irssi: How to use an IRC client

irssi is a command-line IRC client. In this tutorial you will learn how to use it.

Following sections are valid to Libera.Chat channels.

Open irssi
Networks and servers
Join a channel
Basic chat commands
Register a username
Request a generic user cloak
Get info about a channel

Open irssi

Install irssi and type irssi to open the application.

Networks and servers

IRC Networks are made of servers, and servers have channels. You need to check in which network the channel you want to connect or create is hosted. Then, type /network list to see the networks that are already configured on irssi. If the network that hosts your channel does not appear, you need to add it.

Add a network.

/network add <network name>
# e.g.: /network add LiberaChat

Add a server to the network (check the network’s documentation).

/server add -network <network name> <server URL> <server port>
# e.g.: /server add -network LiberaChat irc.libera.chat 6697

Save changes to a user configuration file:
```
/save
```

Join a channel

Simply type /join <channel name>:
```
/join #arandomchannel
```

Basic chat commands

/help: Shows a command list.
/help <command>: shows info about a command.
PgUp or PgDown: scroll up or down.
/msg <username> <message>: send a private message.
/part [channel name] [message]: leave a channel and advertise it with an optional message.
/quit: close irssi.
Ctrl + P: go to previous window.
Ctrl + N: go to next window.

Register a username

Connect to your network:
```
/network connect <network name>
```
Change your username:
```
/nick <username>
# e.g.: /nick JohnDB
```

/msg NickServ REGISTER <password> <email>

You will receive a confirmation email, you need to copy the command on the email and paste it on irssi.

SASL is a identification method recommended for LiberaChat. Once registered a username, edit network to allow SASL.

# Replace <login> and <password> with the username and password and use the same <network name> to edit it.
/network add -sasl_username <login> -sasl_password <password> -sasl_mechanism PLAIN <network name>

Edit the server:

/server add -auto -net <network name> -tls -tls_verify irc.libera.chat 6697
# you can remove -auto to avoid irssi to connect automatically to the server

Save the changes:
```
/save
```

Request a generic user cloak

A cloak are custom hostmask that replace your client hostname or IP address. To limit the exposure of your IP address, you can request a cloak by joining #libera-cloak channel (/join #libera-cloak) and typing !cloakme.