Plugin Interface

c

Introduction

Plugins for HexChat are written in C. The interface aims to keep 100% binary compatability. This means that if you upgrade HexChat, you will not need to recompile your plugins, they'll continue to work. The interface doesn't depend on any structures and offsets, so compiler versions shouldn't have an impact either. The only real requirement of a HexChat plugin is that it define an hexchat_plugin_init symbol. This is your entry point function, see the example below. You should make all your global variables and functions static, so that a symbol is not exported. There is no harm in exporting these symbols, but they are not necessary and only pollute the name-space. Plugins are compiled as shared objects (.so files), for example:

Most UNIX systems:

gcc -Wl --export-dynamic -Wall -O1 -shared -fPIC myplugin.c -o myplugin.so

OS X:

gcc -no-cpp-precomp -g -O2 -Wall -bundle -flat_namespace -undefined suppress -o myplugin.so myplugin.c

See the Windows section on how to compile a plugin using Visual Studio.

All strings passed to and from plugins are encoded in UTF-8, regardless of locale.

Sample plugin

This simple plugin auto-ops anyone who joins a channel you're in. It also adds a new command /AUTOOPTOGGLE, which can be used to turn the feature ON or OFF. Every HexChat plugin must define an hexchat_plugin_init function, this is the normal entry point. hexchat_plugin_deinit is optional.

#include "hexchat-plugin.h"

#define PNAME "AutoOp"
#define PDESC "Auto Ops anyone that joins"
#define PVERSION "0.1"

static hexchat_plugin *ph;      /* plugin handle */
static int enable = 1;

static int
join_cb (char *word[], void *userdata)
{
        if (enable)
        {
                /* Op ANYONE who joins */
                hexchat_commandf (ph, "OP %s", word[1]);
        }
        /* word[1] is the nickname, as in the Settings->Text Events window in HexChat */

        return HEXCHAT_EAT_NONE;        /* don't eat this event, HexChat needs to see it! */
}

static int
autooptoggle_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *userdata)
{
        if (!enable)
        {
                enable = 1;
                hexchat_print (ph, "AutoOping now enabled!\n");
        }
        else
        {
                enable = 0;
                hexchat_print (ph, "AutoOping now disabled!\n");
        }

        return HEXCHAT_EAT_ALL;     /* eat this command so HexChat and other plugins can't process it */
}

void
hexchat_plugin_get_info (char **name, char **desc, char **version, void **reserved)
{
        *name = PNAME;
        *desc = PDESC;
        *version = PVERSION;
}

int
hexchat_plugin_init (hexchat_plugin *plugin_handle, char **plugin_name, char **plugin_desc, char **plugin_version, char *arg)
{
        /* we need to save this for use with any hexchat_* functions */
        ph = plugin_handle;

        /* tell HexChat our info */
        *plugin_name = PNAME;
        *plugin_desc = PDESC;
        *plugin_version = PVERSION;

        hexchat_hook_command (ph, "AutoOpToggle", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, autooptoggle_cb, "Usage: AUTOOPTOGGLE, Turns OFF/ON Auto Oping", 0);
        hexchat_hook_print (ph, "Join", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, join_cb, 0);

        hexchat_print (ph, "AutoOpPlugin loaded successfully!\n");

        return 1;       /* return 1 for success */
}

int
hexchat_plugin_deinit (hexchat_plugin *plugin_handle)
{
        hexchat_print (ph, "Unloading AutoOpPlugin");
        return 1;       /* return 1 for success */
}

What's word and word_eol?

They are arrays of strings. They contain the parameters the user entered for the particular command. For example, if you executed:

/command NICK hi there

word[1] is command
word[2] is NICK
word[3] is hi
word[4] is there
word_eol[1] is command NICK hi there
word_eol[2] is NICK hi there
word_eol[3] is hi there
word_eol[4] is there

These arrays are simply provided for your convenience. You are not allowed to alter them. Both arrays are limited to 32 elements (index 31). word[0] and word_eol[0] are reserved and should not be read.

