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senpai(1) General Commands Manual senpai(1)

NAME

senpai - your everyday IRC student

SYNOPSIS

senpai [options...]

OPTIONS

-config <path>

Use a different path for the configuration file.

-nickname <nickname>

Advanced. Nick name to connect as. Overrides the configuration item of the same name.

-debug

Advanced. Show all IRC messages that are received from/sent to the server.

-version

Display version info.

DESCRIPTION

senpai is an IRC client made for bouncers. It supports the newest IRC extensions, such as:

  • CHATHISTORY, senpai fetches history from the server instead of keeping logs,
  • @+typing, senpai shows when others are typing a message,
  • BOUNCER, senpai connects to all your networks at once automatically,
  • SEARCH, senpai can search messages quickly server-side,
  • FILEHOST, senpai can upload files to the bouncer,
  • and more to come!

CONFIGURATION

senpai searches for it in the following location:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/senpai/senpai.scfg

If unset, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME defaults to ~/.config or the platform's equivalent

For information about the configuration format, see senpai(5).

If the configuration file does not exist, a setup assistant will create one for you.

USER INTERFACE

The user interface of senpai consists of several parts.

On the left, the buffer list, shows joined channels. The special buffer home is where server notices are shown. The list can be put on the bottom of the screen with a configuration option. Buffers can be closed with the mouse middle click, or the part command.

On the right, the member list, shows members joined to the current channel.

On the bottom, the input field is where you type in messages or commands (see COMMANDS). By default, when you type a message, senpai will inform others in the channel that you are typing.

On the row above, the status line (or... just a line if nothing is happening...) is where typing indicators are shown (e.g. "dan- is typing...").

Finally, the message timeline is displayed on the rest of the screen.

senpai supports the mouse almost everywhere (clicking on nicks, buffers, members, links; resizing panels; and features "buttons"). On supported terminals, the cursor will turn into a hand when over a clickable element.

SELECTING TEXT

In order to select text with a mouse, hold SHIFT while clicking and dragging the mouse. Clicking and dragging without holding SHIFT will not work, as senpai eats these events for eg selecting channels.

OPENING LINKS

In order to open links, refer to your terminal manual. On most terminals, opening links is done by holding CTRL, or SHIFT, while clicking the link. On the foot terminal, links can be opened by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+O.

A simple left click with no modifiers will make senpai try to preview the link, or open it. In order to skip the preview, open the link with a modifier, as specified above, instead of an unmodified left click.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

CTRL-A

Move the cursor to the beginning of the input field.

CTRL-E

Move the cursor to the end of the input field.

CTRL-C

Clear input line, or prepare for exit by adding /exit to input line.

CTRL-F

Prepare for search: add /search to input line.

CTRL-K

Prepare for jumping to a buffer: add /buffer to input line.

CTRL-U, PgUp

Go up in the timeline.

CTRL-D, PgDown

Go down in the timeline.

CTRL-N, ALT-RIGHT

Go to the next buffer.

CTRL-P, ALT-LEFT

Go to the previous buffer.

SHIFT-RIGHT

Go to the next unread buffer.

SHIFT-LEFT

Go to the previous unread buffer.

ALT-HOME

Go to the first buffer.

ALT-END

Go to the last buffer.

ALT-P

Go to the previous highlight

ALT-N

Go to the next highlight, or to the (most recent) end of the timeline if there is none.

ALT-{1..9}

Go to buffer by index.

UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, HOME, END, BACKSPACE, DELETE

Edit the text in the input field.

ENTER

Sends the contents of the input field.

TAB

Open the auto-completion dialog. Choose auto-completion item with UP and DOWN, then press TAB again to confirm.

CTRL-L

Refresh the window.

F7

Show/hide the vertical channel list.

F8

Show/hide the vertical member list.

COMMANDS

If you type and send a message that starts with a slash (/), it will instead be interpreted as a command:

/name argument1 argument2...

name is matched case-insensitively. It can be one of the following:

HELP [search]

Show the list of command (or a commands that match the given search terms).

JOIN <channel>

Join the given channel.

PART [channel] [reason]

Part the given channel, defaults to the current one if omitted.

QUIT [reason]

Quits senpai.

MOTD

Show the message of the day (MOTD).

NAMES

Show the member list of the current channel. Powerlevels (such as @ for "operator", or + for "voice") are shown in green.

TOPIC [topic]

If topic is omitted, show the topic of the current channel and, if available, the person who set it and the time when it has been set.

Otherwise, change the topic of the current channel to topic.

MUTE

Mute the current channel. This prevents being distracted from new messages on unimportant channels.

This moves the channel to the end of the server, and greys its name out so that new messages do not change its color in the list. Highlights will still send a notification.

UNMUTE

Unmute the current channel. See MUTE.

PIN

Pin the current channel. This moves the channel to the start of the buffer list.

UNPIN

Unpin the current channel. See PIN.

MSG <target> <content>

Send content to target.

REPLY <content>

Reply to the last person who sent a private message.

ME <content>

Send a message prefixed with your nick (a user action). If sent from home, reply to the last person who sent a private message.

NP

Send the current song that is being played on the system. Uses DBus/MPRIS internally.

UPLOAD <file path>

Upload a local file to the bouncer.

QUOTE <raw message>

Send raw message verbatim.

LIST [pattern]

List public channels, optionally matching the specified pattern.

BUFFER <index|name>

Switch to the buffer at the index position, or containing name. The buffer list will be filtered according to the passed name; entering the command will select the first buffer in the list.

WHOIS <nickname>

Get information about someone who is connected.

WHOWAS <nickname>

Get information about someone who is disconnected.

NICK <nickname>

Change your nickname.

OPER <username> <password>

Log in to an operator account.

MODE <nick/channel> <flags> [args]

Change channel or user modes.

INVITE <nick> [channel]

Invite nick to channel (the current channel if not given).

KICK <nick> [channel] [message]

Eject nick from channel (the current channel if not given) with an optional kick message/reason.

BAN <nick> [channel]

Ban nick from entering channel (the current channel if not given).

UNBAN <nick> [channel]

Allow nick to enter channel again (the current channel if not given).

SEARCH <text>

Search messages matching the given text, in the current channel or server. This opens a temporary list, which can be closed with the escape key.

AWAY [message]

Mark yourself as away, with an optional away message.

BACK

Mark yourself as back from being away.

VERSION [target]

Query the server software version.

ADMIN [target]

Query the server administrative information.

LUSERS

Query the server user information.

TIME [target]

Query the server local time.

INFO

Query server information.

LINKS

Query the servers of the network.

SHRUG

Send a shrug emoji to the current channel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TABLEFLIP

Send a table flip emoji to the current channel. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

STATS <query> [target]

Query server statistics (advanced).

CONNECT <target server> [<port> [remote server]]

Connect a server to the network (advanced).

SQUIT <server> [comment]

Disconnects a server from the network (advanced).

KILL <nick> [message]

Eject someone from the server (advanced).

REHASH

Make the server reload its configuration (advanced).

RESTART

Make the server restart (advanced).

WALLOPS [text]

Broadcast a message to all users (advanced).

SEE ALSO

senpai(5)

AUTHORS

Creator/Sensei: Hubert Hirtz <hubert@hirtzfr.eu>!
Current maintainer: delthas <delthas@dille.cc>.
Sources are available at <https://git.sr.ht/~delthas/senpai>.
Patches are welcome by email at <~delthas/senpai-dev@lists.sr.ht>.

2025-04-14