Irssi

Irssi is a terminal-based IRC client. It runs entirely in the console, supports plugins and theming, and is included in most Linux distribution repositories. Irssi is installed on every PMSS seedbox by default.

Because irssi runs in the terminal, it pairs naturally with a seedbox: you SSH into the server, start irssi inside a persistent screen session, and it stays connected 24/7 even after you disconnect. This is how most IRC users maintain a permanent presence on networks.

Starting irssi in a screen session

On your Pulsed Media seedbox, both irssi and screen are pre-installed. To start a persistent IRC session:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash"> screen -S irssi irssi </syntaxhighlight>

This creates a screen session named "irssi" and launches irssi inside it. The session persists on the server even after you close your SSH connection.

To detach from the screen session (leaving irssi running):

To reattach later:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash"> screen -r irssi </syntaxhighlight>

If the session is already attached from another connection:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash"> screen -dr irssi </syntaxhighlight>

Initial configuration

When you first start irssi, set your identity:

Command	Purpose
`/set nick YourNick`	Primary nickname
`/set alternate_nick YourNick_`	Fallback if primary is taken
`/set user_name YourIdent`	Ident string (shown in whois, used by bouncers)
`/set real_name Your Name`	Real name field

These settings are saved automatically when you /quit or run /save.

Connecting to IRC networks

Connect to a server with /connect:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text"> /connect irc.libera.chat /connect irc.quakenet.org 6669 </syntaxhighlight>

The first form uses the default port (6667). The second specifies a port explicitly. To connect with SSL (port 6697 on most networks):

<syntaxhighlight lang="text"> /connect -tls irc.libera.chat 6697 </syntaxhighlight>

To join a channel after connecting:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text"> /join #channelname </syntaxhighlight>

Navigation

Irssi uses a window system. Each channel, query (private message), and server connection gets its own window.

Keys	Action
`Alt+1` through `Alt+0`	Switch to windows 1–10
`Alt+Q` through `Alt+O`	Switch to windows 11–19
`Ctrl+N` / `Ctrl+P`	Next / previous window
`Page Up` / `Page Down`	Scroll through history
`Alt+P`	Scroll up in channel history
`Alt+N`	Scroll down in channel history

Autoconnect and autojoin

To have irssi connect to networks and join channels automatically on startup:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text"> /server add -auto -network Libera irc.libera.chat 6697 -tls /channel add -auto #mychannel Libera /save </syntaxhighlight>

Next time you start irssi, it will connect and join automatically.

Scripts and plugins

Irssi supports Perl scripts for extending functionality. The official script repository is at scripts.irssi.org.

The easiest way to manage multiple scripts is with scriptassist.pl:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text"> /run scriptassist.pl /script search keyword /script install scriptname </syntaxhighlight>

Popular scripts include notification systems, nick highlighting, URL logging, and channel statistics.

PuTTY UTF-8 setup (Windows users)

If you connect to your seedbox using PuTTY from Windows, set the character encoding to UTF-8. Without this, international characters and special symbols display as garbled text in irssi.

Before connecting

Open PuTTY
In the left menu, navigate to Window > Translation
Under "Remote character set", select UTF-8
Go back to Session at the top
Select Default Settings (or your saved seedbox profile)
Click Save

This makes UTF-8 the default for all future connections.

During an active session

Right-click the PuTTY window title bar
Select Change Settings...
Navigate to Window > Translation
Set the character set to UTF-8
Click Apply

The change takes effect immediately.

Common commands

Command	Action
`/msg nick message`	Send a private message
`/whois nick`	Look up user information
`/names`	List users in the current channel
`/topic`	Show channel topic
`/part`	Leave the current channel
`/quit`	Quit irssi (saves settings)
`/save`	Save settings without quitting
`/help command`	Built-in help for any command