Lists and Fields

Lists of information (DCCs, Channels, User list, etc.) can be retreived with hexchat_list_get. All fields are read only and must be copied if needed for a long time after calling hexchat_list_str. The types of lists and fields available are:

+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | "dcc" | list of DCC file transfers | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | Name | Description | Type | +============+======================================================================+========+ | address32 | Address of the remote user (ipv4 address) | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | cps | Bytes per second (speed) | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | destfile | Destination full pathname | string | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | file | File name | string | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | nick | Nickname of person who the file is from/to | string | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | port | TCP port number | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | pos | Bytes sent/received | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | poshigh | Bytes sent/received, high order 32 bits | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | resume | Point at which this file was resumed (or zero if it was not resumed) | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | resumehigh | Point at which this file was resumed, high order 32 bits | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | size | File size in bytes, low order 32 bits (cast it to unsigned) | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | sizehigh | File size in bytes, high order 32 bits | int | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | status | - 0 = Queued | int | | | - 1 = Active | | | | - 2 = Failed | | | | - 3 = Done | | | | - 4 = Connecting | | | | - 5 = Aborted | | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+ | type | - 0 = Send | int | | | - 1 = Recieve | | | | - 1 = ChatRecv | | | | - 1 = ChatSend | | +------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

"notify"	list of people on notify
Name	Description Type
========	================================================================== =======
networks	Networks to which this nick applies. Comma separated. May be NULL. string
nick	Nickname string
flags	Bit field of flags. 0=Is online. int
on	Time when user came online. time_t
off	Time when user went offline. time_t
seen	Time when user the user was last verified still online. time_t

Fields are only valid for the context when hexchat_list_get() was called (i.e. you get information about the user ON THAT ONE SERVER ONLY). You may cycle through the "channels" list to find notify information for every server.

"users"	list of users in the current channel
Name	Description Type
==========	============================================================================================ ========
account	Account name or NULL (2.9.6+) string
away	Away status (boolean) int
lasttalk	Last time the user was seen talking time_t
nick	Nick name string
host	Host name in the form: user@host (or NULL if not known). string
prefix	Prefix character, .e.g: @ or +. Points to a single char. string
realname	Real name or NULL string
selected	Selected status in the user list, only works for retrieving the user list of the focused tab int

Example:

list = hexchat_list_get (ph, "dcc");

if (list)
{
        hexchat_print (ph, "--- DCC LIST ------------------\nFile  To/From   KB/s   Position\n");

        while (hexchat_list_next (ph, list))
        {
                hexchat_printf (ph, "%6s %10s %.2f  %d\n",
                        hexchat_list_str (ph, list, "file"),
                        hexchat_list_str (ph, list, "nick"),
                        hexchat_list_int (ph, list, "cps") / 1024,
                        hexchat_list_int (ph, list, "pos"));
        }

        hexchat_list_free (ph, list);
}

Plugins on Windows (Win32)

All you need is Visual Studio setup as explained in Building. Your best bet is to use an existing plugin (such as the currently unused SASL plugin) in the HexChat solution as a starting point. You should have the following files:

hexchat-plugin.h
- main plugin header
plugin.c - Your plugin, you need to write this one :)
plugin.def - A simple text file containing the following:

EXPORTS
    hexchat_plugin_init
    hexchat_plugin_deinit
    hexchat_plugin_get_info

Leave out hexchat_plugin_deinit if you don't intend to define that function. Then compile your plugin in Visual Studio as usual.

Caveat: plugins compiled on Win32 must have a global variable called ph, which is the plugin_handle, much like in the sample plugin above.

Controlling the GUI

A simple way to perform basic GUI functions is to use the /GUI command. You can execute this command through the input box, or by calling hexchat_command (ph, "GUI .....");.

GUI ATTACH: Same function as "Attach Window" in the HexChat menu.
GUI DETACH: Same function as "Detach Tab" in the HexChat menu.
GUI APPLY: Similar to clicking OK in the settings window. Execute this after /SET to activate GUI changes.
GUI COLOR *n*: Change the tab color of the current context, where n is a number from 0 to 3.
GUI FOCUS: Focus the current window or tab.
GUI FLASH: Flash the taskbar button. It will flash only if the window isn't focused and will stop when it is focused by the user.
GUI HIDE: Hide the main HexChat window completely.
GUI ICONIFY: Iconify (minimize to taskbar) the current HexChat window.
GUI MSGBOX *text*: Displays a asynchronous message box with your text.
GUI SHOW: Show the main HexChat window (if currently hidden).

