🌐 ft_irc - Internet Relay Chat Server

A fully functional IRC Server implementation in C++98 following the IRC protocol standards

Features • Installation • Usage • Commands • Bot • Architecture

📋 Table of Contents

🎯 Project Overview
✨ Features
🚀 Installation
💻 Usage
🎮 IRC Commands
🤖 IRC Bot
🏗️ Architecture
📁 Project Structure
🧪 Testing
🔧 Troubleshooting
📚 Resources

🎯 Project Overview

ft_irc is a robust IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server implementation built from scratch in C++98. This project creates a multi-client chat server that follows the IRC protocol standards, allowing users to connect with standard IRC clients and enjoy real-time communication through channels and private messages.

🎯 Key Objectives

✅ Implement a fully functional IRC server
✅ Support multiple simultaneous clients
✅ Handle channel management with operators
✅ Process IRC commands according to RFC standards
✅ Maintain stability and performance under load

✨ Features

🔐 Core Server Features

Multi-client Support: Handle unlimited simultaneous connections
Non-blocking I/O: Efficient event-driven architecture using poll()
Password Authentication: Secure server access
Channel Management: Create, join, and manage chat channels
User Roles: Regular users and channel operators
Private Messaging: Direct user-to-user communication

👥 Channel Management

Channel Creation: Automatic channel creation on first join
Operator System: First user becomes channel operator
Channel Modes:
- +i - Invite-only channel
- +t - Topic restriction to operators
- +k - Channel password protection
- +l - User limit
- +o - Operator privileges

🎮 Command Support

Command	Description	Usage
`PASS`	Server authentication	`PASS <password>`
`NICK`	Set nickname	`NICK <nickname>`
`USER`	Set user information	`USER <username> 0 * :<realname>`
`JOIN`	Join channel	`JOIN #<channel> [password]`
`PART`	Leave channel	`PART #<channel>`
`PRIVMSG`	Send message	`PRIVMSG <target> :<message>`
`KICK`	Remove user	`KICK #<channel> <user> [reason]`
`INVITE`	Invite user	`INVITE <user> #<channel>`
`TOPIC`	Set/view topic	`TOPIC #<channel> [new topic]`
`MODE`	Change modes	`MODE #<channel> <+/-><mode> [params]`
`NAMES`	List users	`NAMES #<channel>`

🤖 Bonus Features

IRC Bot: Automated bot with jokes and commands
File Transfer: DCC SEND support (bonus)
Signal Handling: Graceful shutdown on SIGINT/SIGTERM

🚀 Installation

📋 Prerequisites

# Required
- C++ compiler with C++98 support
- Make
- Unix-like system (Linux/macOS)

# Optional (for testing)
- IRC client (irssi, HexChat, WeeChat, etc.)
- netcat (nc) for basic testing

🔨 Compilation

Clone the repository
```
git clone <repository-url>
cd ft_irc
```
Compile the server
```
make
```
Compile the bot (bonus)
```
make bonus
# or
cd bot && make
```

📦 Build Targets

make          # Build server only
make bonus    # Build server + bot
make clean    # Remove object files
make fclean   # Remove all built files
make re       # Rebuild everything

💻 Usage

🖥️ Starting the Server

./ircserv <port> <password>

Parameters:

port: Port number (1024-65535)
password: Connection password for clients

Example:

./ircserv 6667 mypassword123

🤖 Starting the Bot

./ircbot <port> <password>

The bot will automatically connect to 127.0.0.1 and join the #bot channel.

🔌 Connecting with IRC Clients

Using irssi

irssi
/connect localhost 6667 mypassword123
/nick YourNickname
/join #general

Using HexChat

Add new network: localhost/6667
Set password: mypassword123
Connect and join channels

Using netcat (basic testing)

nc localhost 6667
PASS mypassword123
NICK testnick
USER testuser 0 * :Test User
JOIN #test
PRIVMSG #test :Hello World!

🎮 IRC Commands

🔐 Authentication Commands

PASS - Server Authentication

PASS <password>

Must be sent before NICK and USER commands.

NICK - Set Nickname

NICK <nickname>

Sets your nickname. Must be unique on the server.

USER - Set User Information

USER <username> <hostname> <servername> :<realname>

Completes the registration process.

📺 Channel Commands

JOIN - Join Channel

JOIN #<channel> [password]

Creates channel if it doesn't exist
First user becomes operator
Password required if channel has +k mode

PART - Leave Channel

PART #<channel>

Leaves the specified channel.

