Initial Configuration

ElixIRCd is configured via a single Elixir config file: elixircd.exs. This file uses standard Elixir Config syntax.

The full configuration reference is in Configuration Overview. This page covers the minimum you need to get started.

Minimal Configuration

import Config

config :elixircd,
  server: [
    name: "My IRC Network",
    hostname: "irc.example.com",
    password: nil,
    motd: File.read("config/motd.txt")
  ],
  listeners: [
    {:tcp, [port: 6667]},
    {:tls, [
      port: 6697,
      transport_options: [
        keyfile: Path.expand("data/cert/selfsigned_key.pem"),
        certfile: Path.expand("data/cert/selfsigned.pem")
      ]
    ]},
    {:http, [port: 8080]},
    {:https, [
      port: 8443,
      keyfile: Path.expand("data/cert/selfsigned_key.pem"),
      certfile: Path.expand("data/cert/selfsigned.pem")
    ]}
  ],
  operators: [
    # Add at least one operator for admin access
    # Password must be hashed with Argon2id
    # {"admin", "$argon2id$v=19$m=4096,t=2,p=4$..."}
  ]

Setting Up an IRC Operator

To become an IRC operator on your server, you need to add a credential entry to the operators list. Passwords must be hashed with Argon2id.

Generating a Password Hash

In an Elixir shell (iex -S mix or docker exec -it <container> ./bin/elixircd remote):

Argon2.hash_pwd_salt("your_secure_password")

This outputs something like:

"$argon2id$v=19$m=4096,t=2,p=4$aBcDeFgH...$hash..."

Copy that hash into your config:

operators: [
  {"admin", "$argon2id$v=19$m=4096,t=2,p=4$aBcDeFgH...$hash..."}
]

To use it, connect to the server and run:

/oper admin your_secure_password

Message of the Day (MOTD)

Create a motd.txt file with your server’s welcome message:

Welcome to My IRC Network!

Rules:
- Be respectful
- No spam
- Have fun!

Contact: admin@example.com

The MOTD is shown to users when they connect and when they run /motd.

Hostname Cloaking Keys

If you enable hostname cloaking (default: enabled), generate proper secret keys:

:crypto.strong_rand_bytes(32) |> Base.encode64()

Run this three times to get three unique keys:

cloaking: [
  enabled: true,
  cloak_keys: [
    "XYZ...(32+ chars)...",
    "ABC...(32+ chars)...",
    "DEF...(32+ chars)..."
  ],
  cloak_prefix: "elixir",
  cloak_on_connect: false,
  cloak_allow_disable: true,
  cloak_domain_parts: 2
]