You can add your own items to the menu bar. The menu command has this syntax:

MENU [-eX] [-i<ICONFILE>] [-k<mod>,<key>] [-m] [-pX] [-rX,group] [-tX] {ADD|DEL} <path> [command] [unselect command]

For example:

MENU -p5 ADD FServe
MENU ADD "FServe/Show File List" "fs list"
MENU ADD FServe/-
MENU -k4,101 -t1 ADD "FServe/Enabled" "fs on" "fs off"
MENU -e0 ADD "FServe/Do Something" "fs action"

In the example above, it would be recommended to execute MENU DEL FServe inside your hexchat_plugin_deinit function. The special item with name "-" will add a separator line.

Parameters and flags:

-eX: Set enable flag to X. -e0 for disable, -e1 for enable. This lets you create a disabled (shaded) item.
-iFILE: Use an icon filename FILE. Not supported for toggles or radio items.
-k<mod>,<key>: Specify a keyboard shortcut. "mod" is the modifier which is a bitwise OR of: 1-SHIFT 4- CTRL 8-ALT in decimal. "key" is the key value in decimal, e.g. -k5,101 would specify SHIFT-CTRL-E.
-m: Specify that this label should be treated as Pango Markup language. Since forward slash ("/") is already used in menu paths, you should replace closing tags with an ASCII 003 instead e.g.: hexchat_command (ph, "MENU -m ADD "<b>Bold Menu<03b>"");
-pX: Specify a menu item's position number. e.g. -p5 will cause the item to be inserted in the 5th place. If the position is a negative number, it will be used as an offset from the bottom/right-most item.
-rX,group: Specify a radio menu item, with initial state X and a group name. The group name should be the exact label of another menu item (without the path) that this item will be grouped with. For radio items, only a select command will be executed (no unselect command).
-tX: Specify a toggle menu item with an initial state. -t0 for an "unticked" item and -t1 for a "ticked" item.

If you want to change an item's toggle state or enabled flag, just ADD an item with exactly the same name and command and specify the -tX -eX parameters you need.

It's also possible to add items to HexChat's existing menus, for example:

MENU ADD "Settings/Sub Menu"
MENU -t0 ADD "Settings/Sub Menu/My Setting" myseton mysetoff

However, internal names and layouts of HexChat's menu may change in the future, so use at own risk.

Here is an example of Radio items:

MENU ADD "Language"
MENU -r1,"English" ADD "Language/English" cmd1
MENU -r0,"English" ADD "Language/Spanish" cmd2
MENU -r0,"English" ADD "Language/German" cmd3

You can also change menus other than the main one (i.e popup menus). Currently they are:

Root Name	Menu
$TAB	Tab menu (right click a channel/query tab or treeview row)
$TRAY	System Tray menu
$URL	URL link menu
$NICK	Userlist nick-name popup menu
$CHAN	Menu when clicking a channel in the text area

Example:

MENU -p0 ADD "$TAB/Cycle Channel" cycle

You can manipulate HexChat's system tray icon using the /TRAY command:

Usage:
TRAY -f <timeout> <file1> [<file2>] Flash tray between two icons. Leave off file2 to use default HexChat icon.
TRAY -f <filename>                  Set tray to a fixed icon.
TRAY -i <number>                    Flash tray with an internal icon.
TRAY -t <text>                      Set the tray tooltip.
TRAY -b <title> <text>              Set the tray balloon.

Icon numbers:

2: Message
5: Highlight
8: Private
11:File

For tray balloons on Linux, you'll need libnotify.

Filenames can be ICO or PNG format. PNG format is supported on Linux/BSD and Windows XP. Set a timeout of -1 to use HexChat's default.

Handling UTF-8/Unicode strings

The HexChat plugin API specifies that strings passed to and from HexChat must be encoded in UTF-8.

What does this mean for the plugin programmer? You just have to be a little careful when passing strings obtained from IRC to system calls. For example, if you're writing a file-server bot, someone might message you a filename. Can you pass this filename directly to open()? Maybe! If you're lazy... The correct thing to do is to convert the string to "system locale encoding", otherwise your plugin will fail on non-ascii characters.

