Config files are stored as plaintext files (which shouldn't be edited by hand). They are located in:
- Windows: :file:`%APPDATA%\\HexChat`
- Microsoft Store: :file:`%LOCALAPPDATA%\\Packages\\39215TingPing.HexChat_fqe8h3fzrj50c\\LocalCache\\Roaming\\HexChat`
- Unix: :file:`~/.config/hexchat`
- Flatpak: :file:`~/.var/app/io.github.Hexchat/config/hexchat`
- Snap: :file:`~/snap/hexchat/current/.config/hexchat`
Note
Type the path into your file browser to expand them into a full directory.
Custom directories can be set with the -d or --cfgdir command line argument.
On Windows there is a portable mode option which makes HexChat store settings inside of a :file:`\\config` subdir within the main installation folder. Though this option should only be used if you must for a portable drive or if you lack administrative priviliges for installation.
The network list contains a list of networks, basic user information, and per network settings. It can be accessed in :menuselection:`HexChat --> Network List` or by the keyboard shortcut Control-s.
This is where basic information is set for the user such as nicknames, these will be used as defaults for networks but can be overridden. The Realname field is entirely optional. The username is often used for options like Server and SASL password.
HexChat comes with a list of default networks but you can easily add your own or edit existing ones. The sorting and names of networks do matter as some commands reference the network by the name here, e.g. :command:`/newserver`. The order they are sorted in this list also determines the order of auto-connecting. To edit the order just select one and hit Shift-up or Shift-down.
Per network you can maintain a list of servers in case of one fails. The syntax for these servers hostname/port. The port is entirely optional and can be prefixed by + to signify SSL. If no port is given the default port used is 6667 and 6697 for SSL.
Unticking Use global user information allows unique nicknames or usernames between networks.
Ticking Auto connect to this network at startup combined with Favorite channels will allow you to quickly connect and join chats.
The password fields allow you to login to a password protected server or services. They take the syntax username:password or just the password if username has been set as mentioned above.
.. seealso::
See the `FAQ <faq.html#why-does-hexchat-join-channels-before-identifying>`_ if you have trouble identifying before join.
Some options can be specific to channels. To access these you can right click on any tab or use the command :command:`/chanopt`. Any option other than 0 or 1 is considered unset and will use the globally set defaults.
There are two types of keyboard shortcuts in HexChat hardcoded ones which can be found by looking around in the menu, e.g. Control-s, and configurable ones in :menuselection:`Settings --> Keyboard Shortcuts`. These have help messages to guide you through setting up custom bindings.
Url handlers add alternative browsers to you your right click menu on urls (they do not set the default). They take the syntax:
!program %s or !"C:\Program Files\Program\program.exe" %s
Note
If HexChat does not find the executable it will not add it to the menu.
Located in :menuselection:`Settings --> Auto Replace` this setting allows you to replace text while typing. The Text column is what it is to detect and the Replace with column is what will replace it. This column accepts color codes from Text Events
For Example:
text: --> replace: %C8→%O
This will replace that arrow with a green unicode arrow upon pressing enter or space. The keys that check for replace are defined in :menuselection:`Settings --> Keyboard Shortcuts`. A trick to avoid replacing it Shift-Space since that is not defined by default.
Custom CTCP replies can be set in :menuselection:`Settings --> CTCP Replies` and accept the same format as User Commands with the addition of %s for the nick replying to.
Note
To hide the default VERSION reply you must :command:`/set irc_hide_version on`
The set command can be used to change options. The usage is:
:command:`/set option_name [number|string]`
Togglable options take 1 for on and 0 for off but as an alternative you can type:
:command:`/set toggle_option on`
If no value is given it will show the current value of a setting. You can also use wildcards to find or show multiple values for example
Some options such as gui_tray require running this after changing:
This can be avoided by using the preferences window instead, which is recommended, also using the gui will warn if a setting requires restart.
| away_auto_unmark | Toggle automatically unmarking away before message send. |
| away_omit_alerts | Toggle omitting alerts when marked as being away. |
| away_reason | Default away reason. |
| away_show_message | Toggle announcing of away messages. |
| away_show_once | Show identical away messages only once. |
| away_size_max | How many users can be away in userlist before they are not colored. |
| away_timeout | How often in seconds to check for max size for colors in userlist. |
| away_track | Toggle color change for away users in userlist. |
| completion_amount | How may nicks starting with input there should be before all are shown in text box. (E.g. if you have 'k' and completion_amount is set to 6, and there are 6 more people beginning with 'k' in the userlist, then all of the nicks starting with that are shown in the text box. To always cycle nicks, set to 123456 (or any other high number). |
| completion_auto | Toggle automatic nick completion. |
| completion_sort | Toggle nick completion sorting in "last talk" order. |
| completion_suffix | Suffix to be appended to nicks after completion. |
| dcc_auto_chat | Toggle auto accept for DCC chats. |
| dcc_auto_recv | How to accept DCC transfers.
