bitlbee(8)                                                          bitlbee(8)



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's protocol
       support is based on the gaim protocol plugins. BitlBee currently
       supports Oscar (aim and icq), MSN, Jabber and Yahoo.

       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>
        Jelmer Vernooij <jelmer@vernstok.nl>
        Maurits Dijkstra <mauritsd@xs4all.nl>



                                 07 March 2004                      bitlbee(8)