Here are examples on how to do this conversion on Unix and Windows. In this example, someone will CTCP you the message "SHOWFILE <filename>".

static int
ctcp_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *userdata)
{
        if(strcmp(word[1], "SHOWFILE") == 0)
        {
                get_file_name (nick, word[2]);
        }

        return HEXCHAT_EAT_HEXCHAT;
}

static void
get_file_name (char *nick, char *fname)
{
        char buf[256];
        FILE *fp;

        /* the fname is in UTF-8, because it came from the HexChat API */

#ifdef _WIN32

        wchar_t wide_name[MAX_PATH];

        /* convert UTF-8 to WIDECHARs (aka UTF-16LE) */
        if (MultiByteToWideChar (CP_UTF8, 0, fname, -1, wide_name, MAX_PATH) < 1)
        {
                return;
        }

        /* now we have WIDECHARs, so we can _wopen() or CreateFileW(). */
        /* _wfopen actually requires NT4, Win2000, XP or newer. */
        fp = _wfopen (wide_name, "r");

#else

        char *loc_name;

        /* convert UTF-8 to System Encoding */
        loc_name = g_filename_from_utf8 (fname, -1, 0, 0, 0);
        if(!loc_name)
        {
                return;
        }

        /* now open using the system's encoding */
        fp = fopen (loc_name, "r");
        g_free (loc_name);

#endif

        if (fp)
        {
                while (fgets (buf, sizeof (buf), fp))
                {
                        /* send every line to the user that requested it */
                        hexchat_commandf (ph, "QUOTE NOTICE %s :%s", nick, buf);
                }
                fclose (fp);
        }
}

Types and Constants

hexchat_plugin hexchat_list hexchat_hook hexchat_context hexchat_event_attrs

HEXCHAT_PRI_HIGHEST HEXCHAT_PRI_HIGH HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM HEXCHAT_PRI_LOW HEXCHAT_PRI_LOWEST

HEXCHAT_EAT_NONE HEXCHAT_EAT_XCHAT HEXCHAT_EAT_PLUGIN HEXCHAT_EAT_ALL

HEXCHAT_FD_READ HEXCHAT_FD_WRITE HEXCHAT_FD_EXCEPTION HEXCHAT_FD_NOTSOCKET

Functions

General Functions

void hexchat_command (hexchat_plugin ph, const charcommand)

Executes a command as if it were typed in HexChat's input box.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param command: Command to execute, without the forward slash "/".

void hexchat_commandf (hexchat_plugin ph, const charformat, ...)

Executes a command as if it were typed in HexChat's input box and provides string formatting like printf.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param format: The format string.

void hexchat_print (hexchat_plugin ph, const chartext)

Prints some text to the current tab/window.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param text: Text to print. May contain mIRC color codes.

void hexchat_printf (hexchat_plugin ph, const charformat, ...)

Prints some text to the current tab/window and provides formatting like printf.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param format: The format string.

int hexchat_emit_print (hexchat_plugin ph, const charevent_name, ...)

Generates a print event. This can be any event found in the Settings --> Text Events window. The vararg parameter list must always be NULL terminated. Special care should be taken when calling this function inside a print callback (from hexchat_hook_print), as not to cause endless recursion.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param event_name: Text event to print.
returns: 0 on Failure, 1 on Success

Example:

hexchat_emit_print (ph, "Channel Message", "John", "Hi there", "@", NULL);

int hexchat_emit_print_attrs (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_event_attrsattrs, const char *event_name, ...)

Generates a print event. This is the same as hexchat_emit_print but it passes an hexchat_event_attrs to hexchat with the print attributes.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param attrs: Print attributes. This should be obtained with hexchat_event_attrs_create and freed with hexchat_event_attrs_free.
param event_name: Text event to print.
returns: 0 on Failure, 1 on Success

2.9.6

Example:

hexchat_event_attrs *attrs;

attrs = hexchat_event_attrs_create (ph);
attrs->server_time_utc = 1342224702;
hexchat_emit_print (ph, attrs, "Channel Message", "John", "Hi there", "@", NULL);
hexchat_event_attrs_free (ph, attrs);

void hexchat_send_modes (hexchat_plugin ph, const chartargets[], int ntargets, int modes_per_line, char sign, char mode)

Sends a number of channel mode changes to the current channel. For example, you can Op a whole group of people in one go. It may send multiple MODE lines if the request doesn't fit on one. Pass 0 for modes_per_line to use the current server's maximum possible. This function should only be called while in a channel context.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param targets: Array of targets (strings). The names of people whom the action will be performed on.
param ntargets: Number of elements in the array given.
param modes_per_line: Maximum modes to send per line.
param sign: Mode sign, '-' or '+'.
param mode: Mode char, e.g. 'o' for Ops.

