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 is normally started as a system service  (with  init  scripts,  systemd  units  or
       equivalent). It can also be run as an inetd(8) / xinetd(8) service or a stand-alone daemon
       with the options below.

       To use it, connect to it with an IRC client with a command such as "/connect localhost"

RUN MODES

       -I     Run in inetd(8) mode. This is the default setting for historical reasons,  but  not
              the recommended one (See ForkDaemon below).

       -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.  This mode is also useful
              for debugging.

       -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. This is the recommended runmode for most use cases.

OPTIONS

       -i address
              When  running  in  daemon  mode,  specifies 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
              When  running  in  daemon  mode,  specifies the port number on which BitlBee should
              listen for connections. 6667 is the default value.

       -n     Wehn 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 after connecting to bitlbee.

SEE ALSO

       inetd(8), inetd.conf(5)

       http://www.bitlbee.org/

       For more information on using BitlBee, once connected, you should use the help command  in
       the &bitlbee channel.

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)