|
| dcc_auto_resume | Toggle auto resume of DCC transfers. |
| dcc_blocksize | The blocksize for DCC transfers. |
| dcc_completed_dir | Directory to move completed files to. |
| dcc_dir | Directory to download files to from DCC. |
| dcc_fast_send | Toggle speed up of DCC transfers by not waiting to heard if last part was received before sending next (currently disabled on Win32). |
| dcc_global_max_get_cps | Max file transfer speed for all downloads combined in bytes per second. |
| dcc_global_max_send_cps | Max file transfer speed for all uploads combined in bytes per second. |
| dcc_ip | DCC IP address to bind to. |
| dcc_ip_from_server | Get address from IRC server. |
| dcc_max_get_cps | Max file transfer speed for one download in bytes per second. |
| dcc_max_send_cps | Max file transfer speed for one upload in bytes per second. |
| dcc_permissions | What permissions to set on received files. (It's a CHMOD value in decimal, e.g. to CHMOD a file to 644, which is octal, you need to set dcc_permissions to 420, which is it's decimal equivalent) |
| dcc_port_first | First DCC port in range (leave ports at 0 for full range). |
| dcc_port_last | Last DCC port in range (leave ports at 0 for full range). |
| dcc_remove | Toggle automatic removal of finished/failed DCCs. |
| dcc_save_nick | Toggle saving of nicks in filenames. |
| dcc_send_fillspaces | Replace spaces in filenames with underscores. |
| dcc_stall_timeout | Time in seconds to wait before timing out during a DCC send. |
| dcc_timeout | Time in seconds to wait before timing out a DCC transfer waiting to be accepted. |
| flood_ctcp_num | Number of CTCPs within flood_ctcp_time to be considered a flood. |
| flood_ctcp_time | Time in seconds for use with flood_ctcp_num. |
| flood_msg_num | Number of messages within flood_msg_time to be considered a flood. |
| flood_msg_time | Time in seconds for use with flood_msg_num. |
| gui_autoopen_chat | Toggle auto opening of Direct Chat Window on DCC Chat. |
| gui_autoopen_dialog | Toggle auto opening of dialog windows. |
| gui_autoopen_recv | Toggle auto opening of transfer window on DCC Recv. |
| gui_autoopen_send | Toggle auto opening of transfer window on DCC Send. |
| gui_chanlist_maxusers | Maximum number of users in channels to be listed in List of Channels. |
| gui_chanlist_minusers | Minimum number of users in channels to be listed in List of Channels. |
| gui_compact | Toggle compact mode (more or less spacing between user list/channel tree rows). |
| gui_dialog_height | New dialog height in pixels. |
| gui_dialog_left | The X co-ordinance of dialogs when opened. |
| gui_dialog_top | The Y co-ordinance of dialogs when opened. |
| gui_dialog_width | New dialog width in pixels. |
| gui_hide_menu | Hide or unhide menu bar. |
| gui_input_icon | Toggle user mode icon in the nick box. |
| gui_input_nick | Toggle the nick box in the input box. |
| gui_input_spell | Enable or disable spell checking. |
| gui_input_style | Toggle use of text box colors and fonts in input box. |
| gui_join_dialog | Toggle join dialog after connect. |
| gui_lagometer | Toggle types of Lag-O-Meters.
|
| gui_lang | Set GUI language. Possible values are from 0 to 50 (Win32 only). |
| gui_mode_buttons | Toggle mode buttons. |
| gui_pane_left_size | Change size left pane. |
| gui_pane_right_size | Change size right pane. |
| gui_pane_divider_position | Saves position of divider when channel switcher and user list are on the same side. |
| gui_pane_right_size_min | FIXME |
| gui_quit_dialog | Toggle quit dialog. |
| gui_slist_fav | Toggle showing favorites only in network list. |
| gui_slist_select | The number of the server to select by default in the server list starting at 0. (E.g. to select the 67th server, set it to 66) |
| gui_slist_skip | Toggle server list on startup. |
| gui_tab_chans | Open channels in tabs instead of windows. |
| gui_tab_dialogs | Open dialogs in tabs instead of windows. |
| gui_tab_dots | Toggle dotted lines in the channel tree. |
| gui_tab_icons | Toggle channel tree icons. |
| gui_tab_layout | Use treeview or tabs.
