Python IRC Bot

A Python IRC bot with reconnect logic, a plugin-based command and trigger system, URL sniffing, weather lookup, and optional YouTube metadata.

Contents

• Quick Start
• Features
• Plugin System
• Example Basic Plugin
• Example Trigger Plugin
• Requirements
• Installation (Linux)
• Installation (Windows)
• Running the Bot
• Windows Example Function (PowerShell)
• Commands
• Admin PM Commands
• URL and YouTube Behavior
• Weather Behavior
• Database Setup
• Nickname Handling
• Configuration Example
• License

Quick Start

1. Copy config.example.json to config.json.
2. Set at least one enabled network with server, nick, and channels.
3. Install dependencies:

• with venv: python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
• without venv on Linux: install PyMySQL for the system Python interpreter

4. Start the bot:

• Linux: ./bot.py or python3 bot.py
• Windows: python bot.py

5. Use Admin PM Commands in a private message if you need administrative setup.

Features

• TLS connection support (use_tls, enabled by default)
• Multi-network support via required networks array (one bot connection per entry)
• Built-in plugin system with one plugin per command/trigger under plugins/
• Administrative PM commands without prefix, protected by hostmask + password authentication
• Per-network plugin activation via enabled_plugins / disabled_plugins
• Per-network enabled flag and reconnect delay (reconnect_delay_seconds)
• Automatic reconnect loop on network errors
• Responds to server PING with PONG
• Joins and tracks multiple channels
• Optional oidentd.conf generation for ident spoofing (oidentd_conf path)
• Saves joined channels in MySQL and restores them on restart
• Optional per-network flood protection for outgoing chat messages
• Optional SASL PLAIN authentication (CAP negotiation)
• Optional NickServ identify command and nickname reclaiming
• Optional perform commands after successful connect (for example: user mode)
• Role-based channel rights (+q +a +o +h +v) according to server-advertised PREFIX support, applied on login with the highest configured level
• Optional admin raw command forwarding via PM trigger
• Optional raw logging per network to log/chat-<network_key>.log
• URL sniffing in channel messages:
  • Detects posted http/https links
  • Fetches HTML title / first heading topic
  • Filters common spam patterns
  • Flags blocked/dead links in database
• RSS/Atom feed reader via !rss <feed|url> with optional configured feed aliases
• Optional RSS auto-posting every 10 minutes for new feed entries to a DB-configured channel (rssannounce admin command)
• Weather command using the OpenWeatherMap-style lookup
• Postal code fallback (German ZIP code lookup)
• Optional YouTube link parsing via YouTube Data API
• German/English output (language: "de" or "en")

Plugin System

• Built-in plugins live in plugins/<name>/plugin.py.
• Commands and triggers are loaded dynamically on bot startup.
• If enabled_plugins is empty or omitted, all built-in plugins are loaded except those listed in disabled_plugins.
• If enabled_plugins contains entries, only these plugins are loaded for that network.

Available Plugins

Commands:

• help — Displays available commands and their usage (sent as NOTICE)
• version — Shows the bot version and GitHub repository URL (sent as NOTICE, also works in private messages as version/ver without login)
• ping [nick] — Sends a ping response
• pong [nick] — Sends a pong response
• lag — Measures latency in milliseconds
• echo <text> — Echoes text back to the user (sent as NOTICE)
• slap <nick> — Performs a slap action on a user
• dart [nick] — Throws a dart at the nick
• darttop10 — Displays the top 10 dart players
• mydartstats — Shows your personal dart statistics (sent as NOTICE)
• weather <location|plz> — Looks up weather forecast using postal code or location name
• rss <feed|url> — Reads the latest entry from a configured RSS/Atom feed alias or a direct feed URL
• url <id> — Retrieves a stored URL from the database
• randomurl — Retrieves a random URL from the database
• admin — Provides administrative PM commands (user management, roles, channel modes, raw IRC commands)

Triggers:

• unreal — Replies with an action when a message contains the word "unreal"
• urlsniffer — Automatically scans posted URLs, fetches HTML titles, and stores them in the database

Example Basic Plugin

A minimal command plugin consists of:

• a folder under plugins/
• a plugin.py file
• one or more handler functions with the signature handler(bot, context, arg)
• a final PLUGIN = PluginSpec(...) export

Example structure:

plugins/
  hello/
    plugin.py

Example implementation:

from plugin_system import CommandSpec, PluginSpec


def handle_hello(bot, context, arg: str) -> None:
    target = arg.strip() if arg.strip() else context.source_nick
    bot.send_privmsg(context.reply_target, f"Hello {target}!")


