Commands

Commands

Everything you type into the input line that starts with / is a command. This is the reference for all of them: what each takes, what it does, and which apps have it.

The apps are written Mac (Rete for Mac), iOS (Rete for iOS), reTerm and Linux (Rete for Linux).

• Commands that talk to the IRC server (/join, /msg, /kick …) are the same in every app.
• A few commands belong to the app you are in. They are listed under Commands of the app, with the apps that have them. A command an app does not have answers Unknown command: /name and sends nothing.
• /set is its own document: Settings lists every key.
• Commands that scripts add are described in Scripts.

At a glance

Command group	Mac	iOS	reTerm	Linux
IRC commands (below)	yes	yes	yes	yes
/buffer (Log, Highlight, Activity)	yes	yes	yes	yes
/script	yes	says it is unavailable	yes	yes
/set	yes	no	yes	yes
/help	yes	no	yes	no
/rowaudit	yes	yes	yes	no
/buffer (switch, close, move, hide)	no	no	yes	no
/network, /server, /exit, /mouse, /control, /log, /colour, /highlight, /fold, /raw	no	no	yes	no

How a line is read

• The first word after the / is the command, in any case: /JOIN and /join are the same.
• A command that is not in this document, and that no script has added, is sent to the server as typed with the command word in capitals: /knock #chan please goes out as KNOCK #chan please. This is how you reach a server’s own commands, and its services, such as /ns identify … or /cs …. A line that carries a password is shown masked in the raw buffer and is not kept in your input history.
• Two things are never sent: a command word that is not made of letters and digits (/#chan, /@x), and the name of a command that belongs to one app, typed in an app that does not have it. Both answer Unknown command: /name.
• A script can register a command of the same name as an IRC command below; the script’s command then runs in its place.
• Tab completes command names and, for many commands, their arguments. As you type, the line shows the rest of the command’s usage and a one-line description.
• Where a command says [#channel], you can leave it out when you type the command in that channel’s buffer.
• In a usage line, <angle brackets> are required, [square brackets] optional, and a|b means one of.

IRC commands

All of these are in every app.

Channels

Command	What it does
/join <#channel>[,<#channel>…] [key]	Joins a channel, or several separated by commas. key is the channel’s password. Also /j.
/part [#channel] [reason]	Leaves a channel (the current one if you name none), with the reason you type, or your part message (the part_message setting) when you type none. Also /leave and /p.
/cycle [#channel]	Leaves a channel and joins it again at once.
/topic [#channel] [new topic]	With no text, asks for the channel’s topic. With text, sets it. Spacing inside the text is sent as you typed it.
/topic [#channel] -clear	Clears the topic. -delete does the same.
/invite [#channel] <nick>	Invites a nick to a channel.
/list [#channel[,#channel]] [server]	Lists channels and their topics; with no argument, all of them.
/names [#channel[,#channel]] [server]	Lists who is on a channel.

/join #rete
/join #private secretkey
/topic #rete Release night - be kind
/topic -clear

/topic outside a channel needs the channel: /topic #rete.

Messages

Command	What it does
/msg <target> <message>	Sends a message to a nick or a channel.
/notice <target> <message>	Sends a notice.
/me <action>	Sends an action to the current buffer (/me waves). Not available in the server buffer.
/smsg <target> <text>	Sends a message like /msg, but Rete masks the text everywhere it would otherwise show or store it: the buffer, the raw buffer, logs and AI access. The server still receives it in full. A connection that cannot mask refuses and sends nothing. The text is not kept in your input history.
/query <nick>	Opens a conversation with a nick, without sending anything. A channel name is refused.
/ctcp <target> <command> [text]	Sends a CTCP request, for example VERSION, TIME or USERINFO.
/ping <nick>	Sends a CTCP PING to measure the round trip.
/away [message]	Marks you away with that message; with no message, marks you back.
/wallops <message>	Sends a message to everyone who has the wallops mode set, usually operators.