|
| gui_tab_newtofront | When to focus new tabs.
|
| gui_tab_pos | Set position of tabs.
|
| gui_tab_server | Open an extra tab for server messages. |
| gui_tab_small | Set small tabs.
|
| gui_tab_sort | Toggle alphabetical sorting of tabs. |
| gui_tab_trunc | Number or letters to shorten tab names to. |
| gui_tab_utils | Open utils in tabs instead of windows. |
| gui_throttlemeter | Toggle types of throttle meters.
|
| gui_topicbar | Toggle topic bar. |
| gui_tray | Enable system tray icon. |
| gui_tray_away | Automatically mark away/back when the tray is toggled. |
| gui_tray_blink | Toggle tray icon blinking or using static images. |
| gui_tray_close | Close to tray. |
| gui_tray_minimize | Minimize to tray. |
| gui_tray_quiet | Only show tray balloons when hidden or iconified. |
| gui_ulist_buttons | Toggle userlist buttons. |
| gui_ulist_count | Toggle displaying user count on top of the user list. |
| gui_ulist_doubleclick | Command to run upon double click of user in userlist. |
| gui_ulist_hide | Hides userlist. |
| gui_ulist_icons | Toggle use of icons instead of text symbols in user list. |
| gui_ulist_pos | Set userlist position.
|
| gui_ulist_resizable | Toggle resizable userlist. |
| gui_ulist_show_hosts | Toggle user's hosts displaying in userlist. (requires irc_who_join) |
| gui_ulist_sort | How to sort users in the userlist.
|
| gui_ulist_style | Toggle use of text box colors and fonts in userlist. |
| gui_url_mod | How to handle URLs when clicked. (And what to hold.)
|
| gui_usermenu | Toggle editable usermenu. |
| gui_win_height | Main window height in pixels. |
| gui_win_left | The X co-ordinance of main window when opened. |
| gui_win_modes | Show channel modes in title bar. |
| gui_win_save | Toggles saving of state on exit. |
| gui_win_state | Default state of the main window.
|
| gui_win_swap | Swap the middle and left panes (allows side-by-side userlist/tree). |
| gui_win_top | The Y co-ordinance of main window when opened. |
| gui_win_ucount | Show number of users in title bar. |
| gui_win_width | Main window width in pixels. |
| identd | Toggle internal IDENTD (Win32 only). |
| input_balloon_chans | Show tray balloons on channel messages. |
| input_balloon_hilight | Show tray balloons on highlighted messages. |
| input_balloon_priv | Show tray balloons on private messages. |
| input_balloon_time | How long balloon messages should be displayed. (2.8.8+) |
| input_beep_chans | Toggle beep on channel messages. |
| input_beep_hilight | Toggle beep on highlighted messages. |
| input_beep_priv | Toggle beep on private messages. |
| input_command_char | Character used to execute commands. (E.g. if set to '[' then you would use commands like '[me jumps around') |
| input_filter_beep | Toggle filtering of beeps sent by others. |
| input_flash_chans | Toggle whether or not to flash taskbar on channel messages. |
| input_flash_hilight | Toggle whether or not to flash taskbar on highlighted messages. |
| input_flash_priv | Toggle whether or not to flash taskbar on private messages. |
| input_perc_ascii | Toggle interpreting of %nnn as ASCII value. |
| input_perc_color | Toggle interpreting of %C, %B as color, bold, etc. |
| input_tray_chans | Blink tray icon on channel messages. |
| input_tray_hilight | Blink tray icon on highlighted messages. |
| input_tray_priv | Blink tray icon on private messages. |
| irc_auto_rejoin | Toggle auto rejoining when kicked. |
| irc_reconnect_rejoin | Toggle auto rejoining on auto reconnect. |
| irc_ban_type | The default ban type to use for all bans. (requres irc_who_join)
|
| irc_conf_mode | Toggle hiding of join, part and quit messages. (More info)
|
| irc_extra_hilight | Extra words to highlight on. |
| irc_hide_version | Toggle hiding of VERSION reply. |
| irc_id_ntext | $4 in the channel message, channel message hilight and private message events if unidentified. |
| irc_id_ytext | $4 in the channel message, channel message hilight and private message events if identified. |
| irc_invisible | Toggle invisible mode (+i). |
| irc_join_delay | How long to delay auto-joining a channel after connect. |
| irc_logging | Toggle logging. |
