This document is the specification of WeeChat Relay protocol: the protocol used to relay WeeChat data to clients, which are mostly remote interfaces.
1. Introduction
1.1. Terminology
The following terms are used in this document:
-
relay: this is the WeeChat with relay plugin, which acts as "server" and allows clients to connect
-
client: this is another software, connected to relay via a network connection; in most cases, this client is a remote interface.
1.2. Network diagram
The clients are connected to relay like shown in this diagram:
┌──────────┐ Workstation
┌────────┐ ┌───┤ client 1 │ (Linux, Windows,
│ irc │◄──┐ ╔═══════════╤═══════╗ │ └──────────┘ BSD, Mac OS X ...)
└────────┘ └──╢ │ ║◄───┘ ┌──────────┐
...... ║ WeeChat │ Relay ║◄───────┤ client 2 │ Mobile device
┌────────┐ ┌──╢ │ ║◄───┐ └──────────┘ (Android, iPhone ...)
│ jabber │◄──┘ ╚═══════════╧═══════╝ │ ......
└────────┘ │ ┌──────────┐
...... └───┤ client N │ Other devices
└──────────┘
└────────────┘ └───────────────────┘╘══════╛└────────────────────────────────┘
network servers ncurses interface relay remote interfaces
protocol
Note
|
All clients here are clients using weechat protocol in relay plugin. The relay plugin also allows IRC clients, then relay plugin acts as an IRC proxy (not described in this document). |
2. Protocol generalities
-
Connections from client to relay are made using TCP sockets on IP/port used by relay plugin to listen to new connections.
-
Number of clients is limited by the option relay.network.max_clients.
-
Each client is independent from other clients.
-
Messages from client to relay are called commands, they are sent as text (a string).
-
Messages from relay to client are called messages, they are sent as binary data.
3. Commands (client → relay)
Commands have format: "(id) command arguments\n".
Fields are:
-
id: optional message identifier that will be sent in answer from relay; it must be enclosed in parentheses, and must not start with an underscore ("_") (ids starting with underscore are reserved for WeeChat event messages)
-
command: a command (see table below)
-
arguments: optional arguments for command (many arguments are separated by spaces).
List of available commands (detail in next chapters):
Command | Description |
---|---|
|
Initialize connection with relay |
|
Request a hdata |
|
Request an info |
|
Request an infolist |
|
Request a nicklist |
|
Send data to a buffer (text or command) |
|
Synchronize buffer(s) (get updates for buffer(s)) |
|
Desynchronize buffer(s) (stop updates for buffer(s)) |
|
Disconnect from relay |
3.1. init
Initialize connection with relay. This must be first command sent to relay. If not sent, relay will close connection on first command received, without warning.
Syntax:
init [<option>=<value>,[<option>=<value>,...]]
Arguments:
-
option: one of following options:
-
password: password used to authenticate on relay (option relay.network.password in WeeChat)
-
compression: compression type:
-
zlib: enable zlib compression for messages sent by relay
-
off: disable compression
-
-
Note
|
Compression zlib is enabled by default if relay supports zlib compression. |
Examples:
# initialize and use zlib compression by default (if WeeChat supports it)
init password=mypass
# initialize and disable compression
init password=mypass,compression=off
3.2. hdata
Request a hdata.
Syntax:
(id) hdata <path> [<keys>]
Arguments:
-
path: path to a hdata, with format: "hdata:pointer/var/var/…/var", the last var is the hdata returned:
-
hdata: name of hdata
-
pointer: pointer ("0x12345") or list name (for example: "gui_buffers") (count allowed, see below)
-
var: a variable name in parent hdata (previous name in path) (count allowed, see below)
-
-
keys: comma-separated list of keys to return in hdata (if not specified, all keys are returned, which is not recommended on large hdata structures)
A count is allowed after pointer and variables, with format "(N)". Possible values are:
-
positive number: iterate using next element, N times
-
negative number: iterate using previous element, N times
-
*: iterate using next element, until end of list
Examples:
# request all buffers, hdata of type "buffer" is returned
# keys "number" and "name" are returned for each buffer
hdata buffer:gui_buffers(*) number,name
# request all lines of all buffers, hdata of type "line_data" is returned
# all keys are returned
hdata buffer:gui_buffers(*)/lines/first_line(*)/data
# request full name of first buffer
hdata buffer:gui_buffers full_name
3.3. info
Request an info.
Syntax:
(id) info <name>
Arguments:
-
name: name of info to retrieve
Example:
info version
3.4. infolist
Request an infolist.