Nicks and information

Command	What it does
/nick <newnick>	Changes your nick.
/whois <nick> [nick…]	Asks for information about one or more nicks.
/whowas <nick> [count] [server]	Looks up a nick that has left the network.
/who [mask] [o]	Lists users matching a mask. A trailing o limits it to operators.
/userip <nick>	Asks for a nick’s IP address. Servers usually allow this to operators only.
/silence [+mask|-mask]	The server-side ignore list: with no argument shows it, +mask adds, -mask removes.

Modes and channel operators

Command	What it does
/mode [target] <modes> [params]	Views or changes modes. In a channel, /mode +m changes that channel; in the server buffer, /mode +i changes your own modes. Name the target to reach another: /mode #rete +t, /mode mynick +i.
/op [#channel] <nick> [nick…]	Gives channel operator status (+o).
/deop [#channel] <nick> [nick…]	Takes it away (-o).
/voice [#channel] <nick> [nick…]	Gives voice (+v), so a nick may speak in a moderated channel.
/devoice [#channel] <nick> [nick…]	Takes voice away (-v).
/kick [#channel] <nick> [reason]	Removes a nick from a channel. They may rejoin.
/kickban <nick> [reason]	Bans a nick and then kicks them. Only inside a channel buffer.
/ban [#channel] <mask> [mask…]	Adds a ban (+b). A mask can be a nick, a hostmask or an extban.
/unban [#channel] <mask> [mask…]	Removes a ban (-b). The mask must match the one that was set.

/op alice bob
/kick #rete spammer flooding
/ban #rete *!*@bad.example.com

The server and the network

Each of these is sent to the server as typed, and the server’s answer appears in the server buffer. What a server accepts, and what it replies, varies between servers.

Command	What it asks
/motd [server]	The server’s message of the day.
/lusers [mask] [server]	How many users and servers the network has.
/map	The network’s server tree. Not every server has it.
/links [server mask]	The servers linked into the network.
/stats [query] [server]	Server statistics. The letters accepted vary by server.
/admin [server]	Who administers a server.
/version [server]	What software a server runs.
/time [server]	The server’s local time.

Operators

Command	What it does
/oper <name> <password>	Authenticates you as an IRC operator. The password is masked in everything Rete shows and is not kept in your input history.
/kill <nick> <reason>	Disconnects a nick from the network.
/connect <server> <port> [remote server]	Links one server to another. This is the operator command, not a way to connect Rete to a network.
/squit <server> <comment>	Breaks a server link.
/rehash	Makes the server re-read its configuration.
/restart	Restarts the server.
/die	Shuts the server down.

Connection

Command	What it does
/quit [message]	Leaves IRC, with that quit message or your quit_message setting. On a ReteCloud session, takes the session off IRC while this app stays linked. It does not close the app.
/disconnect [message]	Closes this app’s link and does not reconnect by itself. On a ReteCloud session, the session stays on IRC.
/reconnect [message]	Disconnects and connects again.

Raw lines, ZNC and bouncers

Command	What it does
/quote <raw line>	Sends the line to the server exactly as typed, with no interpretation.
/znc <params>	Sends a ZNC command to the server: /znc *status help goes out as ZNC *status help.
/bnc <params>	Sends a BNC command to the server in the same way.

Diagnostics

/perf [on|off|status|reset|dump] switches Rete’s performance recording and prints or saves what it recorded. It is for troubleshooting with the developers and has no effect on chatting.

Commands of the app

/buffer

A buffer is a channel, a conversation or a server window. The part that every app has:

Form	What it does
/buffer	Says the current buffer’s Log, Highlight and Activity settings.
/buffer log [on|off] [name]	Turns logging on or off for a buffer; with neither, says which.
/buffer highlight [on|off] [name]	Turns highlights on or off for a buffer.
/buffer activity [on|off] [name]	Turns activity on or off. With activity off, the buffer’s unread count is hidden; a highlight still shows.

With no name, the command acts on the buffer you typed it in. These are the same switches as in a buffer’s menu, saved per network. logging and highlights are accepted for log and highlight.