Example: (Ops the three names given)

const char *names_to_Op[] = {"John", "Jack", "Jill"};
hexchat_send_modes (ph, names_to_Op, 3, 0, '+', 'o');

int hexchat_nickcmp (hexchat_plugin ph, const chars1, const char *s2)

Performs a nick name comparision, based on the current server connection. This might be an RFC1459 compliant string compare, or plain ascii (in the case of DALNet). Use this to compare channels and nicknames. The function works the same way as strcasecmp.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param s1: String to compare.
param s2: String to compare s1 to.

Quote from RFC1459: >Because of IRC's scandanavian origin, the characters {}| are considered to be the lower case equivalents of the characters [], respectively. This is a critical issue when determining the equivalence of two nicknames.

returns: An integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero if s1 is found, respectively, to be less than, to match, or be greater than s2.

char* hexchat_strip (hexchat_plugin ph, const charstr, int len, int flags)

Strips mIRC color codes and/or text attributes (bold, underlined etc) from the given string and returns a newly allocated string.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param str: String to strip.
param len: Length of the string (or -1 for NULL terminated).
param flags: Bit-field of flags: - 0: Strip mIRC colors. - 1: Strip text attributes.
returns: A newly allocated string or NULL for failure. You must free this string with hexchat_free.

Example:

{
    char *new_text;

    /* strip both colors and attributes by using the 0 and 1 bits (1 BITWISE-OR 2) */
    new_text = hexchat_strip (ph, "\00312Blue\003 \002Bold!\002", -1, 1 | 2);

    if (new_text)
    {
            /* new_text should now contain only "Blue Bold!" */
            hexchat_printf (ph, "%s\n", new_text);
            hexchat_free (ph, new_text);
    }
}

void hexchat_free (hexchat_plugin ph, voidptr)

Frees a string returned by hexchat_* functions. Currently only used to free strings from hexchat_strip.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param ptr: Pointer to free.

hexchat_event_attrs hexchat_event_attrs_create (hexchat_pluginph)

Allocates a new hexchat_event_attrs. The attributes are initially marked as unused.

returns: A pointer to the allocated hexchat_event_attrs. Should be freed by hexchat_event_attrs_free.

2.9.6

void hexchat_event_attrs_free (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_event_attrsattrs)

Frees an hexchat_event_attrs.

param attrs: Attributes previously allocated by hexchat_event_attrs_create.

2.9.6

Getting Information

const char* hexchat_get_info (hexchat_plugin ph, const charid)

Returns information based on your current context.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param id: ID of the information you want. List of ID's(case sensitive):

away: away reason or NULL if you are not away.

channel: current channel name.

charset: character-set used in the current context.

configdir: HexChat config directory, e.g.: /home/user/.config/hexchat. This string is encoded in UTF-8.

event_text <name>: text event format string for name.

gtkwin_ptr: (GtkWindow *).

host: real hostname of the server you connected to.

inputbox: the input-box contents, what the user has typed.

libdirfs: library directory. e.g. /usr/lib/hexchat. The same directory used for auto-loading plugins. This string isn't necessarily UTF-8, but local file system encoding.

modes: channel modes, if known, or NULL.

network: current network name or NULL.

nick: your current nick name.

nickserv: nickserv password for this network or NULL.

server: current server name (what the server claims to be). NULL if you are not connected.

topic: current channel topic.

version: HexChat version number.

win_ptr: native window pointer. Unix: (GtkWindow *) Win32: HWND.

win_status: window status: "active", "hidden" or "normal".

returns: A string of the requested information, or NULL. This string must not be freed and must be copied if needed after the call to hexchat_get_info.

int hexchat_get_prefs (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, const char *string, intinteger)

Provides HexChat's setting information (that which is available through the /SET command). A few extra bits of information are available that don't appear in the /SET list, currently they are:

state_cursor: Current input box cursor position (characters, not bytes).

id: Unique server id

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param name

Setting name required.

param string

Pointer-pointer which to set.

param integer

Pointer to an integer to set, if setting is a boolean or integer type.

returns

0: Failed.
1: Returned a string.
2: Returned an integer.
3: Returned a boolean.

Example:

{
    int i;
    const char *str;

    if (hexchat_get_prefs (ph, "irc_nick1", &amp;str, &amp;i) == 1)
    {
            hexchat_printf (ph, "Current nickname setting: %s\n", str);
    }
}

hexchat_list* hexchat_list_get (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname)

Retreives lists of information.

param name: Name from the List and Fields Table
returns: hexchat_list to be used by the following functions.

const char* const* hexchat_list_fields (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname)

Lists fields in a given list.

param name: Name from the List and Fields Table

int hexchat_list_next (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_listxlist)

Selects the next list item in a list.

param xlist: hexchat_list returned by hexchat_list_get

const char* hexchat_list_str (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_listxlist, const char *name)

Gets a string field from a list.

param name: Name from the List and Fields Table
param xlist: hexchat_list returned by hexchat_list_get

int hexchat_list_int (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_listxlist, const char *name)

Gets a int field from a list.

param name: Name from the List and Fields Table
param xlist: hexchat_list returned by hexchat_list_get

time_t hexchat_list_time (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_listxlist, const char *name)

Gets a time field from a list.

param name: Name from the List and Fields Table
param xlist: hexchat_list returned by hexchat_list_get

void hexchat_list_free (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_listxlist)

Frees a list.

param xlist: hexchat_list returned by hexchat_list_get

Hook Functions

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_command (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, int pri, int (callb) (charword[], char word_eol[], voiduser_data), const char help_text, voiduserdata)

Adds a new /command. This allows your program to handle commands entered at the input box. To capture text without a "/" at the start (non-commands), you may hook a special name of "". i.e hexchat_hook_command(ph, "", ...).

Commands hooked that begin with a period ('.') will be hidden in /HELP and /HELP -l.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param name: Name of the command (without the forward slash).
param pri: Priority of this command. Use HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when the user executes the given command name.
param help_text: String of text to display when the user executes /HELP for this command. May be NULL if you're lazy.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

Example:

static int
onotice_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *userdata)
{
    if (word_eol[2][0] == 0)
    {
            hexchat_printf (ph, "Second arg must be the message!\n");
            return HEXCHAT_EAT_ALL;
    }

    hexchat_commandf (ph, "NOTICE @%s :%s", hexchat_get_info (ph, "channel"), word_eol[2]);
    return HEXCHAT_EAT_ALL;
}

hexchat_hook_command (ph, "ONOTICE", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, onotice_cb, "Usage: ONOTICE <message> Sends a notice to all ops", NULL);

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_fd (hexchat_plugin ph, int fd, int flags, int (callb) (int fd, int flags, void user_data), voiduserdata)

Hooks a socket or file descriptor. WIN32: Passing a pipe from MSVCR71, MSVCR80 or other variations is not supported at this time.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init ()).
param fd: The file descriptor or socket.
param flags: One or more of HEXCHAT_FD_* constants tells HexChat that the provided fd is not a socket, but an "MSVCRT.DLL" pipe.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when the socket is available for reading/writing or exception (depending on your chosen flags)
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_print (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, int pri, int (callb) (charword[], void user_data), voiduserdata)

Registers a function to trap any print events. The event names may be any available in the Settings --> Text Events window. There are also some extra "special" events you may hook using this function. Currently they are:

"Open Context": Called when a new hexchat_context is created.
"Close Context": Called when a hexchat_context pointer is closed.
"Focus Tab": Called when a tab is brought to front.
"Focus Window": Called a toplevel window is focused, or the main

tab-window is focused by the window manager.
"DCC Chat Text": Called when some text from a DCC Chat arrives. It provides these elements in the word[] array:
```
word[1] Address
word[2] Port
word[3] Nick
word[4] The Message
```

"Key Press": Called when some keys are pressed in the input box. It provides these elements in the word[] array:

word[1] Key Value
word[2] State Bitfield (shift, capslock, alt)
word[3] String version of the key
word[4] Length of the string (may be 0 for unprintable keys)

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param name: Name of the print event (as in Text Events window).
param pri: Priority of this command. Use HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when this event name is printed.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

Example:

static int
youpart_cb (char *word[], void *userdata)
{
    hexchat_printf (ph, "You have left channel %s\n", word[3]);
    return HEXCHAT_EAT_HEXCHAT;     /* don't let HexChat do its normal printing */
}

hexchat_hook_print (ph, "You Part", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, youpart_cb, NULL);

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_print_attrs (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, int pri, int (callb) (charword[], hexchat_event_attrs attrs, voiduser_data), void *userdata)

Registers a function to trap any print events. This is the same as hexchat_hook_print but the callback receives an hexchat_event_attrs with attributes related to the print event.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param name: Name of the print event (as in Text Events window).
param pri: Priority of this command. Use HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when this event name is printed.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

