MCABBER(1) Manual Page
NAME
mcabber - a simple Jabber console client
SYNOPSIS
mcabber [ -f configfile ] [ --help | -h ]
DESCRIPTION
mcabber(1) is a small Jabber console client.
For now it needs a configuration file to start, so please copy the sample
mcabberrc file and adapt your connection settings.
The mcabber(1) screen is divided into 4 regions. The roster, alias buddylist, is on the left. The chat window, or chat buffer, is on the right. The input line lies at the bottom of the screen, under a small log window.
To display buddies chat buffers, you will have to enter chat mode. You can enter chat mode by pressing enter, and leave chat mode with the ESC key. Simply sending a message will also enable chat mode.
Here are some of the features of mcabber:
-
SSL support.
-
History logging: If enabled (see the CONFIGURATION FILE section), mcabber(1) can save discussions to history log files.
-
Commands completion: If possible, mcabber(1) will try to complete your command line if you hit the Tab key.
-
External actions: Some events (like receiving a message) can trigger an external action, for example a shell script (you need to enable it in your configuration file).
OPTIONS
- --help, -h
- Quick help usage message
- -f configfile
- Use configuration file configfile
KEYS
Text typing occurs in the input line; basic operations are supported (left arrow, right arrow, home/end keys, insert, delete, backspace…).
PageUp and PageDown keys are used to move in the roster.
To send a message, move to the choosen buddy in the buddylist, type your message and hit enter. If the line begins with a slash, this will be interpreted as a command (see the COMMAND section below). Hit escape to leave the chat mode.
Here is a quick description of the key bindings:
Ctrl-a | Go to the beginning of the input line |
Ctrl-e | Go to the end of the input line |
Ctrl-l | Force a resize |
PgUp/PgDown | Move inside the roster (buddylist) |
Tab | Complete current word, in the input line |
Ctrl-g | Cancel completion / ctrl-g |
Ctrl-p/Ctrl-n | Scroll up/down half a screen in the buffer window (chat mode) |
Ctrl-u | Delete from beginning of the line to the cursor |
Ctrl-k | Delete from the cursor to the end of line |
Ctrl-w | Backward kill word |
Ctrl-t | Transpose chars |
Ctrl-o | Accept line and put the next history line in the input line (accept-line-and-down-history) |
Ctrl-q | Jump to the next unread message |
COMMANDS
- /add jid [nickname]
- Add the jid Jabber user to our roster (default group), and send a notification request to this buddy. If no nickname is specified, the jid is used.
- /buffer clear|top|bottom
-
The buffer command manipulates the current buddy's buffer
(chat window).
clear clear the current buddy chat window top jump to the top of the current buddy chat buffer bottom jump to the bottom of the current buddy chat buffer - /clear
- The clear command is actually an alias for "/buffer clear".
- /del
- Delete the current buddy from our roster, unsubscribe from its presence notification and unsubscribe it from ours.
- /group fold|unfold|toggle
-
The group command changes the current group display.
fold fold (shrink) the current group tree in the roster unfold unfold (expand) the current group tree in the roster toggle toggle the state (fold/unfold) of the current tree - /info
- Display info on the selected entry (user, agent, group…).
- /move [groupname]
- Move the current buddy to the requested group. If no group is specified, then the buddy is moved to the default group. This command only works with users (not agents), at the moment.
- /msay begin|verbatim|send|abort
-
Send a multi-line message. To write a single message with several
lines, the multi-line mode should be used. In multi-line mode,
each line (except command lines) typed in the input line will
be added to the multi-line message. Once the message is finished, it
can be sent to the current selected buddy with the "msay /send"
command. The verbatim multi-line mode disables commands, so that it
is possible to enter lines starting with a slash. Only the "/msay"
command (with send or abort parameters) can be used to exit verbatim mode.
begin enter multi-line mode verbatim enter verbatim multi-line mode send send the current multi-line message to the currently selected buddy abort leave multi-line mode without sending the message - /quit
- Disconnect and leave mcabber(1).
- /rename nickname
- Rename current buddy to the given nickname. This command does not work for groups, at the moment (but you can move the buddies to another group with the /move command).
- /roster bottom|top|hide_offline|show_offline|unread_first|unread_next
- /roster search bud
-
The roster command manipulates the roster/buddylist. Here are the available parameters:
bottom jump to the bottom of the roster top jump to the top of the roster hide_offline hide offline buddies show_offline show offline buddies search bud search for a buddy with a name or buddy containing "bud" (only in the displayed buddylist) unread_first jump to the first unread message unread_next jump to the next unread message - /say text
- Send the text message to the currently selected buddy. Can be useful if you want to send a message beginning with a slash, for example.
- /status [online|avail|invisible|free|dnd|notavail|away]
- Set the current status. If no status is specified, display the current status.
CONFIGURATION FILE
See the provided sample configuration file, which should be self-documented.
FILES
The following files can be used by mcabber(1):
$HOME/.mcabber/mcabberrc Default configuration file $HOME/.mcabberrc Configuration file used if no other has been found $HOME/.mcabber/histo/ Default directory for storing chat history files, if enabled
BUGS
Certainly a lot. Please tell me if you find one! :-)
AUTHOR
Written by Mikael BERTHE.
Originally based on Cabber, please
consult the AUTHORS file for details.
RESOURCES
COPYING
Copyright © 2005 Mikael Berthe.
Some portions are Copyright © 2002-2004 cabber@ajmacias.com.
Free use of this software is granted under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).