Configuration

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Creating a config file

To generate a basic configuration file, run znc --makeconf after installation. It is NOT a good idea to create a new config file manually, please use znc --makeconf!

File locations

• Configuration - ZNC gets its configuration by reading the file ~/.znc/configs/znc.conf.
• Misc - Other files are also stored in the ~/.znc directory, such as the SSL certificate (znc.pem) and the PidFile (znc.pid).
• Local Modules - Stored in ~/.znc/modules. ZNC will look in the local module directory first when trying to load a module.
• Global Modules - Stored in /usr/local/lib/znc by default (where /usr/local is the prefix you chose). This is /usr/lib/znc if you used the Debian package.
• Binaries - znc, znc-config, and znc-buildmod are all stored in /usr/local/bin (or in /usr/bin) by default. You can change this when you configure by using ./configure --prefix=/whatever/path/you/want.

Editing config

In most cases you should NOT edit znc.conf directly. Use webadmin instead.

If you really need to edit znc.conf by hand, do the following:

1. pkill -SIGUSR1 znc

   to save current runtime configuration to znc.conf

2. pkill znc

   to shutdown running ZNC instance

3. Edit znc.conf
4. znc

   to start it again with new configuration

Config file structure

This is outdated!

Basically, a configuration file consists of the following settings:

• AnonIPLimit - Limits the number of unidentified connections per IP.
• ConnectDelay - The time every connection will be delayed, in seconds. Some servers refuse your connection if you reconnect too fast. This affects the connection between ZNC and the IRC server; not the connection between your IRC client and ZNC.
• MaxBufferSize - Sets the global Max Buffer Size a user can have.
• ProtectedWebSessions - ...
• SSLCertFile - It's the TLS/SSL certificate file from which ZNC reads its server certificate.
• ServerThrottle - The time between two connect attempts to the same hostname.
• Skin - ...
• Motd - ...
• TrustedProxy - ...
• LoadModule - ...
• StatusPrefix - The prefix for the status and module queries. This setting may be overwritten by users.
• Version - The ZNC version that wrote this file.
• ISpoofFile - ZNC will write the ident of the user trying to connect to this file. Very useful if your shell supports oidentd.
• ISpoofFormat - The format of the ISpoofFile.
• PidFile - Make ZNC write a pid file. ZNC does not need this itself. See the FAQ on info how to crontab ZNC.
• MOTD - The "message of the day" which is sent to clients on connect via notice from *status. Can be specified multiple times.
• BindHost - This is a list of allowed bindhosts. It is used by the webadmin module for users to select one. (Set different bindhosts in "Settings" on your Webadmin-Interface first - one per line - to make them appear in users configs afterwards)
• Listener = [web_only|irc_only] [host or IP] [+]port - Configuration of listening port. Use web_only or irc_only, if you don't want port to be universal. Put host/IP before the port with a space between to bind to a specific IP (notice that in this case the listener can't listen on both ipv4 and ipv6). Then goes the port ZNC will listen on. If the port is prepended with a '+' (without space) then ZNC listens using SSL. You can have several listeners in one ZNC. (Introduced in 0.090, see next chapter for older versions)
• Listener4 or Listener6 - Exactly the same as Listener, but will use only IPv4 or IPv6.

• Listener - Definition of a port that znc should listen on.
  • Host - The host or IP on which ZNC listens.
  • URIPrefix - Prefix that ZNC should make the web interface available under. This can be used to make ZNC available behind a reverse proxy.
  • Port - The port number used.
  • IPv4 - If this port is listening using IPv4.
  • IPv6 - If this port is listening using IPv6.
  • SSL - If this port is listening using SSL.
  • AllowIRC - If IRC connections are allowed on this listener.
  • AllowWeb - If web connections are allowed on this listener.