TOPIC - Channel Topic

TOPIC #<channel>          # View current topic
TOPIC #<channel> :New topic  # Set new topic (operators only if +t)

💬 Communication Commands

PRIVMSG - Send Message

PRIVMSG #<channel> :Hello everyone!     # Channel message
PRIVMSG <nickname> :Private message     # Private message

👑 Operator Commands

KICK - Remove User

KICK #<channel> <nickname> :Reason for kick

Removes a user from the channel (operators only).

INVITE - Invite User

INVITE <nickname> #<channel>

Invites a user to the channel.

MODE - Channel Modes

MODE #<channel> +i              # Set invite-only
MODE #<channel> -i              # Remove invite-only
MODE #<channel> +t              # Topic restricted to operators
MODE #<channel> +k password     # Set channel password
MODE #<channel> +l 50           # Set user limit to 50
MODE #<channel> +o nickname     # Give operator status
MODE #<channel> -o nickname     # Remove operator status

📋 Information Commands

NAMES - List Channel Users

NAMES #<channel>

Shows all users in the channel. Operators are prefixed with @.

🤖 IRC Bot

The IRC bot is an automated client that connects to your server and provides interactive commands.

🎯 Bot Features

Automatic Connection: Connects to server on startup
Command Processing: Responds to ! prefixed commands
Joke Database: Built-in programming jokes
Channel Management: Automatically joins #bot channel

🎮 Bot Commands

Command	Description	Example
`!help`	Show available commands	`!help`
`!ping`	Responds with "Pong!"	`!ping`
`!pong`	Responds with "Ping!"	`!pong`
`!hi`	Greets the user	`!hi`
`!joke`	Tells a random programming joke	`!joke`

💬 Example Bot Interaction

<YourNick> !hi
<ircbot> Hello YourNick! How are you doing?

<YourNick> !joke  
<ircbot> Why don't programmers like nature? It has too many bugs!

<YourNick> !help
<ircbot> Available commands: !help, !ping, !pong, !hi, !joke

🔧 Bot Configuration

The bot connects to 127.0.0.1 by default. To modify:

Edit bot/src/main.cpp
Change the server address in the Bot constructor
Recompile with make bonus

🏗️ Architecture

🧱 Core Components

Server Class

Purpose: Main server management and client handling
Key Features:
- Socket creation and binding
- Client connection acceptance
- Command parsing and routing
- Signal handling for graceful shutdown

Client Class

Purpose: Individual client connection management
Key Features:
- Connection state tracking
- Authentication status
- Input/output buffering
- User information storage

Channel Class

Purpose: Chat channel management
Key Features:
- Member list management
- Operator privileges
- Channel modes and settings
- Topic management

🔄 Data Flow

graph TD
    A[Client Connection] --> B[Authentication]
    B --> C[Command Processing]
    C --> D{Command Type}
    D -->|Channel| E[Channel Operations]
    D -->|Private| F[Direct Messaging]
    D -->|Server| G[Server Management]
    E --> H[Broadcast to Channel]
    F --> I[Send to Target]
    G --> J[Server Response]

🌐 Network Architecture

Server Socket: Listens for incoming connections
Poll Loop: Monitors all file descriptors for activity
Event Processing: Handles read/write events
Command Router: Dispatches commands to handlers
Response System: Sends replies back to clients

📁 Project Structure

ft_irc/
├── 📄 Makefile                    # Build configuration
├── 📄 README.md                   # This file
├── 📁 include/                    # Header files
│   ├── 📄 Server.hpp              # Server class definition
│   ├── 📄 Client.hpp              # Client class definition
│   ├── 📄 Channel.hpp             # Channel class definition
│   └── 📄 Bot.hpp                 # Bot class definition
├── 📁 src/                        # Source files
│   ├── 📄 main.cpp                # Server entry point
│   ├── 📄 Server.cpp              # Server implementation
│   ├── 📁 classes/                # Class implementations
│   │   ├── 📄 Client.cpp          # Client implementation
│   │   └── 📄 Channel.cpp         # Channel implementation
│   ├── 📁 commands/               # IRC command handlers
│   │   ├── 📄 CommandParser.cpp   # Command parsing
│   │   ├── 📁 authentication/     # Auth commands
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Pass.cpp        # PASS command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Nick.cpp        # NICK command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 User.cpp        # USER command
│   │   │   └── 📄 Quit.cpp        # QUIT command
│   │   ├── 📁 channel/            # Channel commands
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Join.cpp        # JOIN command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Part.cpp        # PART command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Topic.cpp       # TOPIC command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Names.cpp       # NAMES command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Kick.cpp        # KICK command
│   │   │   ├── 📄 Invite.cpp      # INVITE command
│   │   │   └── 📄 Mode.cpp        # MODE command
│   │   └── 📁 messaging/          # Message commands
│   │       └── 📄 Privmsg.cpp     # PRIVMSG command
└── 📁 bot/                        # IRC Bot (bonus)
    ├── 📄 Makefile                # Bot build config
    ├── 📁 include/                # Bot headers
    │   └── 📄 Bot.hpp             # Bot class definition
    └── 📁 src/                    # Bot source files
        ├── 📄 main.cpp            # Bot entry point
        └── 📄 Bot.cpp             # Bot implementation