Mac, iOS, reTerm, Linux have the forms above. reTerm adds the rest:

Form	What it does
/buffer <name>	Switches to a channel, conversation or other buffer by name.
/buffer <N>	Switches by the number shown beside the buffer in the list.
/buffer close [name]	Closes the current channel or conversation, or the one named. A channel you are on is left first.
/buffer move up|down|top|bottom|<N> [name]	Moves a channel or conversation within its own list. <N> is a position, from 1. The order is saved per network.
/buffer hide [name], /buffer show <name>	Hides a channel or conversation from the list without leaving it, and brings it back.

One of the words above wins over a buffer of that name; use /buffer <N> to reach one.

/set

Mac, reTerm, Linux. Reads and changes settings: /set lists them, /set <key> <value> changes one. Every key and value is in Settings.

/help

Mac, reTerm.

Form	What it does
/help	An introduction and the list of help topics.
/help commands	Every IRC command with a one-line description.
/help <command>	One command’s usage and description, for example /help kick.
/help <topic>	A topic of the app, such as /help buffer.

reTerm’s topics are network, server, exit (also quit), script, set, rowaudit, control, mouse (also select, copy), colour, highlight, keys (also keyboard), fold, log and buffer. Mac’s are script, set and rowaudit.

/script

Mac, reTerm, Linux. Manages Tcl script bundles from the input line: list, inspect, fetch from the catalogue, load, unload, rehash, debug, and start a new bundle. iOS has no scripting and says so. The subcommands and their answers are in Scripts.

/rowaudit

Mac, iOS, reTerm. A check that every message the app received is on screen. Switch recording on with /rowaudit on, then /rowaudit (or /rowaudit run [settle-ms] [max-wait-s]) waits for the message stream to go quiet and prints a report naming any message that went missing. /rowaudit status shows what has been seen, /rowaudit reset starts the window again, and /rowaudit off stops recording. It is off by default and costs nothing while off.

reTerm

These commands exist in reTerm only. They work in any buffer, with or without a connected network, unless a command says otherwise.

/network and /server

reTerm has no connection window, so networks are added and edited here.

/network add libera irc.libera.chat 6697 --tls true
/network add mynet ws://irc.example.com:8097
/server libera

Command	What it does
/network list	Lists the networks.
/network add <name> <host> <port> [flags]	Adds a network. Use the positional name, host and port (or a ws:// or wss:// address in place of host and port) and not --name, --host or --port, which are for mod.
/network mod <name> [flags]	Changes a network.
/network del <name>	Removes a network.
/network help	Prints the flags below in the app.
/server	Lists the configured networks.
/server <network>	Connects to a network. The network can be given by its name, its server, its ReteCloud session id, its identifier or a unique prefix.

Flags for /network add and /network mod. A boolean takes true, false, yes, no, on, off, 1 or 0. Where a flag shows |none, passing none clears the field.

Flag	Meaning
--retecloud <bool>	A ReteCloud-backed session rather than direct IRC.
-tls, --tls <bool>	Use TLS. -tls alone turns it on.
--accept-self-signed <bool>	Accept a self-signed certificate.
--display-name <name>, --name <name>	The name shown (mod).
--server <host>, --host <host>	The server address (mod).
--port <1-65535>	The port (mod).
--nick <nick>, --alt-nick <nick|none>	Your nick and a fallback.
--username <user>, --real-name <text>	Your username and real name.
-password <pass>, --password <pass|none>	The server password.
--user-modes <modes|none>	User modes to set on connect.
--auto <bool>, --auto-connect <bool>	Connect when reTerm starts.
--bouncer <bool>, --bouncer-integration <bool>	Treat the server as a bouncer.
--sasl-disable <bool>	Switch SASL off.
--sasl-mechanism <plain|external|scram-sha-256|none>	The SASL mechanism; none or off disables SASL.
--sasl-user <user|none>, --sasl-password <pass|none>	SASL credentials.

Lines that carry a password are not kept in your input history.

/exit

/exit [message] leaves reTerm. It sends QUIT to every connected network (with the message, or your quit_message setting), waits for the goodbyes to go out, saves the logs and exits. A second /exit while that is happening leaves at once. /quit is the IRC command: it disconnects the current network and leaves reTerm running. Ctrl+C does nothing on purpose; closing the terminal leaves the same way /exit does.

