1bitlbee(8)                  System Manager's Manual                 bitlbee(8)
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NAME

6       BitlBee - IRC gateway to IM chat networks
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SYNOPSIS

9       bitlbee [-I] [-c configuration file] [-d configuration directory]
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11       bitlbee  -D  [-i  address] [-p port number] [-n] [-v] [-c configuration
12       file] [-d configuration directory]
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14       bitlbee -h
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DESCRIPTION

17       BitlBee is an IRC daemon that can talk to  instant  messaging  networks
18       and  acts as a gateway. Users can connect to the server with any normal
19       IRC client and see their 'buddy list' in &bitlbee.
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21       bitlbee is normally started as a system  service  (with  init  scripts,
22       systemd  units  or  equivalent).  It  can  also be run as an inetd(8) /
23       xinetd(8) service or a stand-alone daemon with the options below.
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25       To use it, connect to it with an IRC client  with  a  command  such  as
26       "/connect localhost"
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RUN MODES

30       -I     Run in inetd(8) mode. This is the default setting for historical
31              reasons, but not the recommended one (See ForkDaemon below).
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33       -D     Run in Daemon mode. In this mode, BitlBee  forks  to  the  back‐
34              ground and waits for new connections. All clients will be served
35              from one process.  This mode is also useful for debugging.
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37       -F     Run in ForkDaemon mode. This is similar to ordinary daemon mode,
38              but  every  client  gets  its own process. Easier to set up than
39              inetd mode, and without the possible stability issues.  This  is
40              the recommended runmode for most use cases.
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OPTIONS

44       -i address
45              When  running  in  daemon  mode, specifies the network interface
46              (identified by IP address) to which the  daemon  should  attach.
47              Use  this if you don't want BitlBee to listen on every interface
48              (which is the default behaviour).
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50       -p port number
51              When running in daemon mode, specifies the port number on  which
52              BitlBee  should  listen  for  connections.  6667  is the default
53              value.
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55       -n     Wehn running in daemon mode, this option prevents  BitlBee  from
56              forking into the background.
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58       -v     Be more verbose. This only works together with the -n flag.
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60       -c path to other configuration file
61              Use a different configuration file.
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63       -d path to user settings directory
64              BitlBee  normally  saves every user's settings in /var/lib/bitl‐
65              bee/. If you want the settings to be stored somewhere else  (for
66              example,  if  you  don't  have  write permissions in the default
67              location), use this option.
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69       -h     Show help information.
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COMMANDS

72       To get a complete list of commands, please use the help  commands  com‐
73       mand in the &bitlbee channel after connecting to bitlbee.
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SEE ALSO

76       inetd(8), inetd.conf(5)
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78       http://www.bitlbee.org/
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80       For  more  information on using BitlBee, once connected, you should use
81       the help command in the &bitlbee channel.
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BUGS

84       Of course there are bugs. If you  find  some,  please  report  them  at
85       http://bugs.bitlbee.org/.
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LICENSE

88       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
89       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published  by  the
90       Free  Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
91       option) any later version.
92
93       This program is distributed in the hope that it  will  be  useful,  but
94       WITHOUT  ANY  WARRANTY;  without  even  the  implied  warranty  of MER‐
95       CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU  General
96       Public License for more details.
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98       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
99       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
100       59 Temple PLace, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
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AUTHORS

103        Wilmer van der Gaast <wilmer@gaast.net>
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107                                  19 May 2010                       bitlbee(8)
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