This manual documents WeeChat chat client, it is part of WeeChat.
Latest version of this document can be found on this page: http://www.weechat.org/doc
1. Introduction
WeeChat (Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat) is a free chat client, fast and light, designed for many operating systems.
This manual documents way to write scripts for WeeChat, using one of five supported script languages: perl, python, ruby, lua or tcl.
Note
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Almost all examples in this doc are written in Python, but API is the same for other languages. |
2. Scripts in WeeChat
2.1. Languages specificities
Some things are specific to languages:
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perl:
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functions are called with weechat::xxx(arg1, arg2, ...);
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python:
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you have to import weechat
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functions print* are called prnt* in python (because print is reserved keyword)
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functions are called with weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...)
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ruby:
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you have to define weechat_init and call register inside
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functions are called with Weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...)
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tcl:
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functions are called with weechat::xxx arg1 arg2 ...
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2.2. Register function
All WeeChat scripts must "register" themselves to WeeChat, and this must be first WeeChat function called in script.
Prototype:
weechat.register(name, author, version, license, description, shutdown_function, charset)
Arguments:
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name: string, internal name of script
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author: string, author name
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version: string, script version
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license: string, script license
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description: string, short description of script
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shutdown_function: string, name of function called when script is unloaded
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charset: string, script charset (optional, if your script is UTF-8, you can use blank value here, because UTF-8 is default charset)
Example of script, for each language:
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perl:
weechat::register("test_perl", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", ""); weechat::print("", "Hello, from perl script!");
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python:
import weechat weechat.register("test_python", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "") weechat.prnt("", "Hello, from python script!")
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ruby:
def weechat_init Weechat.register("test_ruby", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "") Weechat.print("", "Hello, from ruby script!") return Weechat::WEECHAT_RC_OK end
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lua:
weechat.register("test_lua", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "") weechat.print("", "Hello, from lua script!")
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tcl:
weechat::register "test_tcl" "FlashCode" "1.0" "GPL3" "Test script" "" "" weechat::print "" "Hello, from tcl script!"
2.3. Load script
You have to use command, depending on language:
/perl load perl/script.pl /python load python/script.py /ruby load ruby/script.rb /lua load lua/script.lua /tcl load tcl/script.tcl
You can make link in directory language/autoload to autoload script when WeeChat is starting.
For example with Python:
$ cd ~/.weechat/python/autoload $ ln -s ../script.py
3. Differences with C API
Script API is almost the same as C plugin API. You can look at WeeChat Plugin API Reference for detail about each function in API: prototype, arguments, return values, examples.
It’s important to make difference between a plugin and a script: a plugin is a binary file compiled and loaded with command /plugin, whereas a script is a text file loaded with a plugin like python with command /python.
When your script test.py calls a WeeChat API function, path is like that:
(script API) (C API) \/ \/ test.py -------> python plugin (python.so) -------> WeeChat core
When WeeChat calls a callback in your script test.py, it’s reverse of previous path:
(C API) (script API) \/ \/ WeeChat core -------> python plugin (python.so) -------> test.py
3.1. Pointers
As you probably know, there is not really "pointers" in scripts. So when API functions return pointer, it is converted to string for script.
For example, if function return pointer 0x1234ab56, script will get string "0x1234ab56".
And when an API function expects a pointer in arguments, script must give that string value. C plugin will convert it to real pointer before calling C API function.
Empty string or "0x0" are allowed, they means NULL in C. For example, to print data on core buffer (WeeChat main buffer), you can do:
weechat.prnt("", "hi!")
Warning
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In many functions, for speed reasons, WeeChat does not check if your pointer is correct or not. It’s your job to check you’re giving a valid pointer, otherwise you may see a nice crash report ;) |
3.2. Callbacks
Almost all WeeChat callbacks must return WEECHAT_RC_OK or WEECHAT_RC_ERROR (exception is modifier callback, which returns a string).
C callbacks are using a "data" argument, which is a pointer. In script API, this "data" is a string with a any value (it’s not a pointer).
For example:
weechat.hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "my_timer_cb", "my data") def my_timer_cb(data, remaining_calls): # this will display: "my data" weechat.prnt("", data) return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK
4. Script API
For more information about functions in API, please read WeeChat Plugin API Reference.