PLUGIN = PluginSpec(
    name="hello",
    commands=(
        CommandSpec(canonical="hello", handler=handle_hello, help_sort=30),
    ),
)

How it works:

• name is the internal plugin name used by enabled_plugins / disabled_plugins.
• canonical is the command token the bot resolves after the normal prefix, so the example becomes !hello.
• context.source_nick is the nickname of the user who sent the command.
• context.reply_target is automatically the channel or the sender nick in a private message.
• arg contains everything after the command name.
• bot.send_privmsg(...) sends the response back to IRC.

Useful context fields:

• context.source_nick
• context.target
• context.message
• context.reply_target
• context.command_prefix
• context.is_private_message

Useful bot helpers:

• bot.send_privmsg(target, message)
• bot.send_notice(target, message)
• bot.send_action(target, message)
• bot.primary_command_name("...")
• bot.tr("...") for translated plugin messages

For a very small real example, see the existing ping plugin in plugins/ping/plugin.py.

Example Trigger Plugin

A trigger plugin reacts to normal chat messages without requiring the command prefix.

Example structure:

plugins/
  cheer/
  plugin.py

Example implementation:

import re

from plugin_system import MessageHandlerSpec, PluginSpec


def handle_cheer(bot, context) -> None:
  if re.search(r"\bgg\b", context.message, re.IGNORECASE):
    bot.send_action(context.reply_target, "cheers loudly!")


PLUGIN = PluginSpec(
  name="cheer",
  message_handlers=(
    MessageHandlerSpec(handler=handle_cheer),
  ),
)

How it works:

• message_handlers are called for every incoming PRIVMSG.
• A trigger plugin decides on its own whether it wants to react.
• context.message contains the full incoming text.
• context.reply_target is the channel in public chat and the sender nick in private chat.
• bot.send_action(...) sends a CTCP ACTION, similar to /me in IRC clients.

Typical uses:

• keyword reactions
• automatic helper replies
• moderation or logging hooks
• URL or content sniffing

For a small real example, see plugins/unreal/plugin.py.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• MySQL/MariaDB (required for dart stats, URL storage, and persistent channels)

Setup paths:

• Use a virtual environment if you want isolated Python packages.
• Use the system Python only if PyMySQL is installed for that exact interpreter.

Installation (Linux)

1. Open the project folder:

• cd ./ircbot-python

2. Create your config file:

• cp config.example.json config.json

3. Create and activate a virtual environment:

• python3 -m venv .venv
• source .venv/bin/activate

4. Edit config.json:

• Define networks (required) and set per-network values (server, port, use_tls, nick, channels, ...)
• Top-level values act as defaults for all entries in networks
• Database settings: mysql_host, mysql_port, mysql_user, mysql_password, mysql_database
• Required for weather lookups: weather_appid from your OpenWeatherMap account/API keys page
• Optional: weather_default_location, youtube_api_key, language, enabled_plugins, disabled_plugins, raw_chat_logging_enabled, flood_protection_enabled, rss_announce_channel, SASL/NickServ options, oidentd_conf (path to .oidentd.conf file, e.g., ~/.oidentd.conf)

Flood/spam delay behavior:

• flood_protection_enabled: globally as default or per network override to fully enable/disable outgoing chat throttling
• flood_protection_enabled: globally as default or per network override to fully enable/disable outgoing chat throttling and the startup delay for public triggers
• flood_min_interval_ms: minimum delay between outgoing chat messages
• flood_burst + flood_window_seconds: burst/window rate limiting for outgoing chat messages

5. Install dependencies:

• python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Linux without virtual environment:

• Ubuntu / Debian:
  • sudo apt update
  • sudo apt install python3-pymysql
• Fedora:
  • sudo dnf install python3-PyMySQL
• Then run the bot with your system Python, for example:
  • ./bot.py

Note:

• If you run the bot without venv, PyMySQL must be installed for the same Python interpreter that starts bot.py.
• If you prefer pip without venv, use python3 -m pip install --user -r requirements.txt instead of the distro package.

