# New users guide #

## New to IRC ##

Internet Relay Chat was created in 1988 and has hardly changed. It can be used
to exchange text messages (one message = single line) with other people, either
privately (called query, PM, private message, MSG) or in a room (channel).
Pictures are shared by uploading them to a temporary host like [1]https://
pomf.lain.la/ and then pasting the HTTP links. Code snippets or longer texts
are shared by pasting them to a Pastebin like [2]https://paste.opensuse.org/
and then sharing the HTTP link.

IRC does not have message history. You can only receive replies while your
computer is turned on and connected to the channel you want to follow. Some
people run their IRC programs on remote servers for that reason.

IRC is organised into networks. Each network consists of many servers. It
(mostly) does not matter which server you connect to as long as it belongs to
the network you want to use. Irssi supports connections to many networks at the
same time.

Each network contains many channels, rooms that are often dedicated to
discussing a specific topic. You can find many channels on [3]https://
netsplit.de/ or using a search engine with the keyword “IRC”. Irssi supports
joining many channels at the same time.

There is a rather large IRC network catering to free and open-source software
and peer directed projects at [4]https://libera.chat/ and a smaller one at [5]
https://www.oftc.net/ – many free software projects still have support channels
on these IRC networks (although some have moved to Matrix or proprietary
platforms like Discord).

## First start ##

After (compiling and) installing Irssi, to start it, open a shell (Terminal)
and type:

irssi

You should be greeted by a blinking cursor behind [(status)]. You are now in
the status window of Irssi. Window is the Irssi name for what you might
nowadays call a “Web browser tab”.

If you’re confused about what you are seeing on the Irssi screen, you can find
an annotated screenshot of it at [6]User interface.

If you want, you can pick a nick name (handle) that will be shown to others
reading your messages now, by typing

/set nick whatyouwant

Each command or message can be sent by pressing Enter. Commands in Irssi start
with a /. If there is no /, then the line that you wrote will be sent as a
message to the channel that you have open, for everyone to see.

### Leaving ###

Type /quit to get out of Irssi.

## Connecting to a network ##

Irssi comes with some predefined networks. You can see the current list of
networks by typing

/network

(the list will be shown in your status window)

To connect to one of the networks in the list, type /connect networkname, for
example:

/connect liberachat

You should see several messages scroll by. After a while, you should be
connected to the Libera Chat network.

Attention

Irssi version 1.2 or older may be lacking the liberachat network entry. See [7]
https://github.com/shabble/irssi-docs/wiki/liberachat for how to add it.

### Nickname registration ###

Many IRC networks (but not all) offer a way to register a user account.
Sometimes (but not on all networks) the account registration also includes
reserving a nick for you. How to register also differs by network. Some
channels only allow users with registered accounts to join them, so it may be
very important for you to register a user account.

User accounts are always specific to a network.

For the Libera Chat network, you can find instructions how to register and set
up your account with Irssi on [8]https://github.com/shabble/irssi-docs/wiki/
liberachat#configure-sasl-automated-log-in

## Joining a channel ##

Once you are connected to a network, you can join channels by typing /join #
channelname, for example:

/join #irssi

Now, a new window will open and you can send messages to the channel.

### Changing windows ###

You can change between windows using the Ctrl+n or Ctrl+p keys, or–if your
terminal is configured properly–using Alt+1, Alt+2, … See [9]bind -list for a
list of all default key bindings.

### Removing clutter ###

By default, Irssi shows when someone joins or leaves a channel. These messages
can waste a lot of lines and obscure the actual chat. To hide them, type

/window hidelevel +joins +parts +quits

To get them back

/window hidelevel -joins -parts -quits

If you want to hide them by default, /set window_default_hidelevel hidden joins
parts quits

## Adding a new network ##

If you want to join a network that is not there, you first need to find at
least one server of that network. Let’s say you have found the room [10]#
hackint on netsplit.de and want to join it. Then you can find that the [11]
server is irc.hackint.org, port 6697, SSL (TLS) on. To add it to Irssi, use the
commands:

/network add hackint
/server add -tls -network hackint irc.hackint.org 6697

Then, you can connect to the newly added network with

/connect hackint

### Multiple networks ###

If you are connected to multiple networks, you can change which one you are
“talking” to (which one to send commands) by using the Ctrl+x key in the status
window.

## On-line help ##

Most /commands have a help page, you can read it with

/help commandname

or [12]on-line.

The settings that can be changed with /SET are described on [13]Settings
Documentation – the settingshelp [14]script can be used to read it from within
/help

## About Scripts ##

You can enhance your Irssi by installing scripts. Many Perl scripts written by
other Irssi users can be found on [15]https://scripts.irssi.org/

Most of them should be compatible with Irssi 1.4 (but some may not, also see
the Full Change log for some incompatible ones)

## About Themes ##

Irssi’s look can be thoroughly changed with themes. Many themes created by
other Irssi users can be found on [16]https://themes.irssi.org/

If you want to modify the look of Irssi yourself, the default theme which can
be found in your ~/.irssi folder is a good starting point. It also has a few
comments explaining what some of the abstracts are used for


References:

[1] https://pomf.lain.la/
[2] https://paste.opensuse.org/
[3] https://netsplit.de/
[4] https://libera.chat/
[5] https://www.oftc.net/
[6] https://irssi.org/User-interface/
[7] https://github.com/shabble/irssi-docs/wiki/liberachat
[8] https://github.com/shabble/irssi-docs/wiki/liberachat#configure-sasl-automated-log-in
[9] https://irssi.org/documentation/help/bind_-list/
[10] https://netsplit.de/channels/details.php?room=%23hackint&net=hackint
[11] https://netsplit.de/servers/?net=hackint
[12] https://irssi.org/documentation/help/
[13] https://irssi.org/documentation/settings/
[14] https://irssi.org/New-users/#about-scripts
[15] https://scripts.irssi.org/
[16] https://themes.irssi.org/