4.1. Functions
List of functions in script API:
Category | Functions |
---|---|
general |
register |
plugins |
plugin_get_name |
strings |
charset_set, iconv_to_internal, iconv_from_internal, gettext, ngettext, |
directories |
mkdir_home, mkdir, mkdir_parents |
sorted lists |
list_new, list_add, list_search, list_search_pos, list_casesearch, list_casesearch_pos, list_get, list_set, list_next, list_prev, list_string, list_size, list_remove, list_remove_all, list_free |
configuration files |
config_new, config_new_section, config_search_section, config_new_option,
config_search_option, |
key bindings |
key_bind, key_unbind |
display |
prefix, color, print (for python: prnt), print_date_tags (for python: prnt_date_tags), print_y (for python: prnt_y), log_print |
hooks |
hook_command, hook_command_run, hook_timer, hook_fd, hook_process, hook_connect, hook_print, hook_signal, hook_signal_send, hook_hsignal, hook_hsignal_send, hook_config, hook_completion, hook_completion_list_add, hook_modifier, hook_modifier_exec, hook_info, hook_info_hashtable, hook_infolist, hook_focus, unhook, unhook_all |
buffers |
buffer_new, current_buffer, buffer_search, buffer_search_main, buffer_clear, buffer_close, buffer_merge, buffer_unmerge, buffer_get_integer, buffer_get_string, buffer_get_pointer, buffer_set, buffer_string_replace_local_var, buffer_match_list |
windows |
current_window, window_search_with_buffer, window_get_integer, window_get_string, window_get_pointer, window_set_title |
nicklist |
nicklist_add_group, nicklist_search_group, nicklist_add_nick, nicklist_search_nick, nicklist_remove_group, nicklist_remove_nick, nicklist_remove_all, nicklist_group_get_integer, nicklist_group_get_string, nicklist_group_get_pointer, nicklist_group_set, nicklist_nick_get_integer, nicklist_nick_get_string, nicklist_nick_get_pointer, nicklist_nick_set |
bars |
bar_item_search, bar_item_new, bar_item_update, bar_item_remove, bar_search, bar_new, bar_set, bar_update, bar_remove |
commands |
command |
infos |
info_get, info_get_hashtable |
infolists |
infolist_new, infolist_new_item, infolist_new_var_integer,
infolist_new_var_string, infolist_new_var_pointer, infolist_new_var_time, |
hdata |
hdata_get, hdata_get_var_offset, hdata_get_var_type_string, hdata_get_var_hdata, hdata_get_list, hdata_move, hdata_integer, hdata_long, hdata_string, hdata_pointer, hdata_time, hdata_get_string |
upgrade |
upgrade_new, upgrade_write_object, upgrade_read, upgrade_close |
4.2. Constants
List of constants in script API:
Category | Constants |
---|---|
return codes |
WEECHAT_RC_OK, WEECHAT_RC_OK_EAT, WEECHAT_RC_ERROR |
configuration files |
WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_OK, WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_MEMORY_ERROR,
WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_FILE_NOT_FOUND, WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_OK,
WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_ERROR, WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_MEMORY_ERROR, |
sorted lists |
WEECHAT_LIST_POS_SORT, WEECHAT_LIST_POS_BEGINNING, WEECHAT_LIST_POS_END |
hotlist |
WEECHAT_HOTLIST_LOW, WEECHAT_HOTLIST_MESSAGE, WEECHAT_HOTLIST_PRIVATE, WEECHAT_HOTLIST_HIGHLIGHT |
hook process |
WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_RUNNING, WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_ERROR |
hook connect |
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_OK, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_IP_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_CONNECTION_REFUSED, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_PROXY_ERROR, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_LOCAL_HOSTNAME_ERROR, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_INIT_ERROR, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_HANDSHAKE_ERROR, WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_MEMORY_ERROR |
hook signal |
WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_STRING, WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_INT, WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_POINTER |
5. Common tasks
This chapter shows some common tasks, with examples. Only partial things in API are used here, for full reference, see WeeChat Plugin API Reference.
5.1. Buffers
5.1.1. Display messages
An empty string is often used to work with WeeChat core buffer. For other buffers, you must give pointer (as string, see pointers).
