User:M2Ys4U/IRC

This is a list of Internet Relay Chat commands. These are used in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to perform various actions. Commands are indicated by the use of a "/" right before them. In most cases, this can be changed, e.g. to "$", so that "/me" would change to "$me". However, "/" is almost always the default. Arguments with <> around them are in most cases required for the command to work properly, and those with [] around them usually do not need to be in there. Hostmasks come in the form nick!ident@host. They accept the wildcard characters * and ?, which match any string of characters and any single character, respectively. For example, *!johndoe@example.com would match any nick with that ident and host. Note that "nick" can be used also, and it will be matched to a hostmask automatically by the IRC server.

User commands

These are commands that can be performed by any user.

msg

Syntax:

/msg <user> <text>

This sends <text> in a private message to <user>.

Defined in: (unknown)

admin

Syntax:

/admin [server]

This gives administrative details about the server the user is currently connected to or the specified server that is given.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.3.7 Admin message"

ctcp

Further information: Client-To-Client Protocol

Syntax:

/ctcp <user> <command> [other]

This sends a CTCP <command> to <user>.

Defined in: (unknown)

disconnect

Syntax:

/disconnect or /quit

This disconnects the user from the current server.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.1.6 Quit message"

help

Syntax:

/help (or /raw help)

This returns a list of available IRC commands.

Defined in: (unknown)

ignore

Syntax:

/ignore <nick!ident@host>

This makes the client not display text from the specified user. However, this command varies from client to client.

/unignore <nick!ident@host>

This removes the ignore.

Defined in: (unknown)

join

Syntax:

/join <#channel,[#channel,#channel,...]> [key,[key,key,...]]

This joins the specified channels.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.2.1 Join message"

list

Syntax:

/list <#channel> <-min#> <-max#>

This lists title and number of users on a channel.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.2.6 List message"

links

Syntax:

/links

This retrieves list of all linked servers, and in what manner or order they relate to the currently connected server. On larger IRC networks, /links has been disabled to deter DDOS attacks.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.3.3 Links message"

lusers

Syntax:

/lusers

This lists local users in their various forms, online operators or admins, number of channels, and in how many servers.

Defined in: (unknown)

An example of how it displays in mIRC:
There are 1014 users and 3 invisible on 1 servers
6 operator(s) online
32 channels formed
I have 1017 clients and 0 servers

me

Syntax:

/me <text>

This displays the nickname, followed by <text>.

For example, when the user "MrWiki" writes "/me is going to go watch TV", it would be seen as "* MrWiki is going to go watch TV" by the channel. The way the output and input of an action may vary from client to client.

It is implemented with the CTCP ACTION command.

motd

Syntax:

/motd [server]

This returns the Message of the Day for the server the user is currently connected to or the specified server if given.

Defined in: (unknown)

names

Syntax:

/names <#channel,[#channel,#channel,...]>

This returns a list of nicknames on that channel, prefixed by @ and + for operator and voice modes respectively.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.2.5 Names message"

nick

Syntax:

/nick <nickname>

This sets the user's nickname to <nickname>.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.1.2 Nickname message"

notice

Syntax:

/notice <#channel|nickname> <text>

This sends a notice to the specified channel or user. Generally, this isn't used except by service bots and IRCops.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.4.2 Notice messages"

part

Syntax:

/part <#channel,[#channel,#channel,...]> [reason]

This will cause you to leave the specified channels, or if the channel parameter isn't present it will cause you to leave the active channel. If no reason is given, a default (usually user-defined) is used.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.2.2 Part message"

query

Syntax:

/query <nickname>

This starts a private chat with the selected user.

Defined in: (unknown)

quit

Syntax:

/quit [reason]

This will make the server disconnect the user from it. At times if a server is laggy the user won't disconnect immediately, so instead some clients have the /disconnect command which forces the client to disconnect from the server. If no reason is given, a default (usually user-defined) is used.

In Mozilla's Chatzilla IRC client, this command will cause you to exit Chatzilla completely.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.1.6 Quit message"

quote

Syntax:

/quote <command> (or /raw <command>)

This sends the given command directly to the server so it will be not processed by the client program (for example client command "/connect" has different function than server command "/quote connect").

