QUASSEL(1)

💖 QUASSEL 💖

okay bestie, buckle up, because this is the quassel manual page (that's the manual name, it's giving ✨ official documentation ✨) and we're gonna get through it together. no cap, it's actually a lot, but it's SO worth it.

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🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

quassel [OPTION]...

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Quassel IRC is a modern, cross-platform, distributed IRC client — and distributed is the key word here, because it means one (or multiple!) client(s) can attach to and detach from a central core. Think of it like the iconic screen + text-based IRC client combo (you know the one, WeeChat-coded), except... graphical. 💅

quassel gives you a standalone IRC client experience, integrating the core and the client into a single program. But if you wanna connect to and manage a running quasselcore, that's what the quasselclient client program is for. two different vibes, both valid. 🫶

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✨ COMMON OPTIONS ✨

• -c, --configdir=CONFIGDIR — point it at the directory holding the configuration files, the SQLite database with chat logs, and the SSL/TLS certificate. yes, all three live together, they're roommates 🏠
• -d, --debug — turn on extra debugging output. so much output. blessed.
• -h, --help — show the help message, for when you're lost (it's okay, we've all been there 😭)
• -L, --loglevel=LOGLEVEL — set the logging level to LOGLEVEL: Debug, Info, Warning, Error. Default is: Info
• -l, --logfile=LOGFILE — log to a file instead of... wherever it was going before
• --syslog — log to syslog. old school, iconic 🎀
• -v, --version — display version information. vibe check the build.

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👑 CLIENT OPTIONS 👑

• --debugbufferswitches — enables debugging for bufferswitches
• --debugmodel — enables debugging for models
• --hidewindow — start the client minimized to the system tray. main character energy but make it subtle 🙈
• --icontheme=THEME — override the system icon theme. breeze is recommended. this may also be configured in the client settings, so like, pick your lane 💖
• --qss=QSS — load a custom application stylesheet. dress her UP 💅

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🔥 INTERNAL CORE OPTIONS 🔥

NOTE: These options should not need modified in most cases. Running a separate quasselcore is the recommended way to allow multiple clients to connect to a core. fr fr, this is the plot twist nobody expects.

• --add-user — starts an interactive session to add a new core user
• --change-userpass=USERNAME — starts an interactive session to change the password of the user identified by USERNAME
• --config-from-environment — load configuration from environment variables, ignoring the configuration file. see the section on ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 👀
• --debug-irc — enable logging of all raw IRC messages to debug log, including passwords! in most cases you should also set --loglevel Debug

⚠️ bestie. it logs your PASSWORDS. be careful with this one, seriously.

• --debug-irc-id=DATABASENETWORKID — limit raw IRC logging to this network ID. implies --debug-irc
• --ident-daemon — enable internal ident daemon
• --ident-listen=IDENTLISTEN — the address(es) quasselcore will listen on for ident requests. same format as --listen. only meaningful with --ident-daemon. Default is: ::1,127.0.0.1 (only localhost)
• --ident-port=IDENTPORT — the port the quasselcore will listen at for ident requests. only meaningful with --ident-daemon. Default is: 10113
• --listen=LISTEN — the address(es) quasselcore will listen on when --port is specified. Default is: ::,0.0.0.0 (all addresses)
• -n, --norestore — don't restore last core's state, such as previously connected networks. fresh start, clean slate, we love a glow-up ✨
• --oidentd — enable oidentd integration. in most cases you should also enable --strict-ident
• --oidentd-conffile=OIDENTCONF — set path to oidentd configuration file
• -p, --port=PORT — the port the internal quasselcore will listen at. if not specified, the internal core will not accept connections from other clients
• --require-ssl — require SSL for remote (non-loopback) client connections. safety first, always 🫶
• --select-authenticator=AUTHENTICATOR — starts an interactive session to switch your current user authentication backend to the new one
• --select-backend=BACKEND — starts an interactive session to switch your current storage backend to the new one. attempts a merge if the new backend is uninitialized and the old backend supports migration, otherwise prompts for new user credentials
• --ssl-cert=SSLCERTFILE — specify the path to the SSL certificate. reloaded when quasselcore is sent a SIGHUP. Default is: CONFIGDIR/quasselCert.pem
• --ssl-key=SSLKEYFILE — specify the path to the SSL key. reloaded when quasselcore is sent a SIGHUP. only needed if not combined with the SSL certificate
• --strict-ident — use users' quasselcore username as ident reply. ignores each user's configured ident setting. useful for multi-user quasselcores connecting to IRC networks that require a fixed identifier for each user

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🌸 ENVIRONMENT 🌸

when --config-from-environment is specified, the quasselcore will use the following environment variables instead of the configuration file. this may be useful for container setups or automated deployment — very devops of you, honestly 🧚

• AUTH_AUTHENTICATOR — specifies the selected user authentication backend. see --select-authenticator
• AUTH_LDAP_BASE_DN — specifies the LDAP authenticator base DN
• AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN — specifies the LDAP authenticator bind DN
• AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD — specifies the LDAP authenticator bind password
• AUTH_LDAP_FILTER — specifies the LDAP authenticator filter
• AUTH_LDAP_HOSTNAME — specifies the LDAP authenticator connection hostname
• AUTH_LDAP_PORT — specifies the LDAP authenticator connection port
• AUTH_LDAP_UID_ATTRIBUTE — specifies the LDAP authenticator UID attribute
• DB_BACKEND — specifies the selected database backend. see --select-backend
• DB_PGSQL_DATABASE — specifies the Postgres connection database name
• DB_PGSQL_HOSTNAME — specifies the Postgres connection hostname
• DB_PGSQL_USERNAME — specifies the Postgres connection username
• DB_PGSQL_PASSWORD — specifies the Postgres connection user password
• DB_PGSQL_PORT — specifies the Postgres connection port

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• $HOME/.config/quassel-irc.org — configuration files, SQLite database with chat logs, and the SSL/TLS certificate. to override, see --configdir

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💜 AUTHORS 💜

the full list of Quassel IRC authors and contributors may be seen in the client's About window. go check it out, give them their flowers 💐

this manual page was written by Thomas Mueller <thomas.mueller@tmit.eu> and updated by Shane Synan <digitalcircuit36939+deb@gmail.com>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others). permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. slay, legally speaking. ⚖️✨

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and that's the whole thing, bestie — this little love letter to documentation was brought to you by the Quassel IRC Team, Internet, version 0.13.1. go forth and IRC responsibly 💖🌈🦋