2 http://urk.sourceforge.net/
7 urk is an IRC client written purely in python for linux/gnome. It has a powerful
8 built-in scripting system (also python), which is used to implement much of the
12 Requirements/User installation:
14 urk requires the following packages (and should run on any os that can provide
16 -python version 2.4 or greater (www.python.org)
17 -pygtk 2.6 or greater (www.pygtk.org)
19 Most Linux (or at least GNOME) users should have these things already or be able
20 to easily install them.
22 Because urk is pure python, no compilation of urk is required. Just extract the
23 source to somewhere and run 'python urk.py'.
25 Windows versions of the above should theoretically work but may not in practice.
26 I am hoping someone will come along and actually support urk on windows.
29 Optional requirements:
31 urk can also make use of these packages if you have them:
32 -pygtksourceview, part of gnome-python-extras <=2.12 and gnome-python-desktop
33 >=2.14, for source highlighting and undo in the internal script editor
34 -python-dbus, for, well, not much (if dbus is available, urk only makes a single
35 instance per session, and commands can be executed remotely by calling urk.py)
40 Make sure you have all the requirements, go to the directory where you have
41 extracted the source, and type 'python urk.py'.
43 We don't have any preferences windows yet. You can change your nickname by
44 typing '/nick nickname' (replacing nickname with the nick you want to use)
45 or typing a new nick in the nick field on the lower right corner and pressing
48 To connect, type '/server irc.gamesurge.net' (replacing irc.gamesurge.net with
49 the server you want to connect to).
51 If you want to connect to another server (without disconnecting the current
52 one), use the -m switch as in '/server -m irc.gamesurge.net'.
54 To join a channel when you're connected to a server, type '/join #channelname',
55 replacing #channelname with the channel you want to join.
57 urk currently only supports the bare minimum commands and features you should
58 need to connect and chat normally. On channels, you can send messages by
59 typing them (if you want to send a message that starts with a /, use /say to
60 send your message). You can send actions to channels with /me and send messages
61 to arbitrary targets with /msg. If urk does not recognize a command, it will
62 send it to the server. This works to implement most commands you would expect
68 Most configuration has to be done manually. If urk is running, you can configure
69 it using commands. The settings are stored in urk.conf on your profile
70 directory, which you can locate by typing '/pyeval urk.userpath' in urk.
72 To set a value in urk, type
74 /pyexec conf.conf['setting'] = value
76 To see the current value, type
78 /pyeval conf.conf['setting']
80 To unset a value (meaning urk will use the default), type
82 /pyexec del conf.conf['setting']
86 'nick' The nickname urk should use. The default is to try to get
87 it from the os. Put this in quotes when you set it.
89 'altnicks' A list of alternative nicknames to use. The default is
92 'quitmsg' The message people see when you quit. The default is to
93 advertise urk with your current version; we have to promote it somehow.
94 This value needs to be in quotes.
96 'autoreconnect' If True, urk will try to reconnect when you're
97 disconnected from a network. Defaults to True. Set this to True or False.
99 'highlight_words' A list of words, in addition to your nick, that cause a
100 highlight event (normally the tab label turns blue and, if it's available,
101 the tray icon shows up). For example: ['python', 'whale', 'peanut butter']
103 'log_dir' The place where logs are written. The default is a
104 directory called "logs" on your profile directory.
106 'ui-gtk/tab-pos' The side of the window where the tabs will reside
110 3 for bottom (default)
112 'ui-gtk/show-menubar' If True, the menubar is shown. The default is True. Set
113 this to True or False.
115 'command_prefix' The prefix used to signal a command. Defaults to '/'
117 'font' The font used for output. Defaults to "sans 8".
119 'bg_color' The background color ("black" or "#000000").
121 'fg_color' The foreground color ("white" or "#ffffff").
123 'timestamp' A timestamp that will show up before messages. The
124 default is no timestamp. A simple timestamp with hours and minutes is
125 "[%H:%M] ". See http://docs.python.org/lib/module-time.html#l2h-1955 for
126 a key to format this string.
128 'start-console' If True, urk will start up with a special console window
129 that shows debugging output (normally sent to a terminal) and accepts
130 python expressions. Defaults to False.
132 'status' If True, urk will be in status window mode. Each network
133 will ALWAYS have a status window. When not in status window mode, networks
134 only have a status window when there are no channel windows. Defaults to
137 'open-file-command' The command used to open files and url's with your
138 preferred application (such as "gnome-open"). This is ignored on Windows,
139 and you should never need to mess with this, ever.
142 System-wide installation:
149 urk scripts are python source files that contain definitions of functions with
150 certain "magic" names, like onText (for when someone sends a channel or private
151 message). See www.python.org for help on writing python code. The format for
157 e is an object used to pass on the various information relating to the event
158 that triggered the function. The name is a convention we use, much like self.
160 e.source is the nickname of the person who sent the message.
162 e.target is the nickname or channel that received the message.
164 e.text is the text of the message.
166 e.network is an object representing the network where the message was sent.
168 e.window is a window that seems to be related to the event for some unspecified
169 reason. It could be the status window, a channel window, a query, anything.
171 Complete documentation doesn't exist yet. Sorry. Ask us or look at the source. theme.py is good for finding event names.
176 Naturally, feedback of any sort is welcome. Of course we want to know about
177 bugs. In particular, we'd also like to hear about any features you want or
178 expect in an irc client that urk doesn't have. While we'd like to limit the
179 things that go in the default client (a notify list, for example, is something
180 we'd want to see as an external script, not as part of the default setup, and
181 something we're not likely to implement soon), there are probably a lot of
182 little things that we may have skipped over because we don't use them or have
183 become used to urk not having them.
185 The best way to get in touch with us is by irc, at #urk on irc.gamesurge.net.
186 Or send a message to the mailing list, urk-discussion@lists.sourceforge.net.