The latest stable Synchronet release is v3.21e-Win32 (install), released Mar-2026.

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Table of Contents

chat_llm_irc: IRC bot adapter

chat_llm_irc is a standalone IRC client that lets the LLM Guru participate in IRC channels. It connects to a server, joins one or more channels, and speaks in just two situations — otherwise it lurks silently:

  1. Direct address — someone says the bot's nick (or a configured alias) in the channel. The bot replies, prefixing the questioner's nick.
  2. High-confidence intervention — someone asks a question (a line ending in ?), nobody answers within irc_intervention_wait seconds, and the bot's retrieval score for that question clears a confidence floor. The bot then volunteers an answer. A per-channel cooldown keeps it from dominating.

The adapter lives in exec/chat_llm_irc.js and shares the engine, memory, tools, and RAG described under chat_llm.

Running it

Normally run as a Synchronet service. Add a block to ctrl/services.ini: 

[GuruIRC]
Cmd        = ?chat_llm_irc.js
Port       = 0
MaxClients = 1
Options    = STATIC | NO_HOST_LOOKUP

For a one-shot test from the command line: 

jsexec chat_llm_irc.js [persona]

The optional persona argument selects the chat_llm.ini section to read (default guru:irc, layered over [default]).

Configuration

IRC-specific keys go in the persona's chat_llm.ini section (backend, model, prompts, memory, and RAG settings are shared with the engine and documented there):

Key Default Purpose
irc_network irc.synchro.net IRC server to connect to.
irc_port 6667 Server port.
irc_channels #synchronet Comma-separated list of channels to join.
irc_nick derived Bot nick. Defaults to a name derived from the system QWK ID and persona; a _ is appended on collision.
irc_aliases (none) Comma-separated extra names the bot answers to, e.g. guru, Guru, The Guru. The actual nick is always matched in addition.
irc_nickserv_password (none) Optional NickServ IDENTIFY password.
irc_intervention_wait 120 Seconds an unanswered question must sit before the bot may chime in.
irc_intervention_cooldown 900 Minimum seconds between unprompted interventions per channel.
irc_intervention_min_score_per_token 8.0 Retrieval score-per-token floor for “confident enough to volunteer” (well above the baseline injection gate of 3.5).

Runtime files

The bot keeps its state in the data directory under a base name derived from the persona (guru:irc → guru_irc):

File Purpose
data/<base>.stop Clean-shutdown signal (see below).
data/<base>.announce One-shot JOIN announcement (see below).
data/<base>_relay.json Queued relay_message deliveries.
data/<base>_seen.json Nicks the bot has seen (used to accept relays for absent users).
data/<base>_bot.log, data/<base>_chat.log Bot and conversation logs.

Clean shutdown

The services subsystem terminates a service abruptly, which doesn't let the bot leave IRC gracefully. To quit cleanly:

  1. Create data/<base>.stop (e.g. touch data/guru_irc.stop). The bot sees it, sends a QUIT, and exits; it then removes the file.
  2. Wait a second or two for the QUIT to reach the server.
  3. Then recycle or shut down the Services server.

Announcing changes

To have the bot post a short message when it next joins a channel, write the text (one line per channel message) to data/<base>.announce before starting it. The bot posts each line once on JOIN, then deletes the file so it doesn't repeat on reconnect.

Memory in public channels

Per-speaker memory is keyed by irc:<server>/<nick>, so a user's history follows their nick. In open channels full of strangers you may not want to retain anything — set memory_persist = false in the bot's persona section (see persistent_memory).

See Also

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Trace: • chat_llm: LLM-backed chat engine • chat_llm_irc: IRC bot adapter