2021-01-11 17:34:38 +00:00
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title: Running an IRC server
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description: Easy guide on setting up a modern IRC server
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2021-11-10 08:07:08 +00:00
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author: Amolith
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2021-01-11 17:34:38 +00:00
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cover: /assets/pngs/irc.png
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date: 2020-12-05T16:55:00-04:00
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2023-03-19 23:39:36 +00:00
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draft: false
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2021-01-11 17:34:38 +00:00
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toc: true
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categories:
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- Technology
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tags:
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- IRC
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- Chat
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- Oragono
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- Sysadmin
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---
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Many people will disagree but I think IRC is still one of the best chat
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platforms there is for a [number of
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2021-06-26 20:51:30 +00:00
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reasons.](https://drewdevault.com/2019/07/01/Absence-of-features-in-IRC.html)
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2021-01-11 17:34:38 +00:00
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However, the documentation surrounding it is sometimes lacking, commands
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are esoteric and can differ from server to server, some networks have
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stupid requirements/defaults, etc. But who says you have to join them?
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IRC is very easy to set up, use, and maintain and this post should be a
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decent guide on doing just that.
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## Picking an IRCd
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First, `ircd` is short for *IRC daemon*; it's just a server running in
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the background. Second, there are a *ton* of choices, from
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[charybdis](https://github.com/charybdis-ircd/charybdis) and
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[ngIRCd](https://github.com/ngircd/ngircd/) to
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[UnrealIRCd,](https://www.unrealircd.org/)
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[InspIRCd,](https://www.inspircd.org/) and many others. The ircd this
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guide will focus on is [Oragono](https://oragono.io/) because it's one
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of the simpler options yet has support for [IRCv3](https://ircv3.net/)
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and comes with [services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC_services)
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out of the box.
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## Setup
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While we could run Oragono as root or under whatever account you use,
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that's a stupid idea. We're going to create an `oragono` user to make
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sure things are properly separated.
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``` bash
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adduser --disabled-login oragono
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```
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Press the enter key a bunch of times and you're good. After that, run
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`sudo su - oragono` to log into that user account then head to the
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[GitHub releases
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page](https://github.com/oragono/oragono/releases/latest) and download
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the latest gzipped tarball[^1] for your architecture. Decompress it with
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`tar xvf oragono-*.tar.gz`. I *don't* recommend renaming the folder to
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something else; having the version name right there will make it easy to
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figure out when you need to upgrade in the future.
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Copy the default config to the production config with `cp default.yaml
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ircd.yaml`, open it in your favourite TUI editor, and start exploring
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the options! The file is commented very well but I'll list a few
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specific options and values I recommend.
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## Configuration
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* Obtain a TLS cert from [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) and
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use it if possible. If not, use Oragono's self-signed certificates.
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Don't enable plaintext use.
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* Consider setting [Tor](https://community.torproject.org/onion-services/) up
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and allowing users to connect through it.
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* If you're using a TLS cert from Let's Encrypt (like you should be),
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set `sts.enabled` and `sts.preload` to `true`.
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* Unless you specifically want [IRC
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cloaks](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC/Cloaks) to indicate
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position, status, or affiliation, set `lookup-hostnames: true` and
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`forward-confirm-hostnames: false`.
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* Always make a cool MoTD. It's essential for any IRC server.[^2] I
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recommend using something like
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[TAAG](https://www.patorjk.com/software/taag/) to come up with it.
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* You *may* want to enable email authentication but it's a pain to set
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up properly. I haven't bothered.
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* I recommend setting `channels.default-modes` to `+nts`. The `+s` flag
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just indicates that it's a secret channel and won't show up in the
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global list when someone runs `/list`. After creating a channel, if
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you want it publicly listed, just run `/mode -s`.
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* You *may* want to uncomment `opers.admin.modes` but it can get very
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spammy when there are a lot of people on your server.
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* If you plan to leave `history.enabled: true` and store channel message
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history server-side, I highly recommend setting
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`datastore.mysql.enabled` to `true` and going through that
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configuration.
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* Roleplay can be fun so it's a good idea to look through that section.
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* If you enabled `datastore.mysql`, also enable `history.persistent`
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* For privacy reasons, I *highly* recommend setting
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`history.persistent.registered-channels` to `"opt-out"`. Message
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history will not be stored by default but the channel owner can decide
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to enable it if they wish. Same goes for
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`history.persistent.direct-messages`.
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* I recommend enabling both of the options under `history.retention`.
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## Running the server
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If you're using self-signed certs, run `./oragono mkcerts` and make sure
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the paths are correct in your `ircd.yaml`. Assuming your config is
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valid, you should be able to run `./oragono run` and connect to it. If
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you can't, make sure port 6697 is open, your credentials are correct,
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and nothing is wrong in the config.
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You can always run Oragono in [tmux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmux)
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or something but it would be much better to do it with
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[systemd,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemd)
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[OpenRC,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenRC)
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[runit,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runit) etc. I personally use
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systemd and this service file should go in
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`/etc/systemd/system/oragono.service` or something similar.
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2021-06-26 20:51:30 +00:00
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``` ini
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[Unit]
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Description=oragono
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After=network.target
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Wants=mysql.service
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After=network.target mysql.service
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[Service]
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Type=simple
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User=oragono
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WorkingDirectory=/home/oragono/oragono
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ExecStart=/home/oragono/oragono/oragono run --conf /home/oragono/oragono/ircd.yaml
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ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
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Restart=on-failure
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LimitNOFILE=1048576
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[Install]
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WantedBy=multi-user.target
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```
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Run the following commands to ensure Oragono starts when your server boots.
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``` bash
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systemctl daemon-reload
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systemctl enable --now oragono
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```
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## Commands
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As I said in the first section, IRC has a lot of commands and they can
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be confusing to work with. I still don't know everything I should. That
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said, here are a (very) few of the essentials:
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| Command | Example | Operation |
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|----------|------------------|--------------------------------------------|
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| `/quote` | `/quote helpop` | Send argument as a command to the server |
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| `/join` | `/join #channel` | Join a channel |
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| `/leave` | `/leave` | Leave a channel |
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| `/me` | `/me yawns` | Result will look like `* Amolith yawns` |
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| `/query` | `/query amolith` | Open a direct message buffer with amolith |
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| `/mode` | `/mode -s` | Add/remove flags from a channel[^3] |
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| `/op` | `/op amolith` | Make amolith a channel operator |
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| `/voice` | `/voice amolith` | Let amolith speak when channel set to `+M` |
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The one command *every* Oragono oper[^4] should know is `/quote helpop
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index`. It will list all the available commands so you can read through
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them and discover what each does.
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You've reached the end of the post. You are now disallowed from telling
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anyone that IRC is too complicated. If you want to test a server you're
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setting up, feel free to use my instance of [The
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Lounge;](https://thelounge.chat/) it's at
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2021-01-11 17:34:38 +00:00
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[irc.nixnet.services](https://irc.nixnet.services/) and any IRCd details
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can be entered but mine are default. Speaking of my IRC server, you
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should [join #secluded](ircs://irc.nixnet.services:6697/secluded) and
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mention this post :D
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[^1]: A *gzipped tarball* is just a compressed archive like a zip file
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[^2]: You should definitely [join
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mine](https://docs.nixnet.services/IRC) and look at our awesome MoTD
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[^3]: See `/quote help cmodes` for all the flag options
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[^4]: Short for [IRC operator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC_operator)
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