After running the ZNC IRC Bouncer for about four months now I am pleased to say this is the easiest, and most stable IRC bouncer I have used to date. I have had many people ask so I thought I would write up a simple blog post on some tips, tricks and features of ZNC.

If you do not already have ZNC install please follow the installation guide on the ZNC wiki at http://znc.in. This wiki contains almost everything you need to know. I highly recommend you read the wiki. It is well worth it. Don’t worry windows fans there is a Windows version for you

One of the best things about ZNC is that it can buffer conversations in channels and play them back next time you connect. If you are like me this feature can have it’s up’s and down’s. I am connected to three IRC networks and close to 70 channels. If ZNC were to use it’s default buffering/playback settings my clients would scream for help when I connect. Don’t worry a simple command in the ZNC status window will solve all that.

/msg *status setbuffer <#channel> <linecount>

If this looks like gibberish let me explain. /msg *status will send a msg to the ZNC status module. Setbuffer is the tells the status module you want to set a new buffer for…. you guessed it <#channel> lastly <linecount> is the number of lines you would like ZNC to buffer and play back to you on connect (default is 50 lines). Mess around with these settings to make them just right. The smaller the buffer the quicker your clients will connect.

So by now if you have read the wiki you are wondering what modules you should load and setup. Well mostly this is up to you. However I have made a list of the most common and useful along with a few any iPhone user must have.

awaynick – Allows ZNC to change your nick name when the last client disconnects from the ZNC server.
chansaver – Join a channel and ZNC will remember it and join you to that channel each time your client connects.
kickrejoin – Simple enough rejoins a channel when you are kicked. Be warned this script does not take into account if you have been banned. If ZNC ever gets stuck in an endless loop trying to join a channel just type /part <#channel> in the ZNC status window to remove the channel from chansaver.
nickserv – Authenticates your nickname with nickserv.
Prowl – Allows ZNC to send messages to Prowl for the iPhone when you get highlighted or PM’ed.
Colloquy – Sends Push notifications to the Colloquy application when you get highlighted or PM’ed.

That really about sums it up. If you do have anymore questions about ZNC or having trouble with the initial setup leave a comment or join our live chat.

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