Examples:
# display "hello" on core buffer weechat.prnt("", "hello") # display "hello" on core buffer, but do not write it to log file # (version >= 0.3.3 only) weechat.prnt_date_tags("", 0, "no_log", "hello") # display prefix "==>" and message "hello" on current buffer # (prefix and message must be separated by tab) weechat.prnt(weechat.current_buffer(), "==>\thello") # display error message on core buffer (with error prefix) weechat.prnt("", "%swrong arguments" % weechat.prefix("error")) # display message with color on core buffer weechat.prnt("", "text %syellow on blue" % weechat.color("yellow,blue")) # search buffer and display message # (full name of buffer is plugin.name, for example: "irc.freenode.#weechat") buffer = weechat.buffer_search("irc", "freenode.#weechat") weechat.prnt(buffer, "message on #weechat channel") # other solution to find an IRC buffer (better) # (note that server and channel are separated by a comma) buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "freenode,#weechat") weechat.prnt(buffer, "message on #weechat channel")
Note
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Print function is called print in Perl/Ruby/Lua/Tcl and prnt in Python. |
5.1.2. Send text to buffer
You can send text or command to a buffer. This is exactly like if you type text on command line and press [Enter].
Examples:
# execute command "/help" on core buffer weechat.command("", "/help") # send "hello" to #weechat IRC channel (users on channel will see message) buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "freenode,#weechat") weechat.command(buffer, "hello")
5.1.3. Create new buffer
You can create a new buffer in your script, then use it for displaying messages.
Two callbacks can be called (they are optional): one for input data (when you type some text and press [Enter] on buffer), the other is called when buffer is closed (for example by /buffer close).
Example:
# callback for data received in input def buffer_input_cb(data, buffer, input_data): # ... return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK # callback called when buffer is closed def buffer_close_cb(data, buffer): # ... return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK # create buffer buffer = weechat.buffer_new("mybuffer", "buffer_input_cb", "", "buffer_close_cb", "") # set title weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "title", "This is title for my buffer.") # disable logging, by setting local variable "no_log" to "1" weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_set_no_log", "1")
5.1.4. Buffer properties
You can read buffer properties, as string, integer or pointer.
Examples:
buffer = weechat.current_buffer() number = weechat.buffer_get_integer(buffer, "number") name = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "name") short_name = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "short_name")
It is possible to add, read or delete local variables in buffer:
# add local variable weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_set_myvar", "my_value") # read local variable myvar = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "localvar_myvar") # delete local variable weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_del_myvar", "")
To see local variables of a buffer, do this command in WeeChat:
/buffer localvar
5.2. Hooks
5.2.1. Add new command
Add a custom command with hook_command. You can use a custom completion template to complete arguments of your command.
Example:
def my_command_cb(data, buffer, args): # ... return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK hook = weechat.hook_command("myfilter", "description of myfilter", "[list] | [enable|disable|toggle [name]] | [add name plugin.buffer tags regex] | [del name|-all]", "description of arguments...", "list" " || enable %(filters_names)" " || disable %(filters_names)" " || toggle %(filters_names)" " || add %(filters_names) %(buffers_plugins_names)|*" " || del %(filters_names)|-all", "my_command_cb", "")
And then in WeeChat:
/help myfilter /myfilter arguments...
5.2.2. Add a timer
Add a timer with hook_timer.
Example:
def timer_cb(data, remaining_calls): # ... return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK # timer called each minute when second is 00 weechat.hook_timer(60 * 1000, 60, 0, "timer_cb", "")
5.2.3. Run a background process
You can run a background process with hook_process. Your callback will be called when data is ready. It may be called many times.
For the last call to your callback, rc is set to 0 or positive value, it’s return code of command.
Example:
# Display versions of Linux kernels. kernel_txt = "" def kernel_process_cb(data, command, rc, stdout, stderr): """ Callback reading command output. """ global kernel_txt if stdout != "": kernel_txt += stdout if int(rc) >= 0: weechat.prnt("", kernel_txt) return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK weechat.hook_process("python -c \"import urllib; " "print urllib.urlopen('http://www.kernel.org/kdist/finger_banner').read()\"", 10 * 1000, "kernel_process_cb", "")
5.3. Config / options
5.3.1. Set options for script
Function config_is_set_plugin is used to check if an option is set or not, and config_set_plugin to set option.
Example:
script_options = { "option1" : "value1", "option2" : "value2", "option3" : "value3", } for option, default_value in script_options.iteritems(): if not weechat.config_is_set_plugin(option): weechat.config_set_plugin(option, default_value)
5.3.2. Detect changes
You must use hook_config to be notified if user changes some script options.