| irc_logmask | Mask used to create log filenames (strftime details: Windows Unix). |
| irc_nick1 | First choice nick. |
| irc_nick2 | Second choice nick. |
| irc_nick3 | Third choice nick. |
| irc_nick_hilight | What nicks to highlight when they talk. |
| irc_notice_pos | Placement of Notices:
|
| irc_no_hilight | Nicks not to highlight on. |
| irc_part_reason | Default reason when leaving channel. |
| irc_quit_reason | Default quit reason. |
| irc_raw_modes | Toggle RAW channel modes. |
| irc_real_name | Real name to be sent to server. |
| irc_servernotice | Toggle receiving of server notices. |
| irc_skip_motd | Toggle skipping of server MOTD. |
| irc_user_name | Username to be sent to server. |
| irc_wallops | Toggle receiving wallops. |
| irc_who_join | Toggle running WHO after joining channel. |
| irc_whois_front | Toggle whois results being sent to currently active tab. |
| net_auto_reconnect | Toggle auto reconnect to server. |
| net_auto_reconnectonfail | Toggle auto reconnect upon failed connection. (Unix only command, not available on Windows) |
| net_bind_host | Network address to bind HexChat to. |
| net_ping_timeout | How long server ping has to be to timeout. |
| net_proxy_auth | Toggle proxy authentication. |
| net_proxy_host | Proxy host to use. |
| net_proxy_pass | Password to use if proxy authentication is turned on. |
| net_proxy_port | Port to use for proxy host. |
| net_proxy_type | Type of proxy to use.
|
| net_proxy_use | What to use proxies for (if set).
|
| net_proxy_user | Username to use if proxy authentication is turned on. |
| net_reconnect_delay | How many seconds to wait before reconnection. |
| net_throttle | Toggle flood protection (to keep from getting kicked). |
| notify_timeout | How often in seconds to check for users in your notify list. |
| notify_whois_online | Toggle performing WHOIS on users on your notify list when they come online. |
| perl_warnings | Toggle perl warnings. |
| sound_dir | Directory where sounds are located. |
| stamp_log | Toggle timestamps in logs. |
| stamp_log_format | Format to use for log timestamps (strftime details: Windows Unix). |
| stamp_text | Toggle timestamps in text box. |
| stamp_text_format | Format to use for timestamps in textbox (strftime details: Windows Unix). |
| text_autocopy_color | Toggle automatic copying of color information. |
| text_autocopy_stamp | Toggle automatic copying of time stamps. |
| text_autocopy_text | Toggle automatic copying of selected text. |
| text_background | Sets the background image for text box. |
| text_color_nicks | Toggle colored nicks. |
| text_font | All fonts to be used (main and alternative fonts combined, shouldn't be edited manually). |
| text_font_main | Primary font to be used. |
| text_font_alternative | Alternative fonts to be used for glyphs not supported by the primary font. |
| text_indent | Toggle text indentation. |
| text_max_indent | Max pixels to indent text with. |
| text_max_lines | Max number or scrollback lines. |
| text_replay | Reloads conversation buffers on next startup. |
| text_search_case_match | Toggle performing a case-sensitive search. |
| text_search_backward | Toggle searching from newest text line to the oldest. |
| text_search_highlight_all | Toggle highlighting all occurences and underlining of the current occurence. |
| text_search_follow | Toggle search for newly arriving messages. |
| text_search_regexp | Toggle regarding search string as a regular expression. |
| text_show_marker | Toggle red marker line feature. |
| text_show_sep | Toggle separator line. |
| text_spell_langs | List of languages to have spelling for, by language codes, separated by commas. |
| text_stripcolor_msg | Toggle stripping colors from messages. |
| text_stripcolor_replay | Toggle stripping colors from scrollback. |
| text_stripcolor_topic | Toggle stripping colors from topic. |
| text_thin_sep | Use thin separator line instead of thick line. |
| text_transparent | Toggle transparent background. |
| text_wordwrap | Toggle wordwrap. |
| url_grabber | Toggle URL grabber. |
| url_grabber_limit | Limit the number of URLs handled by the url grabber. |
| url_logging | Toggle logging URLs to <config>/url.log. |