<p>On some IRC channels such as #bitcoin-core-dev there are third party managed conversation <a href="https://gnusha.org/bitcoin-core-dev/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">logs</a> so you can follow the conversation from when you were offline without setting up a bouncer. However, I don't think (at the time of writing, September 2020) that there are conversation logs for the #bitcoin-core-pr-reviews channel except for the weekly meeting which is logged on the Bitcoin Core PR review club <a href="https://bitcoincore.reviews/meetings/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">site</a>. You definitely can't receive messages whilst you are offline.</p>
<p>For more background information on setting up a IRC bouncer see <a href="https://sgfault.com/2018/07/28/irc-bouncer-setup.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>For more information on migrating to libera.chat see <a href="https://libera.chat/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> and <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC/Migrating_to_Libera_Chat" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>There are various options to set up a bouncer but in the interests of simplicity I will just outline one assuming you followed the instructions <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/99048/how-do-i-join-the-bitcoin-core-pr-review-club-meetings-on-irc">here</a> to install Textual on MacOS.</p>
<p>You will need a virtual private server (VPS) to be running 24/7 to log the discussion and receive messages on your behalf and then you can connect to that server whenever you come back online. This will require a monthly subscription.</p>
<p>So your first step is to choose a VPS provider. One easy to use option is Digital Ocean but there are others that perform the same function and are equivalently priced. (We generally avoid product recommendations on this site so please excuse this counterexample.) You can connect directly to your VPS/Digital Ocean Droplet with SSH using the instructions <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/docs/droplets/how-to/connect-with-ssh/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. There is a tutorial for setting up SSH keys <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-ssh-keys--2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>Once you have set up your VPS you will need to install ZNC on that server. Instructions for doing that are <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-znc-an-irc-bouncer-on-an-ubuntu-vps" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> (deprecated but easier to follow and should still work) or <a href="https://wiki.znc.in/Installation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. The latest ZNC release is available <a href="https://znc.in/releases/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. You can <code>ssh</code> into your VPS using:</p>
<pre><code>ssh -i /path/to/private/key root@IP_address_of_VPS
</code></pre>
<p>Instructions for connecting your Textual client to the ZNC bouncer are <a href="https://help.codeux.com/textual/Connecting-to-ZNC-Bouncer.kb" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>The <code>Server Address</code> is the IP address of your VPS.</p>
<p>For the <code>Username</code> make sure you follow the below instructions.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the field labeled <code>Username</code> is where you will enter your username.
The format of this value is very specific: <code>&lt;username&gt;/&lt;network&gt;</code> — The
first half of the value is your ZNC username. The second half, which
is prefixed with a forward slash, is the Network Name</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this case the Network Name is <code>libera</code> so this should be <code>&lt;username&gt;/libera</code>.</p>
<p>Once you have set up your ZNC server and your ZNC configuration file you can edit znc.conf by following these <a href="https://wiki.znc.in/Configuration" rel="nofollow noreferrer">instructions</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In most cases you should NOT edit znc.conf directly. Use webadmin
instead.</p>
<p>If you really need to edit znc.conf by hand, do the following:</p>
<p><code>pkill -SIGUSR1 znc</code> to save current runtime configuration to znc.conf</p>
<p><code>pkill znc</code> to shutdown running ZNC instance Edit znc.conf</p>
<p><code>znc</code> to start it again with new configuration</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To set up SASL on the ZNC server follow <a href="https://wiki.znc.in/Sasl" rel="nofollow noreferrer">these</a> instructions.</p>
<p>For troubleshooting ZNC see this <a href="https://wiki.znc.in/FAQ" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FAQ</a> and help for ZNC commands is <a href="https://wiki.znc.in/Using_commands" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-20T12:26:52.730Z
2021-06-01T17:59:33.033Z
2021-06-01T17:59:33.033Z
Michael Folkson
<p>I am now <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/99048/how-do-i-join-the-bitcoin-core-pr-review-club-meetings-on-irc">set up</a> on IRC and I can attend the Bitcoin Core PR review club sessions. But when I am offline I can't receive messages and I can't follow the discussion which has happened during the time I was offline. How do I set up a IRC bouncer to address these problems?</p>