2.9.6

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_server (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, int pri, int (callb) (charword[], char word_eol[], voiduser_data), void *userdata)

Registers a function to be called when a certain server event occurs. You can use this to trap PRIVMSG, NOTICE, PART, a server numeric, etc. If you want to hook every line that comes from the IRC server, you may use the special name of RAW LINE.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param name: Name of the server event.
param pri: Priority of this command. Use HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when this event is received from the server.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

Example:

static int
kick_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *userdata)
{
    hexchat_printf (ph, "%s was kicked from %s (reason=%s)\n", word[4], word[3], word_eol[5]);
    return HEXCHAT_EAT_NONE;        /* don't eat this event, let other plugins and HexChat see it too */
}

hexchat_hook_server (ph, "KICK", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, kick_cb, NULL);

hexchat_hook* hexchat_hook_server_attrs (hexchat_plugin ph, const charname, int pri, int (callb) (charword[], char word_eol[], hexchat_event_attrsattrs, void user_data), voiduserdata)

Registers a function to be called when a certain server event occurs. This is the same as hexchat_hook_server but the callback receives an hexchat_event_attrs with attributes related to the server event.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param name: Name of the server event.
param pri: Priority of this command. Use HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM.
param callb: Callback function. This will be called when this event is received from the server.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

2.9.6

hexchat_hook hexchat_hook_timer (hexchat_pluginph, int timeout, int (callb) (voiduser_data), void *userdata)

Registers a function to be called every "timeout" milliseconds.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param timeout: Timeout in milliseconds (1000 is 1 second).
param callb: Callback function. This will be called every "timeout" milliseconds.
param userdata: Pointer passed to the callback function.
returns: Pointer to the hook. Can be passed to hexchat_unhook.

Example:

static hexchat_hook *myhook;

static int
stop_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *userdata)
{
    if (myhook != NULL)
    {
            hexchat_unhook (ph, myhook);
            myhook = NULL;
            hexchat_print (ph, "Timeout removed!\n");
    }

    return HEXCHAT_EAT_ALL;
}

static int
timeout_cb (void *userdata)
{
    hexchat_print (ph, "Annoying message every 5 seconds! Type /STOP to stop it.\n");
    return 1;       /* return 1 to keep the timeout going */
}

myhook = hexchat_hook_timer (ph, 5000, timeout_cb, NULL);
hexchat_hook_command (ph, "STOP", HEXCHAT_PRI_NORM, stop_cb, NULL, NULL);

void* hexchat_unhook (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_hookhook)

Unhooks any hook registered with hexchat_hook_print/server/timer/command. When plugins are unloaded, all of its hooks are automatically removed, so you don't need to call this within your hexchat_plugin_deinit function.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param hook: Pointer to the hook, as returned by hexchat_hook_*.
returns: The userdata you originally gave to hexchat_hook_*.

Context Functions

hexchat_context* hexchat_find_context(hexchat_plugin ph, const charservname, const char *channel)

Finds a context based on a channel and servername. If servname is NULL, it finds any channel (or query) by the given name. If channel is NULL, it finds the front-most tab/window of the given servname. If NULL is given for both arguments, the currently focused tab/window will be returned.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param servname: Server name or NULL.
param channel: Channel name or NULL.
returns: Context pointer (for use with hexchat_set_context) or NULL.

hexchat_context* hexchat_get_context (hexchat_plugin *ph)

Returns the current context for your plugin. You can use this later with hexchat_set_context.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
returns: Context pointer (for use with hexchat_set_context).

int hexchat_set_context (hexchat_plugin ph, hexchat_contextctx)

Changes your current context to the one given.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param ctx

Context to change to (obtained with hexchat_get_context or hexchat_find_context).

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure.

Plugin Preferences

int hexchat_pluginpref_set_str (hexchat_plugin ph, const charvar, const char *value)

Saves a plugin-specific setting with string value to a plugin-specific config file.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param var

Name of the setting to save.

param value

String value of the the setting.

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure.

Example:

int
hexchat_plugin_init (hexchat_plugin *plugin_handle, char **plugin_name, char **plugin_desc, char **plugin_version, char *arg)
{
    ph = plugin_handle;
    *plugin_name = "Tester Thingie";
    *plugin_desc = "Testing stuff";
    *plugin_version = "1.0";

    hexchat_pluginpref_set_str (ph, "myvar1", "I want to save this string!");
    hexchat_pluginpref_set_str (ph, "myvar2", "This is important, too.");

    return 1;       /* return 1 for success */
}

In the example above, the settings will be saved to the plugin_tester_thingie.conf file, and its content will be: >myvar1 = I want to save this string! myvar2 = This is important, too.

