Docker-based Chat Gateway (Alpine Linux + Bitlbee + ZNC)

This project is a combination of an IM to IRC service (Bitlbee) and an IRC bouncer (ZNC) which keeps you connected, managing away status and message buffers for all your devices.

This is a setup I have personally used and evolved slightly since around 2008 (of course back then without Docker or the improved message playback features). The setup has served me well and continues to be useful. This repository is a way to document my configuration as well as to share what I've learned and get feedback.

Feel free to fork and modify for your own needs or issue a pull request!

Bitlbee

Bitlbee is an IRC server that acts as a bridge between the IRC protocol and the protocols used by various instant messaging systemms (Jabber/XMPP, Facebook, AIM/Oscar, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, Skype, etc).

The Docker image for Bitlbee that is part of this project includes additional packages for Facebook chat and OTR that you may optionally use.

Starting

Create a directory for storing your user data/, then run:

docker run \
  -d \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
  -v $PWD/data:/var/lib/bitlbee:rw \
  --name=bitlbee \
  --restart=always \
  stanback/alpine-bitlbee

Configuring

Once you add the Bitlbee server in ZNC (below), you will be prompted to register and configure. If you want to bypass ZNC and connect to Bitlbee directly, simply add a port mapping using -p 6667:6667 when running the container, then connect up your client to the Docker host.

In addition to the settings you can configure from your IRC client, there are some global options that you may set in /etc/bitlbee/bitlbee.conf as well as the message in /etc/bitlbee/motd. You can copy these locally into a config directory and map with -v $PWD/config:/etc/bitlbee:ro.

Commands Quickstart

TODO: Setting up user, adding networks, basic management

ZNC

ZNC is an IRC bouncer, a system designed to keep you always connected to your favorite IRC servers. I'm primarily using it with Bitlbee (above) and Slack's IRC gateway. Other networks include places like Freenode, Gitter, DALNet, EFNet, etc.

ZNC includes a variety of useful plugins for keeping track of missed messages, automatically setting away status, perforing commands with ChanServ/NickServ, watching for particular words or phrases, and many more.

The Docker image for ZNC that is part of this project includes additional 3rd party modules for push notifications with the Palaver iOS client (below), partial message buffer playback, and separate buffers for your differnet clients.

Configuring ZNC

Create a directory for storing your data/, then run:

docker run \
  -it \
  --rm=true \
  -v $PWD/data:/var/lib/znc \
  stanback/alpine-znc --makeconf

Starting

Replace 6697 with whatever port you configured in the previous step. Symlinking localtime is optional, but was required for my IRC and system timestamps to sync up. The --link command connects with a running Bitlbee container, with this you can use the hostname bitlbee when adding a new IRC server.

docker run \
  -d \
  -p 6697:6697 \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
  -v $PWD/data:/var/lib/znc \
  --name=znc \
  --restart=always \
  --link=bitlbee:bitlbee \
  stanback/alpine-znc

Commands Quickstart

TODO: Setup user, add network for Bitlbee, load and configure modules

Client Recommendations

TODO: Add more details

OSX

Recommendation: Textual

iOS

Recommendation: Palaver, followed by Mobile Colloquy

Windows

Recommendation: HexChat

Android

Recommendation: HoloIRC

Linux

Recommendation: Communi