Using irc.libera on WeeChat

2021-09-16 | aprates.dev

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system. It enables discussions among any number of participants in so-called conversation channels, as well as discussions between only two partners. - Wikipedia

Flashback

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I remember using IRC in my teenage years… Mixed memories of mirc, icq, msn and long lasting chats, while writing some html on win95 using ms notepad :P

Fast-forward to 2021

As fresh services like `libera` [2] stepped in, and new channels about 'libre' open-source projects started blooming here and there, I felt like getting around and joining the new wave. Fear of missing out? Nah, more like developer tribe thing. I decided to do that while also trying to live a bit more on the command line…

…but not so fast!

Opting for terminal based `WeeChat` [3] as IRC client, I found out it needs quite some arcane configuration steps, which after a few back and forth, and some mistakes, I decided to `rm -r ~/.config/weechat` and start over. While doing it carefully for the second time. I've took note of the right steps this time and wrote them in this tutorial, hoping that it might be useful to someone (even if it's the future me when I forget how to do it again).

So, How To Do It?

For Linux `WeeChat` should be available via your favorite package manager on pretty much all main distros. For macOS you can install it via `Homebrew` [4] and… Windows? Maybe over `WSL` - not sure, haven't tried.

`Warning, geeks joke:` As a lazy Manjaro Linux user I installed `WeeChat` via Pamac GUI… Err, sorry about that. Maybe next time I will do it "By The Way", and use `pacman -S` on the command line, but won't lie, wasn't this time. Can't say "Arch By The Way" and not think about The Mandalorian saying "That Is The Way" haha! Sorry, again. xD

Step-By-Step Setup

Do this in the order, as I describe, that is the trick: the right order.

First of all, from the command line, start the app:

weechat

Add `libera` server (with SSL):

/server add libera irc.libera.chat/6697 -ssl

Set your username (better before you connect):

/set irc.server.libera.nicks <username>
/set irc.server.libera.username <username>

`Note:` the nick is not necessarily same as username, and you could have many nicks. For simplification, I suggest to use just one nick, and make it equal to your username. This will make your life easier. I won't dive into explaining about multiple nicks, there are plenty of explanations elsewhere, and in my humble opinion, this is mostly a source of confusion to this process, regarding registering your user.

Connect and enable auto-connect:

/connect libera
/set irc.server.libera.autoconnect on

/msg NickServ REGISTER <password> <email>

For the password, enter a new password for your user. Then you will get an e-mail with a command you need to enter to confirm your registration. It will look like this:

/msg NickServ VERIFY REGISTER <username> <token>

Finally, configure SASL (same password you used on registration):

/set irc.server.libera.sasl_mechanism PLAIN
/set irc.server.libera.sasl_username <username>
/set irc.server.libera.sasl_password <password>

Ensure all your configs are saved with:

/save

et voilà!

Usage Tips

If it's the case you haven't used IRC before, or like me, forgot most of it. Don't feel lost, here goes a quick recap…

Join a channel:

/join #channel

Send a private message to someone (only you both will see this message):

/msg user message

Start a private chat with someone (like a separate channel):

/query user message

Start a private chat with two or more users (use comas, but no spaces):

/query user1,user2,user3 message

Ask a users if they want to join you on a channel:

/invite user #channel

Close a thread:

/close

Extra Tips

Scroll the chats with your mouse wheel:

/set weechat.look.mouse on

Auto-join your favorite channels when `WeeChat` starts:

/set irc.server.libera.autojoin "#channel1,#channel2"

Filter IRC join/quit messages (unless you find them useful):

/set irc.look.smart_filter on
/filter add irc_smart * irc_smart_filter *

That's it, a bit of a faff, but at last, all set!

Now you can enjoy chatting directly from a terminal :D

References