2 ngIRCd - Next Generation IRC Server
3 http://ngircd.barton.de/
5 (c)2001-2013 Alexander Barton and Contributors.
6 ngIRCd is free software and published under the
7 terms of the GNU General Public License.
12 This file lists all commands available on ngIRCd. It is written in a format
13 that is human readable as well as machine parseable and therefore can be used
14 as "help text file" of the daemon.
16 In short, the daemon reads this file on startup and parses it as following
17 when an user issues a "HELP <cmd>" command:
19 1. Search the file for a line "- <cmd>",
20 2. Output all subsequent lines that start with a TAB (ASCII 9) character
21 to the client using NOTICE commands, treat lines containing a single "."
22 after the TAB as empty lines.
23 3. Break at the first line not starting with a TAB character.
25 This format allows to have information to each command stored in this file
26 which will not be sent to an IRC user requesting help which enables us to
27 have additional annotations stored here which further describe the origin,
28 implementation details, or limits of the specific command which are not
29 relevant to an end-user but administrators and developers.
31 A special "Intro" block is returned to the user when the HELP command is
32 used without a command name:
36 This is ngIRCd, a server software for Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
37 networks. You can find more information about ngIRCd on its homepage:
38 <http://ngircd.barton.de>
40 Use "HELP COMMANDS" to get a list of all available commands and
41 "HELP <command-name>" to get help for a specific IRC command, for
42 example "HELP quit" or "HELP privmsg".
45 Connection Handling Commands
46 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
51 CAP REQ <capabilities>
52 CAP ACK <capabilities>
53 CAP NAK <capabilities>
57 List, request, and clear "IRC Capabilities".
59 Using this command, an IRC client can request additional "IRC
60 capabilities" during login or later on, which influences the
61 communication between server and client. Normally, these commands
62 aren't directly used by humans, but automatically by their client
63 software. And please note that issuing such commands manually can
64 irritate the client software used, because of the "non-standard"
65 behavior of the server!
67 - CAP LS: list all available capabilities.
68 - CAP LIST: list active capabilities of this connection.
69 - CAP REQ: Request particular capabilities.
70 - CAP ACK: Acknowledge a set of capabilities to be enabled/disabled.
71 - CAP NAK: Reject a set of capabilities.
72 - CAP CLEAR: Clear all set capabilities.
73 - CAP END: Indicate end of capability negotiation during login,
74 ignored in an fully registered session.
76 Please note that the <capabilities> must be given in a single
77 parameter but whitespace separated, therefore a command could look
78 like this: "CAP REQ :capability1 capability2 capability3" for example.
81 - <http://ircv3.atheme.org/specification/capability-negotiation-3.1>
82 - <http://ngircd.barton.de/doc/Capabilities.txt>
83 - doc/Capabilities.txt
86 CHARCONV <client-charset>
88 Set client character set encoding to <client-charset>.
90 After receiving such a command, the server translates all message
91 data received from the client using the set <client-charset> to the
92 server encoding (UTF-8), and all message data which is to be sent to
93 the client from the server encoding (UTF-8) to <client-charset>.
95 This enables older clients and clients using "strange" character sets
96 to transparently participate in channels and direct messages to
97 clients using UTF-8, which should be the default today.
100 - <http://ngircd.barton.de/doc/Protocol.txt>
105 NICK <nickname> [<hops>]
106 NICK <nickname> <hops> <username> <host> <servertoken> <usermodes> <realname>
108 Set or change the <nickname> of a client (first form) and register
109 remote clients (second and third form; servers only).
112 - RFC 1459, 4.1.2 "Nick message" (old client and server protocol)
113 - RFC 2812, 3.1.2 "Nick message" (client protocol)
114 - RFC 2813, 4.1.3 "Nick" (server protocol)
118 PASS <password> <version> <flags> [<options>]
120 Set a connection <password>. This command must be the first command
121 sent to the server, even before the NICK/USER or SERVER commands.
123 The first form is used by user sessions or (old) RFC 1459 servers,
124 the second form is used by RFC 2812 or IRC+ compliant servers and
125 enables the server to indicate its version and supported protocol
129 - RFC 1459, 4.1.1 "Password message" (old client and server protocol)
130 - RFC 2812, 3.1.1 "Password message" (client protocol)
131 - RFC 2813, 4.1.1 "Password message" (server protocol)
135 PING <token> [<target>]
137 Tests the presence of a connection to a client or server.
139 If no <target> has been given, the local server is used. User clients
140 can only use other servers as <target>, no user clients.