Defined in: (unknown)

say

Syntax:

/say <Words you want to say>

This says what the user wants to say on the channel, but is good for showing examples of executing commands. For example, "/say Hi" will do the same thing as just typing "Hi", and "/say /msg wikipedia Hi" will display "/msg wikipedia Hi" as opposed to messaging "wikipedia"

Defined in: (unknown)

silence

Syntax:

/silence [-|+]<nick!user@host>

This is a form of serverside ignore. Prevents messages from the specified nick!user@host from being seen by the user.

Defined in: (unknown)

stats

Syntax:

/stats <letter>

This acquires server stat information based on the associated letter input given. (For example: "/stats o" will list operators from the server's configuration.)

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.3.2 Stats message"

Common server stats include:

Stats letter	Description
g	Lists G-Lines on the server
k	Lists K-lines on the server
m	Lists the server's specific available commands
o	Lists those who have IRC operators privileges
p	Lists the ports that can be connected through
u	Lists the server's uptime

Note: Most /stats usually require IRC operator status.

who

Syntax:

/who <name> <o>

This lists users in current channel who 'match' the name parameter. If no <name> is given, all non-invisible (+i) users are returned. Addition of the 'o' parameter returns only Operators.

A common extension to this command is to allow for the request of the list of users on a channel. This is used by the X-Chat IRC Client to determine more information than the NAMES reply upon joining a channel, such as the user's host, away status, channel status, operator status, real name, and server.

From the ircd-hybrid help:

WHO <#channel|user>

The WHO command displays information about a user, such as their GECOS information, their user@host, whether they are an IRC operator or not, etc. In the reply, the first field indicates the last channel the user has joined. The second is the user's nickname. The third field describes the status information about the user. The possible combinations for this field are listed below:

H - The user is not away.
A - The user is set away.
* - The user is an IRC operator.
@ - The user is a channel op in the channel listed
                in the first field.
+ - The user is voiced in the channel listed.
% - The user is a half-op in the channel listed. (note: this is a hybrid-specific extension to the IRC protocol and not RFC-compliant)

The next field contains the username@host of the user. The final field displays the number of server hops and the user's GECOS information. This command may be executed on a channel, such as "WHO #lamers" The output will consist of WHO listings for each user on the channel.

This command may also be used in conjunction with wildcards such as * and ?.

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.5.1 Who query"

whois

Syntax:

/whois <nick,[nick,nick,...]>

This displays a small amount of information about the given nick(s).

Defined in: RFC 1459 "4.5.2 Whois query"

Channel operator commands

These commands can only be issued by users with operator or half-op privileges.

invite

Syntax:

/invite <nick> <#channel>

Invites <nick> to join <#channel>.

kick

See also: Kick (chat room jargon)

Syntax:

/kick <#channel> <nick> [reason]

Removes <nick> from <#channel>. The kicked user can, of course, rejoin, so this is rarely effective in keeping someone out, but it does serve as a warning.

mode

Syntax:

/mode <#channel|nick> <+/-parameters> <nick> 

This sets a mode on [#channel], or on the specified user. The required level depends on the modes. Note that you can use it on yourself without any channel modes set on you (mIRC users can use //mode $me <+/-parameters> to set modes).

op

Syntax:

/op <nick>

Gives channel operator status to <nick>.

deop

Syntax:

/deop <nick>

Removes channel operator status from <nick>.

topic

Syntax:

/topic [#channel] <text>

Sets the current topic to <text>. Only available to ops/halfops when channel mode +t is set; otherwise, anyone can use it. When no text is given, returns the current topic on the channel.

The most common modes are:

