NAME
eggdrop - an IRC bot
SYNOPSIS
eggdrop [options] [config-file]
DESCRIPTION
Eggdrop is the World’s most popular Internet Relay Chat (IRC) bot; it
is freely distributable under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Eggdrop is a feature rich program designed to be easily used and
expanded upon by both novice and advanced IRC users on a variety of
hardware and software platforms.
An IRC bot is a program that sits on an IRC channel and preforms
automated tasks while looking just like a normal user on the channel.
Some of these functions include protecting the channel from abuse,
allowing privileged users to gain op or voice status, logging channel
events, providing information, hosting games, etc.
One of the features that makes Eggdrop stand out from other bots is
module and Tcl scripting support. With scripts and modules, you can
make the bot preform almost any task you want. They can do anything
from preventing floods to greeting users and banning advertisers from
channels.
You can also link multiple Eggdrop bots together to form a botnet. This
can allow bots to op each other securely, control floods efficiently,
and even link channels across multiple IRC networks. It also allows the
Eggdrops share user lists, ban lists, exempt/invite lists, and ignore
lists with other bots if userfile sharing is enabled. This allows users
to have the same access on every bot on your botnet. It also allows the
bots to distribute tasks such as opping and banning users. See
doc/BOTNET for information on setting up a botnet.
Eggdrop needs a config file to run. For an example, have a look at
eggdrop.conf which is distributed with Eggdrop.
OPTIONS
-h Display a list of command-line options.
-n Don’t background. Normally, Eggdrop will move itself into the
background when you start it up, meaning you’ll get another
shell prompt, and you can do other things while the bot is
running. With -n, you won’t return to the shell prompt until the
bot exits (which won’t normally happen until it’s killed). By
default, -n will send all log entries to the console.
-nt Don’t background, use terminal. This is just like -n, except
that instead of seeing log entries, your console will simulate a
DCC chat with the bot.
-nc Don’t background, show channel info. This is just like -n,
except that instead of seeing log entries, every 10 seconds your
screen will clear and you will see the current channel status,
sort of like "top".
-m Create userfile. If you don’t have a userfile, this will make
Eggdrop create one and give owner status to the first person
that introduces himself or herself to it. You’ll need to do this
when you first set up your bot.
-v Show version info, then quit.
SIGNALS
SIGCHLD
This signal is ignored by Eggdrop and can be used to determine
whether it’s running or not.
SIGTERM
Depending on die-on-sigterm being set to 0 or 1 in the config
file, Eggdrop will save its user and channel file and/or die.
SIGHUP Depending on die-on-sighup being set to 0 or 1 in the config
file, Eggdrop will rehash (reload its config file) or die.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
EGG_LANG
This variable can be set to the language in which you want
Eggdrop to speak
to you. It defaults to English, but German, French, Finnish,
and Danish are supported, too.
EGG_LANGDIR
Specifies the directory where all your language files are
stored. The default is ./language.
SEE ALSO
irc(1), ircII(1), tclsh(1), ircd(8)
There is extensive online documentation. Once you get the bot running,
open a DCC chat with it, and type: .help
In addition, the files in the doc/ directory provide detailed
information about how Eggdrop works and how to use it.
AUTHORS
Written by Robey Pointer, the Eggheads Development Team and various
others. See the doc/AUTHORS file for all who contributed and the
doc/UPDATES1.6 file for further details.
REPORTING BUGS
See doc/BUG-REPORT.
Bugs can either be reported directly to BugZilla, at
http://bugzilla.eggheads.org, or via e-mail to <bugs@eggheads.org>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1997 Robey Pointer
Copyright (C) 1999 - 2008 Eggheads Development Team
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.