ftp://catless.ncl.ac.uk/pub/] ftp://catless.ncl.ac.uk/pub/. Homepage at [http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Programs/ Zircon/] http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Programs/Zircon/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2. xIrc Maintainer: Robert Borrell () IRC Channel: None? Using the Qt toolkit, xIrc is less featured than KVIrc. As an advantage, it's faster. You can get the latest version of xIrc from [http://www.linuxlots.com/~xirc/ download.html] http://www.linuxlots.com/~xirc/download.html. Homepage at [http://www.linuxlots.com/~xirc/] http://www.linuxlots.com/~xirc/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3. KVIrc Maintainer: Szymon Stefanek () IRC Channel: #kvirc on OPN Also written with the Qt toolkit, KVIrc is a beast. Supports DCC Voice, built-in scripting language, and plugins. You can get the latest version of KVIrc from [http://www.kvirc.net/ download.html] http://www.kvirc.net/download.html. Homepage at [http:// www.kvirc.net/] http://www.kvirc.net/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.4. X-Chat Maintainer: Peter Zelezny () IRC Channel: #linux on [http://www.chatjunkies.org/servers.html] ChatJunkies Using the GTK+ toolkit and additionaly GNOME, supports Perl and Python scripting. You can get the latest version of X-Chat from [http://xchat.org/ download.html] http://xchat.org/download.html. Homepage at [http://xchat.org /] http://xchat.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. IRC Servers 6.1. IRCD Maintainer: ircd developers() IRC Channel: #ircd on IRCnet The original IRC daemon, mainly used by IRCnet. You can get the latest version of IRCD from [ftp://ftp.irc.org/irc/server/] ftp://ftp.irc.org/irc/server/. Homepage at [http://www.irc.org/] http:// www.irc.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2. IRCD-Hybrid Maintainer: () IRC Channel: None? Mainly used by EFNet. You can get the latest version of IRCD-Hybrid from [ftp://ftp.blackened.com/ pub/irc/hybrid/] ftp://ftp.blackened.com/pub/irc/hybrid/. Homepage at [http:/ /www.ircd-hybrid.net/] http://www.ircd-hybrid.net/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.3. ircu Maintainer: Undernet Coder Committee () IRC Channel: #ircu on [http://www.undernet.org/servers.shtml] Undernet Mainly used by Undernet. You can get the latest version of ircu from [ftp://ftp.coder-com.undernet.org /ircu/] ftp://ftp.coder-com.undernet.org/ircu/. Homepage at [http:// coder-com.undernet.org/] http://coder-com.undernet.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4. Bahamut Maintainer: DALnet Coding Team () IRC Channel: #bahamut on [http://www.dal.net/servers/] DALnet Based on DreamForge and Hybrid, Bahamut is the DALnet server. You can get the latest version of Bahamut from [http://www.bahamut.net/?dir= 4] http://www.bahamut.net/?dir=4. Homepage at [http://www.bahamut.net/] http: //www.bahamut.net/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. IRC Bots 7.1. eggdrop Maintainer: () IRC Channel: #eggdrop on Undernet eggdrop is the most known Tcl enabled application on the Net. It's a channel robot for IRC that can be tailored to any situation. You can get the latest version of eggdrop from [ftp://ftp.eggheads.org/pub/ eggdrop/source/] ftp://ftp.eggheads.org/pub/eggdrop/source/. Homepage at [http://www.eggheads.org/] http://www.eggheads.org/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. IRC Bouncers (IRC Proxy) 8.1. bnc Maintainer: None? IRC Channel: None? bnc is the original bouncer. You can get the latest version of bnc from [http://www.linuxberg.com/files/ files/console/servers/bnc2.6.4.tar.gz] LinuxBerg. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.2. muh Maintainer: Sebastian Kienzl () IRC Channel: None? muh is a smart and versatile irc-bouncing tool that will also go on IRC as soon as it's launched, guarding or attempting to get your nick. You can get the latest version of muh from [http://mind.riot.org/muh/ download.rt] http://mind.riot.org/muh/download.rt. Homepage at [http:// mind.riot.org/muh/] http://mind.riot.org/muh/. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.3. ezbounce Maintainer: Murat Deligönül () IRC Channel: None? ezbounce's basic features include password protection, remote administration, logging and listening on multiple ports. You can get the latest version of ezbounce from his [http:// druglord.freelsd.org/ezbounce/] Homepage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Installation 9.1. Clients All popular clients use GNU autoconf and GNU automake, thus come with a configure script. Read the installation instructions after you unpack the sources. Be sure you have the required libraries in order to build. Doing cd sources;mkdir objdir;cd objdir; ../configure --help;../configure your_options_here;make;make install (or make install_strip) > ~/ sources_install.log is the right procedure. Also note that for ircII, EPIC, and BitchX you should really edit include/config.h to suit your needs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.2. Servers Do you really need help to set up a server? ~$ vim ircd.conf ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. But what's already included in my distribution? (Linux on x86) 10.1. Debian Debian includes too many IRC tools to list. You can find them at the following places:   * Debian [ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-i386/net/] stable.   * Debian [ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/unstable/main/binary-i386/net/] unstable (didn't receive so much testing).   * Also be sure to check the [ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/ proposed-updates/] proposed updates. It may have IRC clients as well.   * Debian non-free (applications with a restrictive license) contains [ftp:/ /ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/non-free/binary-i386/net/ circus_0.43-1.deb] cIRCus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.2. RedHat RedHat 7.0 includes the following clients:   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/i386/en/RedHat/RPMS/ ircii-4.4M-4.i386.rpm] ircII 4.4M.   * KSirc from [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/i386/en/RedHat/ RPMS/kdenetwork-1.1.2-17.i386.rpm] KDE Network 1.1.2.   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/i386/en/RedHat/RPMS/ xchat-1.4.2-6.i386.rpm] X-Chat 1.4.2.   * RedHat Powertools (what's worth but they don't want? to include or can't) 7.0 includes the following clients:   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/powertools/i386/RedHat/RPMS/ BitchX-1.0c16-4.i386.rpm] BitchX and [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/ redhat-7.0/powertools/i386/RedHat/RPMS/gtkBitchX-1.0c16-4.i386.rpm] gtkBitchX 1.0c16. Later updated to [ftp://updates.redhat.com/powertools/ 7.0/i386/BitchX-1.0c17-4.i386.rpm] BitchX and [ftp://updates.redhat.com/ powertools/7.0/i386/gtkBitchX-1.0c17-4.i386.rpm] gtkBitchX 1.0c17.   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/powertools/i386/RedHat/RPMS/ epic-4_2000-5.i386.rpm] EPIC4-2000.   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/powertools/i386/RedHat/RPMS/ kvirc-2.0.0-6.i386.rpm] KVIrc 2.0.0.   * [ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/redhat-7.0/powertools/i386/RedHat/RPMS/ tkirc-1.202-8.noarch.rpm] tkIRC 1.202. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.3. Slackware Slackware 7.1 includes the following clients:   * KSirc from [ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-7.1/slakware/ kde1/ksupport.tgz] KDE Network 1.1.2.   * [ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-7.1/slakware/gtk1/ xchat.tgz] X-Chat 1.2.1. Later updated to [ftp:ftp.slackware.com/pub/ slackware/slackware-current/slakware/gtk1/xchat.tgz] 1.5.7. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Hell and Paradise 11.1. Gods   * Thanks to all authors. Without their hard and volunteer work I'd never write it, and we'd never get our hands on Linux (and IRC). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.2. Saints   * Put your name here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.3. Angels   * Put your name here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.4. Devils   * Khaled Mardam-Bey must be stopped :)   * 'If idiots could fly, IRC would be an airport'. I don't know who wrote that, but it makes sense. For those of you using IRC to annoy and piss off I ordered a /kill for Christmas. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. Revision History   * 20010108 - v0.1, second draft