Name	Type	RFC/IRCd	Description
+b [hostmask [hostmask hostmask ...]]	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Sets a ban on anybody matching the specified [hostmasks]. [hostmask] needs to be in the form of nick!ident@host, but you can use wildcards, e.g. *@host, *@ho??, etc.
+o <nick [nick nick ...]>	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Gives a nick operator status in the channel.
+v <nick [nick nick ...]>	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Voices nick.
+h <nick [nick nick ...]>	Channel	IRCd-Hybrid	Gives nick half-operator status.
+c	Channel	Bahamut	Blocks colour from being sent to the channel.
+O	Channel	Bahamut	Only IRC operators can join the channel.
+M	Channel	Unknown	Only allows registered users to send messages to the channel.
+m	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Makes channel moderated (only ops, half-ops and voiced people can speak).
+t	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Only ops can change the topic.
+i	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Makes the channel invite-only.
+I [mask [mask mask ...]]	Channel	Unknown	Everybody matching the specified [masks] can join a +i channel without invite.
+p	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Makes the channel private (Meaning depends on IRCd. Some consider deprecated in favor of +s)
+s	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Makes the channel secret (Meaning depends on IRCd. Often suppresses listing in LIST and WHOIS unless already on channel.)
+l [number]	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Limits the number of people who can be in the channel to [number].
+k [key]	Channel	RFC1459/2811	Key-locks the channel. You need to join using "/join #channel [key]".
+e [mask [mask mask ...]]	Channel	Unknown	Makes everybody matching the specified [masks] exempted from any bans (+b) currently in place.
+d	User	Unknown	Makes the user deaf. Channel messages are still seen, however private messages to the user will be blocked.
+g	User	Unknown	Displays some wallops messages. e.g. !irc.server.xx! Nick (user@host) is now an IRC operator (O)
+i	User	RFC1459/2812	Makes the user invisible, i.e. nobody can use wildcards to match the nick in a /who or /whois command; they must know the exact nick.
+k	User	ircu	Network service. Prevents a user from being deopped, kicked or killed.
+R	User	Unknown	Prevents non registered users from messaging registered users on some networks.
+s	User	RFC1459/2812	Allows the user to view server notices such as server links/delinks, glines, and notices regarding High-Traffic Mode.
+W	User	Unknown	Returns who is /whois'ing you on Nefarious IRCd.
+w	User	RFC1459/2812	Allows the user to view "wallops", or notices sent between Opers. In the case of IRCu if a non-oper used this mode, it will enable the user to see "walluser" messages (a type of network wide message sent by opers).
+o	User	RFC1459/2812	Sets the user as an IRC Operator. This mode should not be confused with the channel mode +o, which sets a user as a channel operator.
+x	User	Unknown	Obfuscates the user's hostmask so as to make it impossible to find an IP from it.

These modes differ from network to network and from IRCd to IRCd.

See also:

• RFC 1459 (Original RFC)
• RFC 2810 (IRC Architecture)
• RFC 2811 (IRC Channel Management)
• RFC 2812 (IRC Client Protocol)
• RFC 2813 (IRC Server Protocol)

IRC operator commands

IRC operators (IRCops) are given a special set of commands for server and network maintenance. Many of these can be abused quite easily, so care must be taken before making somebody an IRCop.

oper

Syntax:

/oper <username> <password>

This will allow the user issuing the command to gain IRC Operator privileges.

kill

Syntax:

/kill <nick> <reason>

This will disconnect a user from the network you issued the kill command on. But the user is allowed to reconnect after the kill

gline

Syntax:

/gline <user@host>  [reason]

This command globally bans anybody matching that hostmask from all servers linked to the IRC network. All such users will be automatically disconnected.

Time has to be specified in seconds or on most modern IRCds can be specified like 1d2h3m4s (1 day 2 hours 3 minutes 4 seconds). 0 can be given for a ban lasting an infinite amount of time.

kline

Syntax:

/kline <nick!user@host>  [reason]

Like gline, but only bans the given hostmask from the server the command was issued from. If there is more than one server linked to the network, the user can reconnect and get on another server. K-lines are commonly used to enforce geographical limits, so that, for example, somebody in Germany can't connect to a Canadian server.

opmode

Syntax:

/opmode [!]<#channel> <-|+modes> [args]

The command user can perform mode changes on a channel without being opped or hopped. (Server mode.) The ! indicates that the channel is registered. (U:lined service being on the channel.)

shun

Syntax:

/shun <user@host> <duration> [reason]

Shun forces the server to ignore any commands from the given context except for ping responses and the /admin command. Shunned users are not notified of the use of the command, though they could figure it out rather easily. Shuns are not implemented on many IRC networks for their end result doesn't provide much more functionality than a G-line or K-line.

wallops

Syntax:

/wallops <message>

Sends a message to all users who currently have +w set in their usermodes. (Note: Depending on the config specifications, wallops can be specified to IRC operators only, even if non-opers have +w set, e.g. # F:WALLOPS_OPER_ONLY:FALSE)

References

• "The IRC Command Cosmos, an advanced guide to IRC commands". Retrieved 2007-06-08.