How to Develop an IRC Bot
Consider installing a client script., Consider a pre-existing codebase for your bot., Consider writing your own bot.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Consider installing a client script.
Sometimes you just want a simple task done and don't want it to be an independent program.
In that case, you can attach a script to an IRC client.
This is pretty common to do with mIRC, which has a robust scripting engine and a wide variety of available scripts.
This is the easiest option and highly recommended if you don't have much or any programming experience.
For the rest of this guide, the instructions require some knowledge of computer programming to follow. , There exist many open source and free programs that can help you set up your own customized bot quickly.
One such example is Eggdrop, the oldest IRC bot still being maintained.
PHP-IRC is also a popular library to use.
Although it is no longer being maintained, it should still work well., For advanced IRC users and developers who already know their way around a programming language, this is a great option.
You can use pretty much any language you want as long as it has socket support, but popular ones to use include Python, Lua, PHP, C, and Perl.
If you don't know any of these but you do know another language, that's not a problem.
You can usually find examples on the web in any language you want.
For this article, we'll demonstrate using PHP.
To use PHP, you'll need to have PHP-CLI installed on your computer or server.
PHP can be downloaded from php.net PHP scripts can be executed from the command line.
For additional information and help using PHP, see this PHP manual page. -
Step 2: Consider a pre-existing codebase for your bot.
-
Step 3: Consider writing your own bot.
Detailed Guide
Sometimes you just want a simple task done and don't want it to be an independent program.
In that case, you can attach a script to an IRC client.
This is pretty common to do with mIRC, which has a robust scripting engine and a wide variety of available scripts.
This is the easiest option and highly recommended if you don't have much or any programming experience.
For the rest of this guide, the instructions require some knowledge of computer programming to follow. , There exist many open source and free programs that can help you set up your own customized bot quickly.
One such example is Eggdrop, the oldest IRC bot still being maintained.
PHP-IRC is also a popular library to use.
Although it is no longer being maintained, it should still work well., For advanced IRC users and developers who already know their way around a programming language, this is a great option.
You can use pretty much any language you want as long as it has socket support, but popular ones to use include Python, Lua, PHP, C, and Perl.
If you don't know any of these but you do know another language, that's not a problem.
You can usually find examples on the web in any language you want.
For this article, we'll demonstrate using PHP.
To use PHP, you'll need to have PHP-CLI installed on your computer or server.
PHP can be downloaded from php.net PHP scripts can be executed from the command line.
For additional information and help using PHP, see this PHP manual page.
About the Author
Gloria Palmer
Specializes in breaking down complex organization topics into simple steps.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: