What X does
X is PureIRC’s own account and channel service. It looks after registered accounts, reserves their matching nicknames, and manages access and settings for registered channels.
Send commands to X in a private message. Its built-in help shows the commands available to your account and connection.
/msg X HELPFor help with one command, add its name: /msg X HELP REGISTER. Use /msg X SHOWCOMMANDS to browse your available commands.
Replace values in angle brackets with your own details, without the brackets. Replace #channel with your channel. Send passwords only to X, over a verified TLS connection.
Register and sign in
Create an account
/msg X REGISTER <account> <password>Choose 2–30 letters, digits or hyphens, starting with a letter. Your account name reserves the matching nickname, ignoring capitalization. A name currently used by another connection cannot be registered.
Passwords must be at least 8 characters and at most 256 bytes. Registration signs you in automatically. An email address is optional: see /msg X HELP REGISTER.
Sign in next time
/msg X AUTH <account> <password>LOGIN is an alias for AUTH. Your account stays the same when you change your nickname. Up to two connections may use an account at once.
/msg X WHOAMIWHOAMI shows which account you are using. /msg X LOGOUT signs out this connection only.
Authenticate when connecting
SASL lets your client sign in to X during connection, before joining channels. In your client’s authentication settings, choose SASL PLAIN and enter your X account name and password. Keep TLS enabled on port 6697.
Use the account name, even if your current nickname is different. Client interfaces vary; look for a network or server authentication setting rather than a generic server password field.
X also supports SASL EXTERNAL with a registered TLS client certificate. To manage your own certificate, use /msg X HELP CERT. Certificate authentication is optional.
Protect and recover a nickname
Every account owns the nickname that exactly matches its account name, regardless of letter case. You do not register it separately.
When connecting without authentication, you have 30 seconds to sign in before X changes a protected nickname to a guest name. SASL avoids that wait. Signing in to a different account does not give you access to the name.
Check a name
/msg X NICKINFO <nickname>This shows the owner and availability of a nickname. An unused protected nickname still belongs to its account.
Recover your own nickname
/msg X RECLAIMAuthenticate first. X recovers the nickname matching your account and gives the current occupant a guest name without disconnecting them.
If another connection signed in to your own account is using it, X asks you to confirm. Follow the response with /msg X RECLAIM CONFIRM <code> within two minutes.
Register and manage a channel
Join your channel, authenticate to X, and make sure you currently have channel operator status before registering it:
/msg X REGISTER #channelYour account becomes the channel owner, with full access and automatic operator status. Check your access with:
/msg X WHOAMI #channelGive someone access
Access belongs to an account, so it follows the person when their nickname changes. As an owner, you can inspect the access list and grant protected operator access:
/msg X FLAGS #channel
/msg X FLAGS #channel <account> +op+o grants operator access; +p protects eligible status. CHANLEV and ACCESS are aliases for FLAGS.
+nOwner- Full channel control.
+mMaster- Manage settings and users below master access.
+oOperator- Use the channel operator commands available to this account.
+vVoice- Eligible for voice; includes known-user access.
+kKnown- Allowed by the channel’s KNOWNONLY setting and able to request an invite.
Use /msg X HELP FLAGS for the full flag list and access rules. Channel settings require master or owner access; recovery and moderation commands also check your channel permissions.
Channel settings and recovery
/msg X HELP CHANFLAGSChannel behavior, including automatic status and entry restrictions.
/msg X HELP CHANMODEPersistent channel mode settings.
/msg X HELP WELCOMEA private welcome notice sent to people joining the channel.
/msg X HELP AUTOLIMITMaintain spare places in a channel with a user limit.
/msg X HELP RECOVERRecover a registered channel when your account has the required access.
/msg X HELP UNBANMERemove bans matching your identity if your access allows it.
Account settings
Change your password
/msg X NEWPASS <old-password> <new-password>You must be signed in. Changing the password signs out your other connections. If you have forgotten it, contact PureIRC; do not post passwords in a channel.
Set a cloak preference
/msg X CLOAK ONThis enables your account cloak, normally user/<account>, or an identity assigned to your account. The preference applies when you authenticate again. Use /msg X CLOAK OFF to turn it off.
Other account controls
/msg X HELP SET explains email and preference changes. /msg X HELP CERT explains your TLS client certificate list. /msg X HELP DROP explains account or channel deletion and its confirmation step.