This page describes the menus and prompts of the Synchronet Classic command shell as captured live from a Synchronet v3.22 BBS in dumb-terminal mode. On an ANSI/CP437 terminal the box-drawing characters render as proper line-art (╔═╗ etc.); the meaning is the same.
Synchronet's Classic shell uses an expert mode model:
You toggle expert mode in the User Settings menu (X). At any prompt, ? redisplays the menu. /? does the same inside the chat module or the built-in line editor (where bare ? is a valid character to type).
The Main prompt is the top-level prompt of the Classic shell — where you land after logon and where most navigation and command keys are entered. It looks like this:
The Main prompt is identified by square brackets [ ] surrounding the group/sub-board number indicators. The fields are:
* Main * — the prompt name3:58:54 — 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)
Press ? at the Main prompt:
+–+ +–+ +–+
| 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. ^K is the Ctrl-K menu. Single-letter entries (N, R, E…) are typed at the prompt; entries shown as /A or /L are slash commands; ^K is Ctrl-K.
The middle column is for moving between groups and sub-boards without leaving the Main prompt:
* — list sub-boards in your current group/* — list all groups# — jump to sub-board # (e.g. 3 selects sub-board 3 in current group)/# — jump to group #{ / } — previous / next sub-board[ / ] — previous / next group(Many other shells re-bind these — these conventions are Classic's.)
Pressing T at the Main prompt enters the File Transfer Section. The prompt looks like:
Identified by parentheses ( ) around the library/directory number indicators. Fields:
* File * — the prompt name3:58:14 — time remaining(1) Main — current file library(1) Synchronet — current directory
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.
Press C from the Main prompt:
######################## ## # Join a Chat # ## # J Join/initiate multinode chat # # P Join/start private node/node chat # # C Chat with Sysop: Programming in C # # T Talk with The Guru (AI) # # F Finger (query) remote user/system # # R Internet Relay Chat (IRC) # # I InterBBS Instant Messaging # ##------------# Toggles #------------## # D Chat availability state: On # # A Node activity alerts state: On # # S Split-screen chat state: On # ##-----------------------------------## # Q Quit chat menu # Anytime: ^Users online ^Private msg
Chat:
The Chat prompt is its own context — Q returns to Main. The “Chat with Sysop” and “Talk with The Guru” entries vary by sysop configuration. The Chat menu itself is the Chat Section module (default chat_sec), invoked by Classic's C binding.
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'' logs off immediately, no confirmation.