softpunk / ircfs

IRC filesystem based on Suckless' ii

ircfs

IRC filesystem based on Suckless' ii

About

ircfs uses FUSE to map IRC servers to directories on your computer. Each channel appears as a directory under the mountpoint:

freenode
├── #bash
│   ├── send
│   └── receive
├── ##linux
│   ├── send
│   └── receive
├── send
├── receive
└── raw

Usage

ircfs -s SERVER -n NICKNAME MOUNTPOINT

Alternatively, a TOML configuration file can be provided and specified with the -c flag. An example ircfs.toml file is provided. If flags are used in addition to a configuration file, then the flags take precedence.

Messages are sent by writing data to the send file for a channel or user: echo "How do I install Gentoo?" > '##linux/send'

Messages can be read via the corresponding receive file.

Commands are performed by writing to the server's send file. The following commands have been implemented:

• /join CHANNELS [KEYS]: Joins the comma-separated list of channels, using the (optional) comma-separated list of keys.
• /msg TARGET [MESSAGE]: Sends a message to the target, whether it's a channel or user. If no message is specified, this creates a directory for the target without sending a message.
• /part TARGETS: Parts the comma-separated list of channels.

The /raw file contains the raw messages sent from the IRC server (along with a timestamp).

Functionality

Current Functionality

ircfs is very much a work-in-progress, and its functionality is therefore very limited at the moment.

The following has been implemented:

• Channels can be joined
• Messages can be sent to and received from channels/users

Planned Functionality

• Support for connecting via SSL
• Standard IRC commands: /me, /kick, /part, /quit, etc.

Additionally, ircfs may eventually be modified so that one ircfs instance handles connections to multiple IRC servers.

Comparison to ii

Pros

• ii uses a regular file for output. This means that a disk write occurs for every single message from the IRC server. That is in no way optimal. ircfs instead stores all messages in memory.
• ii uses a FIFO file for input. This means that messages sent to the in file are essentially lost; no record of them is kept (aside from your shell's history, perhaps). ircfs saves the data written to the in files so that you may read from them if desired.

Cons

• Since ircfs stores message in memory rather than on an actual file, creating permanent logs would need to be done via some external means (such as a cron job copying the file to some other location)