Installation (Windows)

1. Open the project folder:

• cd .\ircbot-python

2. Create your config file:

• Copy-Item config.example.json config.json

3. Create and activate a virtual environment:

• python -m venv .venv
• .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

4. Install dependencies:

• python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Bot

• Linux foreground (default):
  • python bot.py
• Linux background control with PID file:
  • Start: python bot.py --start
  • Stop: python bot.py --stop
  • Restart: python bot.py --restart
• Windows foreground (default):
  • python bot.py
• Windows background control with PID file:
  • Start: python bot.py --start
  • Stop: python bot.py --stop
  • Restart: python bot.py --restart

Windows Example Function (PowerShell)

You can add this helper function to your PowerShell profile and control the bot with one command:

function Invoke-IrcBot {
    param(
        [ValidateSet('start','stop','restart','run')]
        [string]$Action = 'run',
    [string]$BotPath = '.'
    )

    Push-Location $BotPath
    try {
        switch ($Action) {
            'start'   { python .\bot.py --start }
            'stop'    { python .\bot.py --stop }
            'restart' { python .\bot.py --restart }
            'run'     { python .\bot.py }
        }
    }
    finally {
        Pop-Location
    }
}

Examples:

• Invoke-IrcBot -Action run
• Invoke-IrcBot -Action start
• Invoke-IrcBot -Action restart
• Invoke-IrcBot -Action stop

Commands

Default prefix: !

The following commands are available when the corresponding plugins are enabled:

• !help / !hilfe
• !ping [nick]
• !pong [nick]
• !lag
• !echo <text>
• !slap <nick>
• !dart [nick]
• !dart top10
• !darttop10
• !mydartstats / !meinedartstats
• !weather <location> / !wetter <ort|plz>
• !rss <feed|url>
• !url <id>
• !randomurl / !zufallsurl

Notes:

• !help, !echo, and !mydartstats are sent as NOTICE to the requesting user.
• If no admin user exists yet, the bot asks in the terminal for an initial ident@host and password before a foreground run and also before --start / --restart.
• Administrative commands only work in a private message to the bot and must be sent without the normal command prefix.
• Admin rights require login <password> from the matching ident@host first.
• New users default to the non-admin user role; channel rights can be assigned per role or per user and are only applied while the matching user is logged in.
• If multiple rights are configured for the same channel, the bot only applies the highest supported mode.
• Supported member modes are limited to what the IRC server advertises via 005 PREFIX=....
• If raw_chat_logging_enabled is enabled for a network, all incoming and outgoing IRC raw lines are appended to log/chat-<network_key>.log in the format <unix_timestamp_ms> <raw_irc_line>, for example 1539452142405 NOTICE AUTH :*** Looking up your hostname.
• If !dart has no argument, the caller nickname is used.
• !lag measures latency in nanoseconds and displays a readable millisecond value (for sub-millisecond latency as decimal, e.g. 0.123 ms) plus raw ns in parentheses.
• If weather_default_location is set, weather can be requested without arguments.
• If rss_feeds contains aliases, !rss without arguments shows the available feed names.
• If RSS announce channels are configured in the database (rssannounce), the RSS plugin checks configured feeds every 10 minutes and posts only new entries to all configured channels (tracked in the database).

