ZNC: use a bouncer to get history
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| Software version | 0.206-2 |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Debian 7 |
| Website | ZNC Website |
| Last Update | 14/04/2014 |
| Others | |
1 Introduction
A BNC[1] (short for bouncer) is a piece of software that is used to relay traffic and connections in computer networks, much like a proxy. Using a BNC allows a user to hide the original source of the user's connection, providing privacy as well as the ability to route traffic through a specific location. A BNC can also be used to hide the true target to which a user connects.
I was fed up to launch every say a ssh to connect to an external server, on which I had a tmux running a weechat to get IRC history. 2 problems here :
- Sometimes, I forgot to connect on it and missed some messages
- It was not integrated to Pidgin (what I use for any IM protocol)
So I decided to setup a bounce IRC with ZNC!
2 Installation
Easy as it is integrated to Debian:
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aptitude install znc |
3 Configuration
For the configuration, it's not complicated, you just have to follow the wizard on launching znc:
| znc
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> znc --makeconf [ ** ] Building new config [ ** ] [ ** ] First let's start with some global settings... [ ** ] [ ?? ] What port would you like ZNC to listen on? (1025 to 65535): 12345 [ ?? ] Would you like ZNC to listen using SSL? (yes/no) [no]: [ ?? ] Would you like ZNC to listen using ipv6? (yes/no) [yes]: no [ ?? ] Listen Host (Blank for all ips): [ ok ] Verifying the listener... |
Up to you to choose what you want for the network part.
| znc
|
[ ** ] [ ** ] -- Global Modules -- [ ** ] [ ** ] +-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] | Name | Description | [ ** ] +-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] | partyline | Internal channels and queries for users connected to znc | [ ** ] | webadmin | Web based administration module | [ ** ] +-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] And 13 other (uncommon) modules. You can enable those later. [ ** ] [ ?? ] Load global module <partyline>? (yes/no) [no]: [ ?? ] Load global module <webadmin>? (yes/no) [no]: yes |
Enable at least the webadmin to help you on configuration.
| znc
|
[ ** ] [ ** ] Now we need to set up a user... [ ** ] ZNC needs one user per IRC network. [ ** ] [ ?? ] Username (AlphaNumeric): username [ ?? ] Enter Password: [ ?? ] Confirm Password: |
Choose a username and password for you to connect to ZNC.
Now set global IRC configuration credentials and nicknames:
| znc
|
[ ?? ] Would you like this user to be an admin? (yes/no) [yes]: [ ?? ] Nick [username]: [ ?? ] Alt Nick [username_]: [ ?? ] Ident [test]: [ ?? ] Real Name [Got ZNC?]: [ ?? ] Bind Host (optional): [ ?? ] Number of lines to buffer per channel [50]: 10000 [ ?? ] Would you like to keep buffers after replay? (yes/no) [no]: yes [ ?? ] Default channel modes [+stn]: [ ** ] |
Now choose which modules you want to activate:
| znc
|
[ ** ] -- User Modules -- [ ** ] [ ** ] +-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] | Name | Description | [ ** ] +-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] | admin | Dynamic configuration of users/settings through IRC. Allows editing only yourself if you're not ZNC admin. | [ ** ] | chansaver | Keep config up-to-date when user joins/parts | [ ** ] | keepnick | Keep trying for your primary nick | [ ** ] | kickrejoin | Autorejoin on kick | [ ** ] | nickserv | Auths you with NickServ | [ ** ] | perform | Keeps a list of commands to be executed when ZNC connects to IRC. | [ ** ] | simple_away | Auto away when last client disconnects | [ ** ] +-------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [ ** ] And 36 other (uncommon) modules. You can enable those later. [ ** ] [ ?? ] Load module <admin>? (yes/no) [no]: [ ?? ] Load module <chansaver>? (yes/no) [no]: yes [ ?? ] Load module <keepnick>? (yes/no) [no]: yes [ ?? ] Load module <kickrejoin>? (yes/no) [no]: yes [ ?? ] Load module <nickserv>? (yes/no) [no]: yes [ ?? ] Load module <perform>? (yes/no) [no]: [ ?? ] Load module <simple_away>? (yes/no) [no]: [ ** ] |
