Synchronet Classic Shell — User Guide

The Synchronet Classic command shell (default.js) is the default shell on most Synchronet BBSes. It emulates the original Synchronet v1 user interface and is what Synchronet “looks like” to most people who've never been told otherwise.

This guide describes the shell-specific parts of using a BBS that runs Classic — the prompts, the menu layout, and the keys you press at each prompt. Many of the commands you'll press here actually open separate sections (mail, message base, chat, user settings, etc.); the page for each of those sections describes what happens after the key is pressed.

If your BBS uses a different shell, see Command Shells.

The captures on this page are from a Synchronet v3.22 BBS in UTF-8 / ANSI mode. On a US-ASCII terminal the BBS substitutes plain ASCII (+–+) for the line-art glyphs shown below; the menu meaning and command keys are the same.

Classic has two primary command prompts plus a handful of context-specific prompts:

• Main prompt — the top-level command prompt, displayed once you've completed logon. From here you reach mail, message bases, chat, configuration, etc.
• File Transfer prompt — the prompt inside the File Transfer Section. From here you list, search, download, upload, and manage files. (The File Transfer Section is part of the Classic shell.)

The Main prompt is identified by square brackets [ ] surrounding the group/sub-board number indicators:

￭ Main ￭ 3:58:42 [1] Main [1] Notices:

The fields are:

• ￭ Main ￭ — the prompt name
• 3:58:42 — your time remaining online (or time spent online if you have a time exemption)
• [1] Main — your current message group (number and name)
• [1] Notices — your current sub-board (number and name)

Pressing T at the Main prompt enters the File Transfer Section. The prompt is identified by parentheses ( ) around the library/directory number indicators:

￭ File ￭ 3:59:07 (1) Main (1) Synchronet:

• ￭ File ￭ — the prompt name
• 3:59:07 — time remaining
• (1) Main — current file library
• (1) Synchronet — current directory

Throughout this guide, command titles are followed by a quick key-sequence guide showing the exact keystrokes to enter the command without pausing at menus:

• Sequences inside [ ] (square brackets) are entered from the Main prompt.
  Example: Send E-mail [ES] means type E then S from the Main prompt.
• Sequences inside ( ) (parentheses) are entered from the File Transfer prompt.
  Example: Find File (F) means type F from the File Transfer prompt.
• Sequences inside { } (curly braces) work from either the Main or File Transfer prompt.
  Example: Join Multinode Chat {CJ} means type C then J from either prompt.

Command keys are case-insensitive — E and e are equivalent, as are es and ES. This is true of every stock Synchronet shell (and almost any third-party shell you're likely to encounter), so this guide writes the keys in uppercase as a convention only.

Synchronet's Classic shell uses an expert mode model:

• Expert mode off (default for new users — Novice mode): the menu of available commands is automatically redisplayed at every new command prompt.
• Expert mode on: the menu is hidden until you ask. Saves screen real estate and call time once you know the keys.

You toggle expert mode in the User Settings menu (X). At any prompt, ? redisplays the menu. /? does the same inside the chat section or the built-in line editor (where bare ? is a valid character to type).

Press ? at the Main prompt:

 ￭￭ Read/Post Messages      ￭￭ Message Area Selection   ￭￭ Electronic Mail
┌──┐                       ┌──┐                        ┌──┐
│ N│ New message scan      │ J│ Jump to new msg area   │ E│ Read/Send E-mail
│ R│ Read message prompt   └──┘   * List sub-boards    └──┘
│ L│ List/View messages          /* List groups         ￭￭ Other Commands
│ V│ View/Vote-in Polls      { }  # Select sub-board   ┌──┐
│ Q│ QWK packet transfer     [ ] /# Select group       │ D│ Default user config
│ P│ Post msg /Poll /Meme                              │ &│ Message scan config
│ A│ Post auto-message      ￭￭ Go to                   │ U│ User lists
└──┘                       ┌──┐                        │ I│ Information
 ￭￭ Message Search         │ T│ File Transfer section  │/A│ Change your avatar
┌──┐                       │ G│ Text file section      │/L│ Node activity
│ F│ Find text in messages │ C│ Chat section           │^K│ Ctrl-key Menu
│ S│ Scan for msgs to you  │ X│ External programs      │ O│ Logoff BBS (or /O)
└──┘                       └──┘                        └──┘
  Anytime │ Ctrl-U Who's online Ctrl-P Send private msg Ctrl-C Abort cmd/text

The boxes group the commands by purpose. Single-letter entries (N, R, E…) are typed at the prompt. Entries shown as /A or /L are slash commands. ^K is Ctrl-K — see Control-key commands.

Press ? at the File Transfer prompt:

───── List/Flag Files ──────┬── File Area Selection ────┬─── File Search ─────
                            │                           │
   L List files in dir      │ J Jump to new file area   │  F Find text in descrip
   N New file scan          │ ──────────────────────    │  S Search for filename
   E Extended file info     │      * List directories   │
                            │     /* List libraries     ├──── Other Commands ──
 ─── Upload/Download ────   │ { }  # Select directory   │
                            │ [ ] /# Select library     │  & File scan config
   D Download file          │                           │  R Remove/edit file
   U Upload file            ├──────── Go to ────────    │  I Information
  /D Download from user     │                           │  V View file contents
  /U Upload to user         │ Q Main/Message section    │ /L Node activity
   Z Upload to sysop        │ C Chat section            │ ^K Ctrl-key menu
   B Batch/Bi-dir xfers     │ T Temp dir/Archive cmds   │  O Logoff BBS (or /O)
                            │                           │
  Anytime │ Ctrl-U Who's online  Ctrl-P Send private msg  Ctrl-C Abort cmd/text

The library/directory navigation keys (*, /*, #, /#, {}, []) mirror the Main prompt's group/sub-board keys — same idea, applied to file libraries. For a full description of what each function does, see File Transfer Section.

C at the Main prompt opens the Chat Section — see Chat for the full menu, command reference, and a live capture.

Press I from the Main prompt:

┌───────────────────────────────┐
│ Main Section Information Menu │
├───────────────────────────────┴──────┐
│ Y Your statistics                    │
│ I System information                 │
│ V Synchronet version information     │
│ S Information on current sub-board   │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Q Quit to Main menu                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Info:

Y shows your account stats (calls, time used, uploads/downloads, etc.). I shows BBS-wide info (sysop, location, server software, hours of operation). V shows Synchronet build/version. S shows description and statistics for the current sub-board.

O from the Main or File Transfer prompt logs off (with confirmation). /O (slash-O) logs off immediately, no confirmation.

The following are not part of Classic — Classic just calls them. See the linked pages:

• Logging on — handled by the login module before Classic starts
• User Settings menu — invoked by D from the Main prompt
• Composing a message — handled by your chosen message editor (internal line editor or external)
• Mail, Message bases, Chat — separate sections opened by Classic's mail/messages/chat keys
• User Listings — List Users, List Nodes, Who's Online
• QWK packet menu
• Control-key commands (Ctrl-S/Q/C/U/P/K/T) — work the same in any shell

• Command Shells
• User Documentation
• Command Shell — sysop perspective