Trigger plugins:

• unreal: replies with an action when a message contains unreal
• urlsniffer: scans posted URLs and stores/sniffs them automatically

Admin PM Commands

Send these as a private message to the bot, without the normal command prefix:

• help
• help auth
• help users
• help roles
• help modes
• help raw
• login <password> authenticates your current hostmask for admin commands.
• logout ends the current admin session.
• whoami shows your current admin role and rights.
• listroles lists all stored roles.
• listusers lists all stored admin users.
• roleadd <role> [admin=on] [raw=on] creates a new role.
• roleflag <role> <admin|raw> <on|off> enables or disables one role flag.
• adduser <name> <ident@host> <password> [role] creates an admin user.
• deluser <ident@host> deletes an admin user.
• setrole <ident@host> <role> assigns a different role to a user.
• rolemode <role> <#channel> <mode> allows a channel mode for one role.
• rolemode-del <role> <#channel> <mode> removes a role/channel mode rule.
• usermode <ident@host> <#channel> <mode> adds a user-specific channel mode rule.
• usermode-del <ident@host> <#channel> <mode> removes a user-specific rule.
• apply <nick> <#channel> <ident@host> applies stored mode rules to a nick immediately.
• rssannounce [#channel[,#channel...]|+#channel[,#channel...]|-#channel[,#channel...]|off] shows/sets RSS announce channels in the database for this network.
  • rssannounce +#chan3 adds a single channel
  • rssannounce -#chan2 disables a single channel from the current list
  • after changing channels, the bot also prints the currently configured RSS feed aliases
  • after changing channels, the bot also posts the configured RSS feed aliases directly into the target channel(s)
  • after changing channels, the bot also posts the current/latest entry per configured RSS feed into the target channel(s)
• raw <IRC RAW LINE> sends one raw IRC line directly to the server.

Examples:

• login geheim
• roleadd ops
• rolemode ops #mychan o
• adduser alice ident@example.org geheim ops
• apply Alice #mychan ident@example.org

URL and YouTube Behavior

• Posted URLs are normalized and processed once per runtime session.
• Non-HTML links are marked as dead links.
• Suspicious URLs/topics are blocked by simple spam keyword/domain checks.
• !url <id> loads a URL from the bot_url table.
• !randomurl picks a random non-blocked, non-dead URL from bot_url.
• If youtube_api_key is configured and a YouTube URL is detected, the bot can show:
  • Title
  • Channel
  • Duration
  • Publish date
  • Views / likes / comments (if available)

Weather Behavior

• Uses the OpenWeatherMap lookup flow.
• Supports city names as well as postal code queries like 12345 or 12345,de.
• Uses weather_appid from config; this is the OpenWeatherMap API key/app id you get from your OpenWeatherMap account.
• Weather lookups fail with a clear message if it is missing.
• Place names and decimal formatting follow the configured bot language (de/en).
• Returns temperature, "feels like", humidity, precipitation, and wind when the API provides them.
• In channels without mode +c, the bot can use IRC control codes (bold/color) for richer output.

Database Setup

On startup, the bot tries to:

• create the configured database (if missing)
• create required tables:
  • bot_dart
  • bot_url
  • bot_channels

If MySQL is unavailable, startup continues, but DB-backed features may not work.

Nickname Handling

• If the nickname is already in use (433), the bot appends _.
• With nickname protection enabled, the bot periodically tries to reclaim the preferred nickname.

Configuration Example

See config.example.json for all available options, including:

• Multi-network mode (networks):
  • required (legacy single-network root fields are no longer supported)
  • top-level values are defaults for every network entry
  • each network object can override any setting
  • enabled can disable a network without deleting its config (recommended instead of commenting, since JSON has no comments)
  • reconnect_delay_seconds controls reconnect interval per network
  • network_key can be used to control channel persistence key in bot_channels.network (must be unique)
• Plugin control:
  • enabled_plugins loads only the listed plugins for a network when not empty
  • disabled_plugins excludes listed plugins when enabled_plugins is empty
• Optional raw chat logging:
  • raw_chat_logging_enabled enables per-network raw logs for all IRC lines
  • the bot creates a log directory automatically when needed
  • log files are written as log/chat-<network_key>.log
  • top-level value acts as default; each network entry can override it
• Optional RSS aliases:
  • rss_feeds maps alias names to RSS/Atom feed URLs
  • top-level value acts as default; each network entry can override it
• Optional RSS auto-post default:
  • rss_announce_channel is only used as initial fallback/default
  • the active per-network value is stored in the database and managed via rssannounce [#channel[,#channel...]|+#channel[,#channel...]|-#channel[,#channel...]|off]
  • if neither DB value nor fallback is set, automatic RSS posting is disabled

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.