bitlbee8
Irc gateway to im chat networks
Usage
bitlbee [-I]
[-c
configuration
file]
[-d
configuration
directory]
bitlbee -D
[-i
address]
[-p
port
number]
[-n]
[-v]
[-c
configuration
file]
[-d
configuration
directory]
bitlbee -h
Overview
BitlBee is an IRC daemon that can talk to instant messaging networks and acts as a gateway. Users can connect to the server with any normal IRC client and see their 'buddy list' in &bitlbee.
bitlbee is normally started as a system service (with init scripts, systemd units or equivalent). It can also be run as an inetd(8) / xinetd(8) service or a stand-alone daemon with the options below.
To use it, connect to it with an IRC client with a command such as "/connect localhost"
Run modes
- -I
-
Run in inetd(8) mode. This is the default setting for historical reasons, but not the recommended one (See ForkDaemon below).
- -D
-
Run in
Daemonmode. In this mode, BitlBee forks to the background and waits for new connections. All clients will be served from one process. This mode is also useful for debugging.
- -F
-
Run in
ForkDaemonmode. This is similar to ordinary daemon mode, but every client gets its own process. Easier to set up than inetd mode, and without the possible stability issues. This is the recommended runmode for most use cases.
Options
-
-i address -
When running in daemon mode, specifies the network interface (identified by IP address) to which the daemon should attach. Use this if you don't want BitlBee to listen on every interface (which is the default behaviour).
- -p port number
-
When running in daemon mode, specifies the port number on which BitlBee should listen for connections. 6667 is the default value.
-
-n -
Wehn running in daemon mode, this option prevents BitlBee from forking into the background.
-
-v -
Be more verbose. This only works together with the
-nflag.
- -c path to other configuration file
-
Use a different configuration file.
- -d path to user settings directory
-
BitlBee normally saves every user's settings in
/var/lib/bitlbee/. If you want the settings to be stored somewhere else (for example, if you don't have write permissions in the default location), use this option.
-
-h -
Show help information.
Commands
To get a complete list of commands, please use the help commands command in the &bitlbee channel after connecting to bitlbee.
Releases
11 releases since Debian 3.1 (Sarge); the text changed 7 times.
-D until Debian 10 (Buster);
-F until Debian 10 (Buster);
-I until Debian 10 (Buster).