142 A PING message results in a PONG reply containing the <token>, which
143 can be arbitrary text.
146 The RFCs state that the <token> parameter is used to specify the
147 origin of the PING command when forwared in the network, but this
148 is not the case: the sender is specified using the prefix as usual,
149 and the parameter is used to identify the PONG reply in practice.
152 - RFC 2812, 3.7.2 "Ping message"
155 PONG <target> [<token>]
157 Reply to a "PING" command, indicate that the connection is alive.
159 The <token> is the arbitrary text received in the "PING" command and
160 can be used to identify the correct PONG sent as answer.
162 When the "PONG" command is received from a user session, the <target>
163 parameter is ignored; otherwise the PONG is forwarded to this client.
166 - RFC 2812, 3.7.3 "Pong message"
169 QUIT [<quit-message>]
171 Terminate a user session.
173 When received from a user, the server acknowledges this by sending
174 an "ERROR" message back to the client and terminates the connection.
176 When a <quit-message> has been given, it is sent to all the channels
177 that the client is a member of when leaving.
180 - RFC 2812, 3.1.7 "Quit"
181 - RFC 2813, 4.1.5 "Quit"
184 USER <username> <hostname> <unused> <realname>
186 Register (and authenticate) a new user session with a short <username>
187 and a human-readable <realname>.
189 The parameter <hostname> is only used when received by an other server
190 and ignored otherwise; and the parameter <unused> is always ignored.
191 But both parameters are required on each invocation by the protocol
192 and can be set to arbitrary characters/text when not used.
194 If <username> contains an "@" character, the full <username> is used
195 for authentication, but only the first part up to this character is
196 set as "user name" for this session.
199 - RFC 2812, 3.1.3 "User message"
202 WEBIRC <password> <username> <hostname> <ip-address>
204 Allow Web-to-IRC gateway software (for example) to set the correct
205 user name and host name of users instead of their own.
207 It must be the very first command sent to the server, even before
208 USER and NICK commands!
210 The <password> must be set in the server configuration file to prevent
211 unauthorized clients to fake their identity; it is an arbitrary string.
214 - doc/Protocol.txt, II.4: "Update webchat/proxy client information"
223 Provides the server with a message to automatically send in reply to a
224 PRIVMSG directed at the user, but not to a channel they are on.
226 If <message> is omitted, the away status is removed.
231 Show help information for a specific IRC <command>. The <command> name
234 Use the command "HELP Commands" to get a list of all available commands.
236 The HELP command isn't specified by any RFC but implemented by most
237 daemons. If no help text could be read in, ngIRCd outputs a list of all
238 implemented commands when receiving a plain "HELP" command as well as
241 ngIRCd replies using "NOTICE" commands like ircd 2.10/2.11; other
242 implementations are using numerics 704, 705, and 706.
246 MODE <nickname> <flags> (user)
247 MODE <channel> <flags> [<args>]
249 The MODE command is dual-purpose. It can be used to set both (user) and
252 See doc/Modes.txt for more information.
255 NOTICE <target>[,<target>[,...]] <message>
257 Send a <message> to a given <target>, which can be a user or a
258 channel, but DON'T report any error.
260 The "NOTICE" command exactly behaves like the "PRIVMSG" command, but
261 doesn't report any errors it encounters (like an unknown <target>).
262 Please see the help text of the "PRIVMSG" command for a detailed
263 description of the parameters!
266 - RFC 2812, 2.3.1 "Message format in Augmented BNF"
267 - RFC 2812, 3.3 "Sending messages"
268 - RFC 2812, 3.3.2 "Notice"
271 PRIVMSG <target>[,<target>[,...]] <message>
273 Send a <message> to a given <target>, which can be a user or a
274 channel, and report all errors.
276 The <target> must follow one of these syntax variants:
280 - <user>[%<host>]@<server>
282 - <nickname>!<user>@<host>
284 If the <target> is a user, a private message is sent directly to this
285 user; if it resolves to a channel name, a public message is sent
286 to all the members of that channel.