Important
|
Content of infolist is a duplication of actual data. Wherever possible, use command hdata, which is direct access to data (it is faster, uses less memory and returns smaller objects in message). |
Syntax:
(id) infolist <name> [<pointer> [<arguments>]]
Arguments:
-
name: name of infolist to retrieve
-
pointer: pointer (optional)
-
arguments: arguments (optional)
Example:
infolist buffer
3.5. nicklist
Request a nicklist, for one or all buffers.
Syntax:
(id) nicklist [<buffer>]
Arguments:
-
buffer: pointer (0x12345) or full name of buffer (for example: core.weechat or irc.freenode.#weechat)
Examples:
# request nicklist for all buffers
nicklist
# request nicklist for irc.freenode.#weechat
nicklist irc.freenode.#weechat
3.6. input
Send data to a buffer.
Syntax:
input <buffer> <data>
Arguments:
-
buffer: pointer (0x12345) or full name of buffer (for example: core.weechat or irc.freenode.#weechat)
-
data: data to send to buffer: if beginning by /, this will be executed as a command on buffer, otherwise text is sent as input of buffer
Examples:
input core.weechat /help filter
input irc.freenode.#weechat hello!
3.7. sync
Updated in version 0.4.1.
Synchronize one or more buffers, to get updates.
Important
|
It is recommended to send this command immediately after you asked data for buffers (lines, …). It can be send in same message (after a new line char: "\n"). |
Syntax:
sync [<buffer>[,<buffer>...] <option>[,<option>...]]
Arguments:
-
buffer: pointer (0x12345) or full name of buffer (for example: core.weechat or irc.freenode.#weechat); name "*" can be used to specify all buffers
-
options: one of following keywords, separated by commas (default is buffers,upgrade,buffer,nicklist for "*" and buffer,nicklist for a buffer):
-
buffers: receive signals about buffers (opened/closed, moved, renamed, merged/unmerged, hidden/unhidden); this can be used only with name "*" (WeeChat ≥ 0.4.1)
-
upgrade: receive signals about WeeChat upgrade (upgrade, upgrade ended); this can be used only with name "*" (WeeChat ≥ 0.4.1)
-
buffer: receive signals about buffer (new lines, type changed, title changed, local variable added/removed, and same signals as buffers for the buffer) (updated in version 0.4.1)
-
nicklist: receive nicklist after changes
-
Examples:
# synchronize all buffers with nicklist
# (the 3 commands are equivalent, but the first one is recommended
# for compatibility with future versions)
sync
sync *
sync * buffers,upgrade,buffer,nicklist
# synchronize core buffer
sync core.buffer
# synchronize #weechat channel, without nicklist
sync irc.freenode.#weechat buffer
# get general signals + all signals for #weechat channel
sync * buffers,upgrade
sync irc.freenode.#weechat
3.8. desync
Updated in version 0.4.1.
Desynchronize one or more buffers, to stop updates.
Note
|
This will remove options for buffers. If some options are still active for buffers, the client will still receive updates for these buffers. |
Syntax:
desync [<buffer>[,<buffer>...] <option>[,<option>...]]
Arguments:
-
buffer: pointer (0x12345) or full name of buffer (for example: core.weechat or irc.freenode.#weechat); name "*" can be used to specify all buffers
-
options: one of following keywords, separated by commas (default is buffers,upgrade,buffer,nicklist for "*" and buffer,nicklist for a buffer); see command sync for values
Note
|
When using buffer "*", the other buffers synchronized (using a name) are kept. So if you send: "sync *", then "sync irc.freenode.#weechat", then "desync *", the updates on #weechat channel will still be sent by WeeChat (you must remove it explicitly to stop updates). |
Examples:
# desynchronize all buffers
# (the 3 commands are equivalent, but the first one is recommended
# for compatibility with future versions)
desync
desync *
desync * buffers,upgrade,buffer,nicklist
# desynchronize nicklist for #weechat channel (keep buffer updates)
desync irc.freenode.#weechat nicklist
# desynchronize #weechat channel
desync irc.freenode.#weechat
3.9. test
Test command: WeeChat will reply with various different objects.
This command is useful to test the decoding of binary objects returned by WeeChat.
