2.3 Configuration

These are some variables you can change to configure rcirc to your liking.

rcirc-server-alist

This variable contains an alist of servers to connect to by default and the keywords parameters to use. The keyword parameters are optional. If you don’t provide any, the defaults as documented below will be used.

The most important parameter is the :channels parameter. It controls which channels you will join by default as soon as you are connected to the server.

Here’s an example of how to set it:

(add-to-list 'rcirc-server-alist
             '("otherworlders.org"
               :channels ("#FUDGE" "#game-design")))

By default you will be connected to the rcirc support channel: #rcirc on irc.freenode.net.

:nick

This overrides rcirc-default-nick.

:port

This overrides rcirc-default-port.

:user-name

This overrides rcirc-default-user-name.

:full-name

This overrides rcirc-default-full-name.

:channels

This describes which channels to join when connecting to the server. If absent, no channels will be connected to automatically.

rcirc-default-nick

This variable is used for the default nick. It defaults to the login name returned by user-login-name.

(setq rcirc-default-nick "kensanata")

rcirc-default-port

This variable contains the default port to connect to. It is 6667 by default and rarely needs changing.

rcirc-default-user-name

This variable contains the default user name to report to the server. It defaults to the login name returned by user-login-name, just like rcirc-default-nick.

rcirc-default-full-name

This variable is used to set your “real name” on IRC. It defaults to the name returned by user-full-name. If you want to hide your full name, you might want to set it to some pseudonym.

(setq rcirc-default-full-name "Curious Minds Want To Know")

rcirc-authinfo

This variable is an alist used to automatically identify yourself on networks. Each sublist starts with a regular expression that is compared to the server address you’re connecting to. The second element in the list is a symbol representing the method to use, followed by the arguments this method requires.

Here is an example to illustrate how you would set it:

(setq rcirc-authinfo
      '(("freenode" nickserv "bob" "p455w0rd")
        ("freenode" chanserv "bob" "#bobland" "passwd99")
        ("bitlbee" bitlbee "robert" "sekrit")))

And here are the valid method symbols and the arguments they require:

nickserv

Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself as follows when connecting to a network: /msg nickserv identify secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Before you can use this method, you will have to register your nick and pick a password for it. Contact nickserv and check out the details. (Using /msg nickserv help, for example.)

chanserv

Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself as follows if you want to join a particular channel: /msg chanserv identify #underground secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname and channel you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Before you can use this method, a channel contact must tell you about the password to use. Contact chanserv and check out the details. (Using /msg chanserv help, for example.)

bitlbee

Use this symbol if you need to identify yourself in the Bitlbee channel as follows: identify secret. The necessary arguments are the nickname you want to use this for, and the password to use.

Bitlbee acts like an IRC server, but in fact it is a gateway to a lot of other instant messaging services. You can either install Bitlbee locally or use a public Bitlbee server. There, you need to create an account with a password. This is the nick and password you need to provide for the bitlbee authentication method.

Later, you will tell Bitlbee about your accounts and passwords on all the other instant messaging services, and Bitlbee will log you in. All rcirc needs to know, is the login to your Bitlbee account. Don’t confuse the Bitlbee account with all the other accounts.