288 In addition, IRC Ops can use these two forms to specify the <target>:
293 The <mask> can contain the wildcard characters "*" and "?", but must
294 contain at least one dot (".") and no wildcard after the last one.
295 Then, the <message> is sent to all users matching this <mask>.
297 All warnings and errors are reported back to the initiator using
298 numeric status codes, which is the only difference to the "NOTICE"
299 command, which doesn't report back any errors or warnings at all.
301 Please note that clients often use "MSG" as an alias to PRIVMSG, and
302 a command "QUERY <nick> [<message>]" to initiate private chats. Both
303 are command extensions of the client and never sent to the server.
306 - RFC 2812, 2.3.1 "Message format in Augmented BNF"
307 - RFC 2812, 3.3 "Sending messages"
308 - RFC 2812, 3.3.1 "Private messages"
310 Status and Informational Commands
311 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
316 Show administrative information about an IRC server in the network.
318 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
319 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
320 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
323 - RFC 2812, 3.4.9 "Admin command"
328 Show the version, birth & online time of an IRC server in the network.
330 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
331 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
332 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
335 - RFC 2812, 3.4.10 "Info command"
338 ISON <nickname> [<nickname> [...]]
340 Query online status of a list of nicknames. The server replies with
341 a list only containing nicknames actually connected to a server in
342 the network. If no nicknames of the given list are online, an empty
343 list is returned to the client requesting the information.
345 Please note that "all" IRC daemons even parse separate nicknames in
346 a single parameter (like ":nick1 nick2"), and therefore ngIRCd
347 implements this behaviour, too.
350 - RFC 2812, 4.9 "Ison message"
353 LINKS [[<target>] [<mask>]
355 List all servers currently registered in the network matching <mask>,
356 or all servers if <mask> has been omitted, as seen by the server
357 specified by <target> or the local server when <target> is omitted.
359 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
360 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
363 - RFC 2812, 3.4.5 "Links message"
366 LUSERS [<mask> [<target>]]
368 Return statistics about the number of clients (users, servers,
369 services, ...) in the network as seen by the server <target>.
371 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
372 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
373 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
375 Please note that ngIRCd ignores the <mask> parameter entirely: it
376 is not possible to get information for a part of the network only.
379 - RFC 2812, 3.4.2 "Lusers message"
384 Show the "Message of the Day" (MOTD) of an IRC server in the network.
386 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
387 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
388 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
391 - RFC 2812, 3.4.1 "Motd message"
394 NAMES [<channel>[,<channel>[,...]] [<target>]]
396 Show the list of users that are members of a particular <channel>
397 (and that are visible for the client requesting this information) as
398 seen by the server <target>. More than one <channel> can be given
399 separated by "," (but not whitespaces!).
401 If <channel> has been omitted, all visible users are shown, grouped
402 by channel name, and all visible users not being members of at least
403 one channel are shown as members of the pseudo channel "*".
405 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
406 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
407 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
410 - RFC 2812, 3.2.5 "Names message"
413 STATS [<query> [<target>]]
415 Show statistics and other information of type <query> of a particular
416 IRC server in the network.
418 The following <query> types are supported (case-insensitive):
420 - g Network-wide bans ("G-Lines").
421 - k Server-local bans ("K-Lines").
422 - l Link status (parent server and own link only).
423 - m Command usage count.
426 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
427 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
428 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
431 - RFC 2812, 3.4.4 "Stats message"
436 Show the local time of an IRC server in the network.
438 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
439 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
440 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
443 - RFC 2812, 3.4.6 "Time message"
448 Trace a path across the IRC network of the current server, or if given
449 of a specific <server>, in a similar method to traceroute.
452 USERHOST <nickname> [<nickname> [...]]
454 Show flags and the hostmasks (<user>@<host>) of the <nickname>s,
455 separated by spaces. The following flags are used:
457 - "-" The client is "away" (the mode "+a" is set on this client).
458 - "+" Client seems to be available, at least it isn't marked "away".
459 - "*" The client is an IRC operator (the mode "+o" is set).
462 - RFC 2812, 4.8 "Userhost message"
467 Show version information about a particular IRC server in the network.
469 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to
470 a specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network.