Now configure the IRC server you want to connect onto, with channels etc...:
| znc
|
[ ** ] -- IRC Servers -- [ ** ] Only add servers from the same IRC network. [ ** ] If a server from the list can't be reached, another server will be used. [ ** ] [ ?? ] IRC server (host only): [ ?? ] IRC server (host only): irc.freenode.net [ ?? ] [irc.freenode.net] Port (1 to 65535) [6667]: [ ?? ] [irc.freenode.net] Password (probably empty): [ ?? ] Does this server use SSL? (yes/no) [no]: [ ** ] [ ?? ] Would you like to add another server for this IRC network? (yes/no) [no]: [ ** ] [ ** ] -- Channels -- [ ** ] [ ?? ] Would you like to add a channel for ZNC to automatically join? (yes/no) [yes]: [ ?? ] Channel name: #myassonthecommode [ ?? ] Would you like to add another channel? (yes/no) [no]: [ ** ] [ ?? ] Would you like to set up another user (e.g. for connecting to another network)? (yes/no) [no]: [ ok ] Writing config [/home/vagrant/.znc/configs/znc.conf]... [ ** ] [ ** ] To connect to this ZNC you need to connect to it as your IRC server [ ** ] using the port that you supplied. You have to supply your login info [ ** ] as the IRC server password like this: user:pass. [ ** ] [ ** ] Try something like this in your IRC client... [ ** ] /server <znc_server_ip> 12345 test:<pass> [ ** ] And this in your browser... [ ** ] http://<znc_server_ip>:12345/ [ ** ] [ ?? ] Launch ZNC now? (yes/no) [yes]: [ ok ] Opening Config [/home/vagrant/.znc/configs/znc.conf]... [ ok ] Loading Global Module [webadmin]... [/usr/lib/znc/webadmin.so] [ ok ] Binding to port [12345] using ipv4... [ ** ] Loading user [username] [ ok ] Adding Server [irc.freenode.net 6667 ]... [ ok ] Loading Module [chansaver]... [/usr/lib/znc/chansaver.so] [ ok ] Loading Module [keepnick]... [/usr/lib/znc/keepnick.so] [ ok ] Loading Module [kickrejoin]... [/usr/lib/znc/kickrejoin.so] [ ok ] Loading Module [nickserv]... [/usr/lib/znc/nickserv.so] [ ok ] Forking into the background... [pid: 4305] [ ** ] ZNC 0.206+deb2 - http://znc.in |
Now it is launched ! First thing to do is to kill znc to be in debug mode and understand what's wrong when you'll going to add accounts or if it fails to connect:
| znc
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znc -D |
Now open the web interface http://<znc_server_ip>:12345/ and you can finish to configure as it should be. For example in Pidgin, add as IRC server, your ZNC bouncer. Then join a channel that you previously configured into ZNC to get history etc...
If you want to get an idea of what a configuration looks like:
 ~/.znc/configs/znc.conf
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// WARNING // // Do NOT edit this file while ZNC is running! // Use webadmin or *admin instead. // // Buf if you feel risky, you might want to read help on /znc saveconfig and /znc rehash. // Also check http://en.znc.in/wiki/Configuration AnonIPLimit = 10 MaxBufferSize= 500 ProtectWebSessions = true Listener4 = 6667 ConnectDelay = 5 ServerThrottle = 30 LoadModule = partyline LoadModule = webadmin <User username> Pass = <sha256blalbalba> Nick = <nick> AltNick = <nick1>, <nick2> Ident = <username> RealName = <realname> QuitMsg = ZNC - http://znc.in StatusPrefix = * ChanModes = +stn Buffer = 5000 KeepBuffer = true MultiClients = true DenyLoadMod = false Admin = true DenySetBindHost = false TimestampFormat = [%H:%M:%S] AppendTimestamp = false PrependTimestamp = true TimezoneOffset = 0.00 JoinTries = 10 MaxJoins = 5 IRCConnectEnabled = true Allow = * LoadModule = admin LoadModule = chansaver LoadModule = kickrejoin LoadModule = perform LoadModule = buffextras Server = irc.freenode.net 6667 <freenode_password> <Chan #myassonthecommode> Key = <password> </Chan></User> |
When finished, kill your znc and relaunch it without debug mode. That's it :-)
