eggdrop(1)							     IRC Tools								eggdrop(1)

NAME

       eggdrop - an IRC bot

SYNOPSIS

       eggdrop [options] [config-file]

DESCRIPTION

       Eggdrop	is  the World's most popular Internet Relay Chat (IRC) bot; it is freely distributable under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
       Eggdrop is a feature rich program designed to be easily used and expanded upon by both novice and advanced IRC users on a variety of  hard-
       ware and software platforms.

       An IRC bot is a program that sits on an IRC channel and performs automated tasks while looking just like a normal user on the channel. Some
       of these functions include protecting the channel from abuse, allowing privileged users to gain op or voice status, logging channel events,
       providing information, hosting games, etc.

       One  of	the  features  that makes Eggdrop stand out from other bots is module and Tcl scripting support. With scripts and modules, you can
       make the bot perform almost any task you want. They can do anything from preventing floods to greeting users and banning  advertisers  from
       channels.

       You  can  also  link  multiple  Eggdrop bots together to form a botnet. This can allow bots to op each other securely, control floods effi-
       ciently, and even link channels across multiple IRC networks. It also allows the Eggdrops share user lists, ban lists, exempt/invite lists,
       and  ignore lists with other bots if userfile sharing is enabled. This allows users to have the same access on every bot on your botnet. It
       also allows the bots to distribute tasks such as opping and banning users. See doc/BOTNET for information on setting up a botnet.

       Eggdrop needs a config file to run. For an example, have a look at eggdrop.conf which is distributed with Eggdrop.

OPTIONS

       -h     Display a list of command-line options.

       -n     Don't background. Normally, Eggdrop will move itself into the background when you start it up,  meaning  you'll  get  another  shell
	      prompt,  and  you  can  do  other things while the bot is running. With -n, you won't return to the shell prompt until the bot exits
	      (which won't normally happen until it's killed). By default, -n will send all log entries to the console.

       -nt    Don't background, use terminal. This is just like -n, except that instead of seeing log entries, your console will  simulate  a  DCC
	      chat with the bot.

       -nc    Don't  background,  show channel info. This is just like -n, except that instead of seeing log entries, every 10 seconds your screen
	      will clear and you will see the current channel status, sort of like "top".

       -m     Create userfile. If you don't have a userfile, this will make Eggdrop create one and give owner status  to  the  first  person  that
	      introduces himself or herself to it. You'll need to do this when you first set up your bot.

       -v     Show version info, then quit.

SIGNALS

       SIGCHLD
	      This signal is ignored by Eggdrop and can be used to determine whether it's running or not.

       SIGTERM
	      Depending on die-on-sigterm being set to 0 or 1 in the config file, Eggdrop will save its user and channel file and/or die.

       SIGHUP Depending on die-on-sighup being set to 0 or 1 in the config file, Eggdrop will rehash (reload its config file) or die.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       EGG_LANG
	      This variable can be set to the language in which you want Eggdrop to speak
	       to you. It defaults to English, but German, French, Finnish, and Danish are supported, too.

       EGG_LANGDIR
	      Specifies the directory where all your language files are stored.  The default is ./language.

SEE ALSO

       tclsh(1), irc(1), ircII(1), ircd(8)

       There is extensive online documentation.  Once you get the bot running, open a DCC chat with it, and type: .help

       In addition, the files in the doc/ directory provide detailed information about how Eggdrop works and how to use it.

AUTHORS

       Written	by  Robey  Pointer,  the  Eggheads Development Team and various others. See the files AUTHORS for a list of Eggdrop developers and
       major contributors, THANKS for a full list of Eggdrop contributors, and the doc/Changes files for a list of changes made to each version of
       Eggdrop.

REPORTING BUGS

       See doc/BUG-REPORT.

       Bugs can either be reported directly to BugZilla, at http://bugzilla.eggheads.org, or via e-mail to <bugs@eggheads.org>.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 1997 Robey Pointer
       Copyright (C) 1999 - 2010 Eggheads Development Team

       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  MER-
       CHANTABILITY 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.

Eggheads Development Team					    August 2004 							eggdrop(1)