Important
|
You must not use the pointer values returned by this command, they are not valid. This command must be used only to test decoding of a message sent by WeeChat. |
Syntax:
test
Example:
test
Returned objects (in this order):
Type | Type (in message) | Value |
---|---|---|
char |
|
|
integer |
|
|
integer |
|
|
long |
|
|
long |
|
|
string |
|
|
string |
|
|
string |
|
|
buffer |
|
|
buffer |
|
|
pointer |
|
|
pointer |
|
|
time |
|
|
array of strings |
|
|
array of integers |
|
|
3.10. ping
WeeChat ≥ 0.4.2.
Send a ping to WeeChat which will reply with a message "_pong" and same arguments.
This command is useful to test that connection with WeeChat is still alive and measure the response time.
Syntax:
ping [<arguments>]
Example:
ping 1370802127000
3.11. quit
Disconnect from relay.
Syntax:
quit
Example:
quit
4. Messages (relay → client)
Messages are sent as binary data, using following format (with size in bytes):
┌────────╥─────────────╥────╥────────┬──────────╥───────╥────────┬──────────┐
│ length ║ compression ║ id ║ type 1 │ object 1 ║ ... ║ type N │ object N │
└────────╨─────────────╨────╨────────┴──────────╨───────╨────────┴──────────┘
└──────┘ └───────────┘ └──┘ └──────┘ └────────┘ └──────┘ └────────┘
4 1 ?? 3 ?? 3 ??
└────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
header (5) compressed data (??)
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
'length' bytes
-
length (unsigned integer): number of bytes of whole message (including this field)
-
compression (byte): flag:
-
0x00: following data is not compressed
-
0x01: following data is compressed with zlib
-
-
id (string): identifier sent by client (before command name); it can be empty (string with zero length and no content) if no identifier was given in command
-
type (3 chars): a type: 3 letters (see table below)
-
object: an object (see table below)
4.1. Compression
If flag compression is equal to 0x01, then all data after is compressed with zlib, and therefore must be uncompressed before being processed.
4.2. Identifier
There are two types of identifiers (id):
-
id sent by client: relay will answer with same id in its answer
-
id of an event: on some events, relay will send message to client using a specific id, beginning with underscore (see table below)
WeeChat reserved identifiers:
Identifier | Received with sync | Data sent | Description | Recommended action in client |
---|---|---|---|---|
_buffer_opened |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer opened |
Open buffer |
_buffer_moved |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer moved |
Move buffer |
_buffer_merged |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer merged |
Merge buffer |
_buffer_unmerged |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer unmerged |
Unmerge buffer |
_buffer_hidden |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer hidden |
Hide buffer |
_buffer_unhidden |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer unhidden |
Unhide buffer |
_buffer_renamed |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer renamed |
Rename buffer |
_buffer_title_changed |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Title of buffer changed |
Change title of buffer |
_buffer_cleared |
buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer cleared |
Clear buffer |
_buffer_type_changed |
buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Type of buffer changed |
Change type of buffer |
_buffer_localvar_added |
buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Local variable added |
Add local variable in buffer |
_buffer_localvar_changed |
buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Local variable changed |
Change local variable in buffer |
_buffer_localvar_removed |
buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Local variable removed |
Remove local variable from buffer |
_buffer_line_added |
buffer |
hdata: line |
Line added in buffer |
Display line in buffer |
_buffer_closing |
buffers / buffer |
hdata: buffer |
Buffer closing |
Close buffer |
_nicklist |
nicklist |
hdata: nicklist_item |
Nicklist for a buffer |
Replace nicklist |
_nicklist_diff |
nicklist |
hdata: nicklist_item |
Nicklist diffs for a buffer |
Update nicklist |
_pong |
(always) |
string: ping arguments |
Answer to a "ping" |
Measure response time |
_upgrade |
upgrade |
(empty) |
WeeChat is upgrading |
Desync from WeeChat (or disconnect) |
_upgrade_ended |
upgrade |
(empty) |
Upgrade of WeeChat done |
Sync/resync with WeeChat |
4.2.1. _buffer_opened
This message is sent to the client when the signal "buffer_opened" is sent by WeeChat.
Data sent as hdata:
Name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
|
integer |
Buffer number (≥ 1) |
|
string |
Full name (example: irc.freenode.#weechat) |
|
string |
Short name (example: #weechat) |
|
integer |
1 if buffer has a nicklist, otherwise 0 |
|
string |
Buffer title |
|
hashtable |
Local variables |
|
pointer |
Pointer to previous buffer |
|
pointer |
Pointer to next buffer |
Example: channel #weechat joined on freenode, new buffer irc.freenode.#weechat: