Thread: Setup mIRC to auto-connect & auto-join channels for idling

Updated: Guide shows how to auto-connect using a script instead of perfom.

Introduction
I'm writing this guide because recently I learned that some of my trackers gave bonus points to users who idled in their IRC channels. So I set out to find a way to easily auto-connect to all my trackers' servers and join their respective channels. It took a while to get all the little bells and whistles to do what I wanted but I still have more fine tuning to do. However this guide can still save you time as it will cover all the things you need to know to setup mIRC installed or portable, configure it to auto-connect to servers, and join the channels you want to idle in. So without further ado let us get started by first heading over to mIRC: Download mIRC to download the latest version of mIRC or find your own flavor somewhere else.

Regular Installation
Once you have mIRC downloaded it you will need to install it. If you are plan to connect to IRC on only one computer then just run the setup file and run through the setup. All the options are standard and there should be nothing special you need to configure on your own. If you want to use mIRC on multiple computers and have the same settings then you will need to follow the steps in the following section.

Portable Installation
The portable version of mIRC is really nifty especially when you use it with a syncing service like Dropbox.com or Box.net. You can also just keep it on a USB pendrive and bring it along with you wherever you go. When you are installing mIRC choose a directory that is synced or on a pendrive. You can check the portable option when you install it but it didn't work for me. Here is how to get mIRC to save your settings in the same folder it resides in.

1.Open notepad (Start menu>run>notepad>press enter)
2.On the first line type the following: start mirc.exe -portable
3.From the menu bar click File>Save as
4.Find the folder you installed mIRC to.
5.Choose a file name and enclose it in double quotes with the .bat: "portable_mirc.bat" (DON'T FORGET THE QUOTES!!!)
6.Click save!

It should look something like this:

Now whenever you run mIRC make sure to use the .bat file you just created instead of mIRC.exe!

Server auto-connect script
You've just installed mIRC now to configure it to auto-connect to your trackers' servers and auto-join channels! First you will need to get a list of IRC servers from your tracker's websites. We will put them into a script in notepad and kill two birds with one stone. First open up notepad and copy the following text inside.

on *:START:{
server irc.tracker1.com
server -m irc.tracker2.com:6669
}

Logon to your trackers and find the hostname of the IRC server. It's probably somewhere in the rules or FAQ and usually follows the following format: irc.hostname.com. Start typing them into the script and follow the same format. If your tracker uses another port besides the default of 6667 then just append portnumber to the end of the server hostname.

Now start up mIRC.exe or portable_mirc.bat if you're using the portable version. Close the connection window when it opens automatically. (You can disable this by clicking options under Connect and unchecking 'Show connect on startup' before you close the window) From the menu bar click Tools>Scripts Editor. Make sure you are editing the Remote tab! Paste in what you have from notepad and click ok. Go ahead and close mIRC and start it back up to see if it works!

It'll look something like this:

Auto-join channel script
Now that you've connected to all your IRC servers it's time to setup commands to automatically run once you connect. Typically after you connect you might type in '/msg nickserv identify password' followed by /join #channelname. Some trackers have special authentication measures and you might have to /msg IdentBot invite or something similar before you can join or get invited to a channel. Let's add more commands to our script! Add this under the last bracket from the on*:Start{} portion.

on *:CONNECT: {
if (tracker1.com isin $server) {
/nick yourNick
/msg NickServ IDENTIFY yourPassword
/timer 1 5 /join #channel
}
}

It'll look like this:

For most servers you will want to identify your nick first then join your channel. If you haven't registered your nick connect to the server and type /msg nickserv register password email@address.com to register your nick. If you need to change your nick before you register type /nick newnickname.
You've done it! Now you're all setup! You might want to restart mIRC and test to see if you set it all up correctly or if you think you are pro just forget it and go get a snack =).

Some additional notes
the /timer 1 5 command before joining a channel because It takes some time for NickServ or an authentication bot to reply. Without this you might try to join the channel before you get authenticated.



If you don't won't the connect boxes popping up all the time you can stop it.
By doing this
File /Options/connect/Options >> Untick connect on startup


Example

speedo.good job buddy good job..i will try this...but can u do the same with xchat and kvirc..if yes then post that also.....thankz for this tutorial.................

Originally Posted by JoeBlade

speedo.good job buddy good job..i will try this...but can u do the same with xchat and kvirc..if yes then post that also.....thankz for this tutorial.................

It's much easier on Xchat :)

How do I autoconnect and join a channel when X-Chat loads?
In the Server list, select the Network you want to auto-connect to, click Edit and turn ON the "Auto connect to this network at startup" checkbox.

Now this 2nd edited version with the new screen shot solves a lot of confusion for the newbies ......

Great work mate.

yapp...but thing isnot working coz normal xchat gonna sk u for reg on site for further useafter 30days....so i use xchat 2 a unofficial build..i think...so can u make one script for that so it can autojoin channels on start....and i want to do this to connect with some of my bouncer not to direct connect with site irc......come to ti irc....that is even better so we can talk thats more easy compare with this posting...

Good Tutorial,
Well Written.

For anyone who requires help with this, have a look at the mIRC help file,
it has a good refrence and a complete guide on MSL (Mirc Scripting Language).

Wow thank you I was looking for this tutorial.
Rep point added.