471 The server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
473 Please note: in normal operation, the version number ends in a dot
474 (".", for example "ngIRCd-20.1."). If it ends in ".1" (for example
475 "ngIRCd-20.1.1", same version than before!), the server is running in
476 debug-mode; and if it ends in ".2", the "network sniffer" is active!
477 Keep your privacy in mind ...
480 - RFC 2812, 3.4.3 "Version message"
485 Show a list of users who match the <mask>, or all visible users when
486 the <mask> has been omitted. (Special case: the <mask> "0" is
489 If the flag "o" is given, the server will only return information about
493 - RFC 2812, 3.6.1 "Who query"
496 WHOIS [<target>] <mask>[,<mask>[,...]]
498 Query information about users matching the <mask> parameter(s) as seen
499 by the server <target>; up to 3 <masks> are supported.
501 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to a
502 specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network. The
503 server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
506 - RFC 2812, 3.6.2 "Whois query"
509 WHOWAS <nickname>[,<nickname>[,...]] [<count> [<target>]]
511 Query information about nicknames no longer in use in the network,
512 either because of nickname changes or disconnects. The history is
513 searched backwards, returning the most recent entry first. If there
514 are multiple entries, up to <count> entries will be shown (or all of
515 them, if no <count> has been given).
517 <target> can be a server name, the nickname of a client connected to a
518 specific server, or a mask matching a server name in the network. The
519 server of the current connection is used when <target> is omitted.
522 - RFC 2812, 3.6.3 "Whowas"
529 INVITE <nickname> <channel>
531 Invite <nickname> to join channel <channel>.
533 <channel> does not have to exist, but if it does, only members of the
534 channel are allowed to invite other users. If the channel mode "+i"
535 is set, only channel "half-ops" (and above) may invite other clients,
536 and if channel mode "+V" is set, nobody can invite other users.
539 - RFC 2812, 3.2.7 "Invite message"
542 JOIN <channels> [<channel-keys>]
544 Makes the client join the <channels> (comma-separated list), specifying
545 the passwords, if needed, in the comma-separated <channel-keys> list.
546 A <channel-key> is only needed, if the <channel> mode "+k" is set.
548 If the channel(s) do not exist, then they will be created.
551 KICK <channel>[,<channel>[,...]] <nickname>[,<nickname>[,...]] [<reason>]
553 Remove users(s) with <nickname>(s) from <channel>(s).
555 There must be either exactly one <channel> parameter and multiple
556 <nickname> parameters, or as many <channel> parameters as there are
557 <nickname> parameters. The <reason> is shown to the users being
558 kicked, and the nickname of the current user is used when <reason>
562 - RFC 2812, 3.2.8 "Kick command"
565 LIST [<channels> [<server>]]
567 List all visible <channels> (comma-seperated list) on the current
569 If <server> is given, the command will be forwarded to <server> for
573 PART <channels> [<part-message>]
575 Leave <channels> (comma-separated list), optional with a
579 TOPIC <channel> <topic>
581 Set a <topic> for <channel>.
583 Only <channel> operators are able to set a <topic>.
586 Administrative Commands
587 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
590 CONNECT <target server> [<port> [<remote server> [<mypwd> <peerpwd>]]]
592 Instructs the current server, or <remote server> if specified,
593 to connect to <target server>.
595 To connect <remote server> you need to have remote oper status.
596 If <port> is omitted, it uses the server port of the configuration.
597 If <mypwd> and <peerpwd> is given, it uses those passwords instead
598 of the ones in the configuration.
603 Instructs the server to shut down.
606 DISCONNECT [<remote server>]
608 Disconnects the current server, or <remote server> if specified.
609 To disconnect a <remote server> you need to have remote oper status.
612 GLINE <nick!user@hostmask> <seconds> :<reason>
614 This command provides timed G-Lines (Network-wide bans).
615 If a client matches a G-Line, it cannot connect to any server on
616 the IRC network. If you put 0 as <seconds>, it makes the G-Line
619 To remove a G-Line, type "GLINE <nick!user@hostmask>".
620 To list the G-Lines, type "STATS g".
623 KILL <nickname> <reason>
625 Forcibly remove all users with a given <nickname> from the IRC
626 network and display the given <reason> to them.
628 This command is used internally between servers, too, for example
629 to disconnect duplicate <nickname>'s after a "net split".
