NAME

       BitlBee - IRC gateway to IM chat networks

SYNOPSIS

       bitlbee [-I] [-c configuration file] [-d configuration directory]

       bitlbee  -D  [-i  address]  [-p  port  number]  [-n]  [-v]  [-c  configuration  file]  [-d
       configuration directory]

       bitlbee -h

DESCRIPTION

       BitlBee is an IRC daemon that can talk  to  instant  messaging  networks  and  acts  as  a
       gateway.  Users  can connect to the server with any normal IRC client and see their 'buddy
       list' in &bitlbee.

       bitlbee should be called by inetd(8), or you can run it as a stand-alone daemon.

OPTIONS

       -I     Run in inetd(8) mode. This is the  default  setting,  you  usually  don't  have  to
              specify this option.

       -D     Run in daemon mode. In this mode, BitlBee forks to the background and waits for new
              connections. All clients will be served from one process.

       -F     Run in ForkDaemon mode. This is similar to ordinary daemon mode, but  every  client
              gets  its  own  process. Easier to set up than inetd mode, and without the possible
              stability issues.

       -i address
              Only useful  when  running  in  daemon  mode,  to  specify  the  network  interface
              (identified by IP address) to which the daemon should attach. Use this if you don't
              want BitlBee to listen on every interface (which is the default behaviour).

       -p port number
              Only useful when running in daemon mode,  to  specify  the  port  number  on  which
              BitlBee should listen for connections. 6667 is the default value.

       -n     Only  useful when running in daemon mode. This option prevents BitlBee from forking
              into the background.

       -v     Be more verbose. This only works together with the -n flag.

       -c path to other configuration file
              Use a different configuration file.

       -d path to user settings directory
              BitlBee normally saves every user's settings in /var/lib/bitlbee/. If you want  the
              settings  to  be  stored  somewhere  else  (for  example,  if  you don't have write
              permissions in the default location), use this option.

       -h     Show help information.

COMMANDS

       To get a complete list of commands, please use the help commands command in  the  &bitlbee
       channel.

SEE ALSO

       ircd(8), inetd(8), inetd.conf(5), gaim(1).

       http://www.bitlbee.org/

       For  more  information  on  using BitlBee, once connected, you should use the on-line help
       system.

BUGS

       Of   course   there   are   bugs.   If   you   find   some,   please   report   them    at
       http://bugs.bitlbee.org/.

LICENSE

       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

AUTHORS

        Wilmer van der Gaast <wilmer@gaast.net>

                                           19 May 2010                                 bitlbee(8)