🧪 Testing

🔍 Basic Functionality Tests

1. Server Startup Test

./ircserv 6667 testpass
# Should start without errors and listen on port 6667

2. Client Connection Test

# Terminal 1: Start server
./ircserv 6667 testpass

# Terminal 2: Connect with netcat
nc localhost 6667
PASS testpass
NICK testuser
USER testuser 0 * :Test User
# Should receive welcome messages

3. Channel Operations Test

# After connecting:
JOIN #test
PRIVMSG #test :Hello World!
NAMES #test
TOPIC #test :Test Channel Topic
# Test all commands systematically

🤖 Bot Testing

# Terminal 1: Start server
./ircserv 6667 testpass

# Terminal 2: Start bot
./ircbot 6667 testpass

# Terminal 3: Connect as user and test bot
nc localhost 6667
PASS testpass
NICK testuser
USER testuser 0 * :Test User
JOIN #bot
PRIVMSG #bot :!help
PRIVMSG #bot :!joke

🔧 Stress Testing

Multiple Clients Test

# Use this script to test multiple connections
for i in {1..10}; do
    (echo -e "PASS testpass\nNICK user$i\nUSER user$i 0 * :User $i\nJOIN #stress\nPRIVMSG #stress :Hello from user $i\nQUIT" | nc localhost 6667) &
done

Partial Message Test

# Test handling of partial messages (as per subject requirements)
nc -C localhost 6667
# Send: com^D (Ctrl+D)
# Send: man^D
# Send: d^D
# Should handle partial command properly

🔧 Troubleshooting

❌ Common Issues and Solutions

🔴 "Address already in use" Error

# Problem: Port is still bound from previous run
# Solution: Wait or kill existing process
lsof -ti:6667 | xargs kill -9
# Or use a different port
./ircserv 6668 testpass

🔴 Client Connection Refused

# Check if server is running
ps aux | grep ircserv

# Check if port is open
netstat -tlnp | grep 6667

# Ensure firewall allows connections
sudo ufw allow 6667

🔴 Bot Won't Connect

# Ensure server is running first
./ircserv 6667 testpass

# Check bot connection
./ircbot 6667 testpass
# Bot should show "Connected to server" message

🔴 Permission Denied Errors

# Ensure you're not trying to bind to privileged ports (<1024) without sudo
# Use ports >= 1024
./ircserv 8080 testpass

🔍 Debug Mode

Enable debug output by uncommenting debug statements in the source code:

// In CommandParser.cpp
std::cout << "Parse Command : " << message << std::endl;

📊 Memory Leak Detection

# Compile with debug flags
make CFLAGS="-g -fsanitize=address"

# Run with valgrind
valgrind --leak-check=full ./ircserv 6667 testpass

📚 Resources

📖 IRC Protocol References

🛠️ Development Tools

IRC Client Testing - HexChat IRC Client
Command Reference - Modern IRC Documentation
Protocol Testing - IRCv3 Test Networks

📚 Learning Resources

🎉 Congratulations on completing ft_irc!

Made with ❤️ by [Haithem (0xk4g3) & zabdirak & raouf]

This project demonstrates advanced C++ programming, network protocols, and system programming concepts.

📝 Notes

🎯 Project Requirements Compliance

✅ C++98 Standard: All code follows C++98 specifications
✅ No External Libraries: Only standard C++98 and allowed system calls
✅ Non-blocking I/O: Uses poll() for efficient event handling
✅ Multi-client Support: Handles multiple simultaneous connections
✅ IRC Protocol: Implements required IRC commands and responses
✅ Memory Management: Proper cleanup and leak prevention
✅ Error Handling: Robust error checking and graceful failure

🏆 Bonus Features Implemented

✅ IRC Bot: Interactive bot with command system
✅ File Transfer: Basic DCC SEND support
✅ Signal Handling: Graceful shutdown capabilities
✅ Extended Commands: Additional IRC command support
Performance monitoring and metrics

*Happy Coding! �

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 52 Commits
bot		bot
include		include
src		src
.gitignore		.gitignore
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
mem_mentoring.sh		mem_mentoring.sh
normal_test.sh		normal_test.sh
oom_test.sh		oom_test.sh
stress_test.sh		stress_test.sh

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