<bitcoincore-review><irc>
How do I set up IRC bouncer to receive messages and follow the discussion while I am offline?
Michael Folkson
# How do I set up IRC bouncer to receive messages and follow the discussion while I am offline?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-20)

I am now [set up](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/99048/how-do-i-join-the-bitcoin-core-pr-review-club-meetings-on-irc) on IRC and I can attend the Bitcoin Core PR review club sessions. But when I am offline I can't receive messages and I can't follow the discussion which has happened during the time I was offline. How do I set up a IRC bouncer to address these problems?

**Tags:** bitcoincore-review, irc


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2020-09-20. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

On some IRC channels such as #bitcoin-core-dev there are third party managed conversation [logs](https://gnusha.org/bitcoin-core-dev/) so you can follow the conversation from when you were offline without setting up a bouncer. However, I don't think (at the time of writing, September 2020) that there are conversation logs for the #bitcoin-core-pr-reviews channel except for the weekly meeting which is logged on the Bitcoin Core PR review club [site](https://bitcoincore.reviews/meetings/). You definitely can't receive messages whilst you are offline.

For more background information on setting up a IRC bouncer see [here](https://sgfault.com/2018/07/28/irc-bouncer-setup.html).

For more information on migrating to libera.chat see [here](https://libera.chat/) and [here](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC/Migrating_to_Libera_Chat).

There are various options to set up a bouncer but in the interests of simplicity I will just outline one assuming you followed the instructions [here](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/99048/how-do-i-join-the-bitcoin-core-pr-review-club-meetings-on-irc) to install Textual on MacOS.

You will need a virtual private server (VPS) to be running 24/7 to log the discussion and receive messages on your behalf and then you can connect to that server whenever you come back online. This will require a monthly subscription.

So your first step is to choose a VPS provider. One easy to use option is Digital Ocean but there are others that perform the same function and are equivalently priced. (We generally avoid product recommendations on this site so please excuse this counterexample.) You can connect directly to your VPS/Digital Ocean Droplet with SSH using the instructions [here](https://www.digitalocean.com/docs/droplets/how-to/connect-with-ssh/). There is a tutorial for setting up SSH keys [here](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-ssh-keys--2).

Once you have set up your VPS you will need to install ZNC on that server. Instructions for doing that are [here](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-znc-an-irc-bouncer-on-an-ubuntu-vps) (deprecated but easier to follow and should still work) or [here](https://wiki.znc.in/Installation). The latest ZNC release is available [here](https://znc.in/releases/). You can `ssh` into your VPS using:

```
ssh -i /path/to/private/key root@IP_address_of_VPS

```

Instructions for connecting your Textual client to the ZNC bouncer are [here](https://help.codeux.com/textual/Connecting-to-ZNC-Bouncer.kb).

The `Server Address` is the IP address of your VPS.

For the `Username` make sure you follow the below instructions.

> In the field labeled `Username` is where you will enter your username.
> The format of this value is very specific: `<username>/<network>` — The
> first half of the value is your ZNC username. The second half, which
> is prefixed with a forward slash, is the Network Name

In this case the Network Name is `libera` so this should be `<username>/libera`.

Once you have set up your ZNC server and your ZNC configuration file you can edit znc.conf by following these [instructions](https://wiki.znc.in/Configuration):

> 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:
>
> `pkill -SIGUSR1 znc` to save current runtime configuration to znc.conf
>
> `pkill znc` to shutdown running ZNC instance Edit znc.conf
>
> `znc` to start it again with new configuration

To set up SASL on the ZNC server follow [these](https://wiki.znc.in/Sasl) instructions.

For troubleshooting ZNC see this [FAQ](https://wiki.znc.in/FAQ) and help for ZNC commands is [here](https://wiki.znc.in/Using_commands).


---