Example:
SCRIPT_NAME = "myscript" # ... def config_cb(data, option, value): """ Callback called when a script option is changed. """ # for example, read all script options to script variables... # ... return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK # ... weechat.hook_config("plugins.var.python." + SCRIPT_NAME + ".*", "config_cb", "") # for other languages, change "python" with your language ("perl", "ruby", "lua" or "tcl")
5.3.3. Read WeeChat options
Function config_get returns pointer to option. Then, depending on option type, you must call config_string, config_boolean, config_integer or config_color.
# string weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.item_time_format is: %s" % (weechat.config_string(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.item_time_format")))) # boolean weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.day_change is: %d" % (weechat.config_boolean(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.day_change")))) # integer weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.scroll_page_percent is: %d" % (weechat.config_integer(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.scroll_page_percent")))) # color weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.color.chat_delimiters is: %s" % (weechat.config_color(weechat.config_get("weechat.color.chat_delimiters"))))
5.4. IRC
5.4.1. Catch messages
IRC plugin sends two signals for a message received (xxx is IRC internal server name, yyy is IRC command name like JOIN, QUIT, PRIVMSG, 301, ..):
- xxxx,irc_in_yyy
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signal sent before processing message
- xxx,irc_in2_yyy
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signal sent after processing message
def join_cb(data, signal, signal_data): # signal is for example: "freenode,irc_in2_join" # signal_data is IRC message, for example: ":nick!user@host JOIN :#channel" nick = weechat.info_get("irc_nick_from_host", signal_data) server = signal.split(",")[0] channel = signal_data.split(":")[-1] buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "%s,%s" % (server, channel)) if buffer: weechat.prnt(buffer, "Eheh, %s has joined this channel!" % nick) return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK # it is useful here to use "*" as server, to catch JOIN messages on all IRC # servers weechat.hook_signal("*,irc_in2_join", "join_cb", "")
5.4.2. Modify messages
IRC plugin sends a "modifier" called "irc_in_xxx" ("xxx" is IRC command) for a message received, so that you can modify it.
def modifier_cb(data, modifier, modifier_data, string): # add server name to all messages received # (ok that's not very useful, but that's just an example!) return "%s %s" % (string, modifier_data) weechat.hook_modifier("irc_in_privmsg", "modifier_cb", "")
Warning
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A malformed message could crash WeeChat or cause severe problems! |
5.4.3. Parse message
New in version 0.3.4.
You can parse an IRC message with info_hashtable called "irc_message_parse".
dict = weechat.info_get_hashtable("irc_message_parse", { "message": ":nick!user@host PRIVMSG #weechat :message here" }) weechat.prnt("", "dict: %s" % dict) # output: # dict: {'nick': 'nick', 'host': 'nick!user@host', 'command': 'PRIVMSG', 'arguments': '#weechat :message here', 'channel': '#weechat'}
5.5. Infos
5.5.1. WeeChat version
The best way to check version is to ask "version_number" and make integer comparison with hexadecimal version number.
Example:
version = weechat.info_get("version_number", "") or 0 if int(version) >= 0x00030200: weechat.prnt("", "This is WeeChat 0.3.2 or newer") else: weechat.prnt("", "This is WeeChat 0.3.1 or older")
Note
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Versions ≤ 0.3.1.1 return empty string for info_get("version_number") so you must check that value returned is not empty. |
To get version as string:
# this will display for example "Version 0.3.2" weechat.prnt("", "Version %s" % weechat.info_get("version", ""))
5.5.2. Other infos
# WeeChat home directory, for example: "/home/xxxx/.weechat" weechat.prnt("", "WeeChat home dir: %s" % weechat.info_get("weechat_dir", "")) # keyboard inactivity weechat.prnt("", "Inactivity since %s seconds" % weechat.info_get("inactivity", ""))
5.6. Infolists
5.6.1. Read an infolist
You can read infolist built by WeeChat or other plugins.
Example:
# read infolist "buffer", to get list of buffers infolist = weechat.infolist_get("buffer", "", "") if infolist: while weechat.infolist_next(infolist): name = weechat.infolist_string(infolist, "name") weechat.prnt("", "buffer: %s" % name) weechat.infolist_free(infolist)
Important
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Don’t forget to call infolist_free to free memory used by infolist, because WeeChat will not automatically free memory. |