632 - RFC 2812, 3.7.1 "Kill message"
635 KLINE <nick!user@hostmask> <seconds> :<reason>
637 This command provides timed K-Lines (Server-local bans).
638 If a client matches a K-Line, it cannot connect to the issued server.
639 If you put 0 as <seconds>, it makes the K-Line permanent.
641 To remove a K-Line, type "KLINE <nick!user@hostmask>".
642 To list the K-Lines, type "STATS k".
645 OPER <user> <password>
647 Authenticates <user> as an IRC operator on the current server/network.
652 Causes the server to re-read and re-process its configuration file(s).
662 Sends <message> to all users with user mode "+w".
669 SERVICE <name> <reserved1> <distribution> <type> <reserved2> <info>
670 SERVICE <name> <servertoken> <distribution> {<type>|+<modes>} <hops> <info>
672 Register a new service in the network.
674 The first form is used by directly linked services and isn't supported
675 by ngIRCd at the moment. The second form announces services connected
676 to remote "pseudo-servers" ("services hubs").
678 The <distribution> and <type> parameters are ignored by ngIRCd.
681 - RFC 2812, 3.1.6 "Service message"
682 - RFC 2813, 4.1.4 "Service message"
685 SERVLIST [<mask> [<type>]]
687 List all IRC services currently registered in the network.
689 The optional <mask> and <type> parameters can be used to limit the
690 listing to services matching the <mask> and that are of type <type>.
692 Please note that ngIRCd doesn't use any service types at the moment
693 and therefore all services are of type "0".
696 - RFC 2812, 3.5.1 "Servlist message"
699 SQUERY <target>[,<target>[,...]] <message>
701 Send a <message> to a given <target> IRC service, and report all
704 The "SQUERY" command exactly behaves like the "PRIVMSG" command, but
705 enforces that the <target> of the <message> is an IRC service.
706 Please see the help text of the "PRIVMSG" command for a detailed
707 description of the parameters!
709 If a user wants to interact with IRC services, he should use "SQUERY"
710 instead of "PRIVMSG" or "NOTICE": only "SQUERY makes sure that no
711 regular user, which uses the nickname of an IRC service, receives
712 the command in error, for example during a "net split"!
715 - RFC 2812, 2.3.1 "Message format in Augmented BNF"
716 - RFC 2812, 3.3 "Sending messages"
717 - RFC 2812, 3.3.2 "Notice"
720 SVSNICK <oldnick> <newnick>
722 Forcefully change foreign user nicknames. This command is allowed
725 The "SVSNICK" command is forwarded to the server to which the user
726 with nickname <oldnick> is connected to, which in turn generates a
727 regular "NICK" command that then is sent to the client, so no special
728 support in the client software is required.
731 - ngIRCd GIT commit e3f300d3231f
734 Server Protocol Commands
735 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
738 CHANINFO <channel> +<modes> [[<key> <limit>] <topic>]
740 CHANINFO is used by servers to inform each other about a channel:
741 its modes, channel key, user limits and its topic.
743 See doc/Protocol.txt for more information.
746 ERROR [<message> [<> [...]]]
748 Inform a client or a server about an error condition. The first
749 parameter, if given, is logged by the server receiving the message,
750 all other parameters are silently ignored.
752 This command is silently ignored on non-server and non-service links
753 and shouldn't be used by regular IRC clients.
755 The ERROR message is also sent before terminating a regular client
759 - RFC 2812, 3.7.4 "Error message"
762 METADATA <target> <key> <value>
764 The METADATA command is used on server-links to update "metadata"
765 information of clients, like the hostname, the info text ("real name"),
768 See doc/Protocol.txt for more information.
777 Disconnects an IRC Server from the network.
784 SUMMON <user> [<target> [<channel>]]
786 This command was intended to call people into IRC who are directly
787 connected to the terminal console of the IRC server -- but is
788 deprecated today. Therefore ngIRCd doesn't really implement this
789 command and always returns an error message, regardless of the
793 - RFC 2812, 4.5 "Summon message"
798 This command was intended to list users directly logged in into the
799 console of the IRC server -- but is deprecated today. Therefore ngIRCd
800 doesn't really implement this command and always returns an error
801 message, regardless of the parameters given.
804 - RFC 2812, 4.6 "Users"