• User - The user definition, you can have more than one. Each user may only connect to one network, so you need a separate user for each network. This is intended behavior! (See the FAQ about multiple networks)
  • Admin - If set to true, the user has admin rights (e.g. in the webadmin module).
  • Pass - Used by the client to connect to ZNC. A hash may be generated using znc --makepass.
  • Allow - By default everyone is able to connect to ZNC as this user. With an Allow line you can restrict access to the specified IPs. Wildcards (*) are supported and multiple Allow lines can be set up.
  • AltNick - The alternate nick ZNC will use if your main nick is in use.
  • AppendTimestamp - Whether to append the timestamps to the message or not
  • RealName - ...
  • Bindhost - ...
  • AutoClearChanBuffer - If set to false, it will buffer channels even while you are attached, and play the whole buffer back to you each time you connect. If set to true, it won't buffer while you are attached, and the buffer will be reset upon each playback.
  • Buffer - ...
  • CTCPReply - A request-reply-pair for CTCP-requests. Format: <request> <reply>, e.g. VERSION unknown v1.0
  • ChanModes - Default modes ZNC will set when you join an empty channel.
  • Buffer - This is the amount of lines that the playback buffer will store before dropping off the oldest line. The buffers are stored in the memory by default.
  • DCCBindHost - ...
  • DenyLoadMod - If set to true, the user isn't able to load modules.
  • DenySetBindHost - If set to true, the user isn't able to change his vhost.
  • Ident - ...
  • JoinTries - How often should ZNC try to join if the first join failed, e.g. due to channel mode +i/+k or if you're banned.
  • LoadModule - Load a module for this user on startup.
  • MaxJoins - How many channels should ZNC join at once. Lower this if you get disconnected for 'Excess flood.
  • MaxNetworks - Maximum number of networks a user is allowed to have.
  • MultiClients - Set this to true, if you want to be able to connect with multiple clients at once.
  • Nick - Your primary nick.
  • PrependTimestamp - Whether to prepend the timestamps to the message or not
  • QuitMsg - The default quit message ZNC will use when you jump servers or call shutdown.
  • RealName - ...
  • Skin - ...
  • StatusPrefix - The prefix for the status and module queries.
  • TimestampFormat - The format for the timestamps used in buffers, for example [%H:%M:%S]
  • DCCVHost - This is the IP address used for DCC bouncing.
  • BounceDCCs - If set to true, the DCCs will be bounced by ZNC.
  • DCCLookupMethod - If set to default, ZNC will use the IP the clients sends for the DCC connections; if set to client, ZNC will use the IP the client connects from.
  • Timezone - Set this to your local setting, so you'll get correct times in your timestamps. Format is Europe/Berlin, and is case sensitive, dropdown box will not work in IE.
  • TimestampFormat - ...
  • ClientEncoding - ...

• Network
  • FloodBurst - How many lines ZNC sends at once.
  • FloodRate - How many lines per second ZNC sends after the FloodBurst
  • IRCConnectEnabled - If set to false, user doesn't connect to IRC servers.
  • LoadModule - Load a module for this network on startup.
  • Server - Adds a server to the list of servers this user will be able to connect to. If you want ZNC to connect to the IRC server using SSL, put '+' in front of the port number. The IP can be IPv6. If the server requires a password, just add it as the third argument. Format: Server = <IP-Address/Host> [+]<Port> [<Password>]
  • Nick - ...
  • AltNick - ...
  • Ident - ...
  • RealName - ...
  • BindHost - ...
  • Encoding - ...
  • Chan - Channels you want ZNC to join when connecting.
    • Key - Key for the channel.
    • Modes - Use this to override the ChanModes setting set in the User section.
    • Buffer - Use this to override the Buffer setting set in the User section.
    • AutoClearChanBuffer - Use this to override the AutoClearChanBuffer setting set in the User section.
    • Detached - If true, ZNC will join this channel as detached so that the IRC client will not be bothered by it.

Old versions

Before 0.096

• BindHost was named vHost

Before 0.090:

• Listen was similar to Listener4 from last version, without irc_only/web_only support.
• Listen6 was similar to Listener or Listener6 (depending on your OS) from last version, without irc_only/web_only support.
• TODO: When did Listeners become their own substructure?