DigitalIRC

Deep Linking and Webchats

Webchat, to many it’s the only way they interact with the IRC network and chat with their friends. This is because for most it’s the easiest way for them to access the network, no installs, no configs, it just works.

From a recent query we got in #help we realised that there was no offical documentation for how to deeplink to a channel with the DigitalIRC Webchat or our backup KiwiIRC Webchat.

When we talk about deeplinking we are talking about a way to directly link so the webchat will connect to your channel rather than the default, as well as specifying a different nickname. These can also be embedded into a website via an iframe to give a seamless experience to the user.

DigitalIRC Webchat #

The DigitalIRC Webchat is our self hosted webchat which is currently based on TheLounge. Previously it’s been based on QwebIRC, and then a self-hosted KiwiIRC instance.

To change the default channel to join on connect all you need to do is add ?join=CHANNEL where CHANNEL is the channel you with to join.

https://webchat.digitalirc.org/?join=test

Please note to not put a # in url as it will cause the webchat to ignore the channel name.

If you want to change the nickname that people join with you can use ?nick=NICKNAME where NICKNAME is the nick to use rather than the default.

https://webchat.digitalirc.org/?nick=JohnSmith

These two options can be combined as well to have a nickname and channel pre-filled when users view the webchat.

https://webchat.digitalirc.org/?join=test&nick=JohnSmith

KiwiIRC #

The KiwiIRC is an external IRC Webchat platform we do not run any of the servers it is hosted on, but it does have a webirc password configured to allow it to connect to the DigitalIRC network.

To change the default channel to join on connect all you need to do is add #CHANNEL to the END of the URL, where CHANNEL is the channel you with to join.

https://kiwiirc.com/client?settings=0f3e994c84290c080344dd64496537e7#test

If you want to change the nickname that people join with you can use ?nick=NICKNAME where NICKNAME is the nick to use rather than the default.

https://kiwiirc.com/client?settings=0f3e994c84290c080344dd64496537e7&nick=Cheesus

These two options can be combined as well to have a nickname and channel pre-filled when users view the webchat.

https://kiwiirc.com/client?settings=0f3e994c84290c080344dd64496537e7&nick=Cheesus#test