/mouse

/mouse on|off|toggle is a short form of /set mouse on|off|toggle. By default reTerm takes the mouse: click a buffer in the list, a link to open it, a channel to join it, a nick to put it in the input line, or a folded line to open it; the wheel scrolls the pane under the pointer. Hold Shift as you drag to select text and copy it (Option in iTerm2, Fn in Terminal.app). With the mouse off, your terminal handles selection and you scroll with PageUp and PageDown.

/colour

Colours nicks in the nick list and the transcript, on the network of the current buffer. The first rule that matches a user gives the colour. These are the rules Rete for Mac edits as Coloured nicks.

Command	What it does
/colour add <kind> [pattern] <colour>	Adds a rule.
/colour list	Lists the rules, numbered, in the order they are tried.
/colour del <n>	Removes rule n.

Kinds: me, oper, secure, bot, and nick <nick>, account <account> and hostmask <mask>, which take a pattern. A colour is #RRGGBB or one of red, orange, yellow, gold, lime, green, olive, teal, cyan, blue, navy, purple, magenta, pink, brown, maroon, white, silver, gray and black.

/colour add nick alice orange
/colour add oper #FF8800
/colour del 2

/highlight

Chooses which messages are highlighted, on the network of the current buffer. A message that matches any enabled rule is highlighted. With no rules, messages that contain your nick are. These are the rules Rete for Mac edits as Highlight Rules.

Command	What it does
/highlight add <kind> [text]	Adds a rule.
/highlight list	Lists the rules, numbered.
/highlight del <n>	Removes rule n.

Kind	Highlights a message when
mynick	it contains your nick
text <text>	it contains the text
sender <nick>, notsender <nick>	it is sent by, or not sent by, that nick
loggedin, notloggedin	the sender is, or is not, logged in to an account
common, notcommon	the sender is, or is not, on a channel with you
opped, voiced	the sender is opped, or voiced, on a channel with you
channel <#channel>, notchannel <#channel>	it is, or is not, in that channel

/highlight add text release
/highlight add sender alice

/fold

Join, part and quit lines can be folded into one line (/set collapse_activity on); a channel limit change (+l) among them folds in too, and the folded line shows the new limit. /fold opens the most recent folded line in the current channel, or closes it if it is open. /fold all opens every fold in the channel, or closes them all when every one is already open. It works in a channel only.

/log

/log export [-codes] <buffer> <path> writes the log of a buffer to a file, oldest first, one message per line. Run it from one of the network’s buffers: the log exported is that network’s. A path ending in .jsonl is written as JSON Lines; any other is plain text. An existing file is replaced, and a relative path is relative to the directory reTerm was started in. The text has its IRC formatting codes stripped, unless you give -codes.

/log export #rete ~/rete.txt
/log export -codes #rete ~/rete.jsonl

/control

AI access, described in Control. /control status says whether it is on, its debug tools and sending. /control token shows the AI access token, and /control token regenerate makes a new one. /control log prints the AI access log.

/raw

/raw on shows the raw buffer, where every line to and from the server is listed, and /raw off hides it.

Keyboard (reTerm)

/help keys prints this list in the app.

Key	Does
Left, Right, Ctrl+F	Move back or forward a character.
Home, End, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E	Move to the start or end of the line.
Backspace, Delete, Ctrl+D	Delete the character before or under the cursor.
Ctrl+U, Ctrl+K	Delete to the start or end of the line.
Ctrl+W	Delete the word before the cursor.
Esc	Clear the line.
Ctrl+L	Redraw the screen.
Up, Down	Earlier and later lines you sent.
Tab	Complete what you are typing.
Shift+Up, Shift+Down	The previous or next buffer.
Alt+Up, Alt+Down	Move the current buffer up or down the list.
Alt+1 to Alt+9	The buffer with that number.
PageUp, PageDown	Scroll the transcript; PageUp at the top loads older messages.

Formatting codes, typed into the line:

Key	Code
Ctrl+B	Bold
Ctrl+_	Underline
Ctrl+R, Ctrl+V	Reverse
Ctrl+]	Italics
Ctrl+^	Strikethrough
Ctrl+Q	Monospace
Ctrl+O	Plain text

Other control characters are not typed into the line.