6 .Nd IRC it or IRC improved
15 .Op Fl s Ar servername
18 is a minimalistic FIFO and file system based IRC client.
19 Upon connection, it creates an IRC directory
21 which contains the server directory that can be overridden by
23 Beyond the path, inside the server directory, there are channel and nickname
24 directories together with a FIFO file named "ii" and a regular one called
26 These two latter files do also occur inside each channel and nickname
27 directory, which themselves are created upon joining a channel or opening of a
30 The FIFO files "in" are used to communicate with the server, while the regular
31 "out" files carry the server messages.
32 If the data sent to an "in" file is not an IRC command, in other words not
33 starting with a slash "/", it will be interpreted as a regular message (PRIVMSG)
34 which later pops up in the "out" file in the same directory level.
36 The idea of this file system structure, is to be able to communicate with an
37 IRC server using basic command line tools.
38 For example, if the desired action is to join a channel, the command
39 .Cm echo "/j #channel" > in
40 will do the trick no matter which "in" FIFO file it is addressed to, as long as
41 the file is in use by the current instance of
43 For more information about available commands, see further down in this
46 The arguments are as follows, with the default value enclosed within brackets:
51 part within the directory structure that
55 The real name that is to be associated with the
58 The directory in which
60 will create its server directory.
63 A password used to authenticate the
65 with the server. Be aware of the problem that it will be visible in the process
67 If this is not a desired side-effect, then simply use a query to submit the
70 The used nickname during the IRC session.
71 This is of course also possible to change in a later stage by querying the
79 will connect to on the specific
82 .It Fl s Ar servername
91 understands are as follows:
94 Used in order to mark oneself as away.
95 The server will send the
97 automatically in reply to a PRIVMSG directed at the user (you).
100 is omitted, the away status is removed.
101 .It Cm /j #channel/nickname [message]/message
102 Join a channel or open a private conversation with another user having the nick
104 If the purpose is to join a channel, then the
106 is meaning the key that is needed in order to join the password protected
108 When opening a private conversation, then the
110 (compulsory) is sent to the
114 Causes the user to leave the current channel with an optional
116 This must be sent to the "in" FIFO file located within the channel directory.
120 .It Cm /t [#channel] [topic]
121 Change the topic of the specified channel, or the current one if omitted, to
125 is skipped, the server will report what the current topic is to the "out" file
126 which is in the server directory.
131 The FIFO files "in" are used to communicate with the server.
133 Inside this directory is the server directory and within the last one, there
134 are channel and nickname directories together with a FIFO file named "ii" and a
135 regular one called "out".
136 These two latter files do also occur inside each channel and nickname
137 directory, which themselves are created upon joining a channel or opening of a
138 private conversation.
140 It is possible to override
146 These files carry the server messages.
152 .An Copyright \(co 2005-2006 by Anselm R. Garbe <garbeam (at) gmail (dot) com>
153 .An Copyright \(co 2005-2008 by Nico Golde <nico (at) ngolde (dot) de>
156 cannot tell whether a specific user exists when the
158 command is used to open a private conversation.
159 This means that it always succeeds if the syntax is correct, even if nobody
162 However, the server will, in these cases, report when a specific user is not
163 available, so a check in the "out" file, in the server directory, works as a
164 solution to this problem.