You should never need to edit this file manually.

int hexchat_pluginpref_get_str (hexchat_plugin ph, const charvar, char *dest)

Loads a plugin-specific setting with string value from a plugin-specific config file.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param var

Name of the setting to load.

param dest

Array to save the loaded setting's string value to.

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure.

int hexchat_pluginpref_set_int (hexchat_plugin ph, const charvar, int value)

Saves a plugin-specific setting with decimal value to a plugin-specific config file.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param var

Name of the setting to save.

param value

Decimal value of the the setting.

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure.

Example:

static int
saveint_cb (char *word[], char *word_eol[], void *user_data)
{
    int buffer = atoi (word[2]);

    if (buffer > 0 && buffer < INT_MAX)
    {
            if (hexchat_pluginpref_set_int (ph, "myint1", buffer))
            {
                    hexchat_printf (ph, "Setting successfully saved!\n");
            }
            else
            {
                    hexchat_printf (ph, "Error while saving!\n");
            }
    }
    else
    {
            hexchat_printf (ph, "Invalid input!\n");
    }

    return HEXCHAT_EAT_HEXCHAT;
}

You only need such complex checks if you're saving user input, which can be non-numeric.

int hexchat_pluginpref_get_int (hexchat_plugin ph, const charvar)

Loads a plugin-specific setting with decimal value from a plugin-specific config file.

param ph: Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).
param var: Name of the setting to load.
returns: The decimal value of the requested setting upon success, -1 for failure.

int hexchat_pluginpref_delete (hexchat_plugin ph, const charvar)

Deletes a plugin-specific setting from a plugin-specific config file.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param var

Name of the setting to delete.

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure.

If the given setting didn't exist, it also returns 1, so 1 only indicates that the setting won't exist after the call.

int hexchat_pluginpref_list (hexchat_plugin ph, chardest)

Builds a comma-separated list of the currently saved settings from a plugin-specific config file.

param ph

Plugin handle (as given to hexchat_plugin_init).

param dest

Array of size 4096 to save the list to.

returns

1: Success.
0: Failure (nonexistent, empty or inaccessible config file).

Example:

static void
list_settings ()
{
    char list[4096];
    char buffer[512];
    char *token;

    hexchat_pluginpref_list (ph, list);
    hexchat_printf (ph, "Current Settings:\n");
    token = strtok (list, ",");

    while (token != NULL)
    {
            hexchat_pluginpref_get_str (ph, token, buffer);
            hexchat_printf (ph, "%s: %s\n", token, buffer);
            token = strtok (NULL, ",");
    }
}

In the example above we query the list of currently stored settings, then print them one by one with their respective values. We always use hexchat_pluginpref_get_str (), and that's because we can read an integer as string (but not vice versa).

Plugin GUI

void* hexchat_plugingui_add (hexchat_plugin ph, const charfilename, const char name, const chardesc, const char version, charreserved)

Adds a fake plugin to the GUI in Window --> Plugins and Scripts. This does not need to be done for your actual plugin and is only used for interfaces to other languages like our python plugin.

returns: Handle to be used with hexchat_plugingui_remove

void hexchat_plugingui_remove (hexchat_plugin ph, voidhandle)

Removes the fake plugin from the GUI. Again not to be used to remove your own plugin.

param handle: Handle returned by hexchat_plugingui_add

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plugins.rst

plugins.rst

Plugin Interface

Introduction

Sample plugin

What's word and word_eol?

Lists and Fields

Plugins on Windows (Win32)

Controlling the GUI

Handling UTF-8/Unicode strings

Types and Constants

Functions

General Functions

Getting Information

Hook Functions

Context Functions

Plugin Preferences

Plugin GUI

Files

plugins.rst

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plugins.rst

File metadata and controls

Plugin Interface

Introduction

Sample plugin

What's word and word_eol?

Lists and Fields

Plugins on Windows (Win32)

Controlling the GUI

Handling UTF-8/Unicode strings

Types and Constants

Functions

General Functions

Getting Information

Hook Functions

Context Functions

Plugin Preferences

Plugin GUI