irssi 0.8.18+ SASL / SSL authentication config

As of v0.8.18, irssi irc client has native support for SASL (Simple Authentication and Security Layer). Because irssi < 0.8.18 didn't have SASL support, the old workaround was to copy the Perl script cap_sasl.pl to ~/.irssi/scripts/autorun/ . My old irssi config file contained something like the following:

Freenode = {
    type = "IRC";
    max_kicks = "1";
    max_msgs = "4";
    max_whois = "1";
    sasl_mechanism = "plain";
    sasl_username = "archjun";
    sasl_password = "myPlainTextPW";
  };

Hardcoding my Freenode password into the irssi config was dumb because this file managed in my dotfiles repository on github so everyone could see the password. I later realized my mistake and had to remove the file from my git repo, rewrite the git history and remove refs to the deleted file:

git filter-branch --index-filter 'git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch fileName

Beware that the command above will DELETE fileName despite the --cached flag. Before you run this command make sure to backup the original file somewhere.

I decided not to use regular passwords for irc authentication on Freenode and to use SSL passwordless auth instead. There is a great guide for this on the Archlinux wiki:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/irssi#SSL_Connection

After following the steps now my Freenode entry in ~/.irssi/config looks like this:

...
  {
    address = "chat.freenode.net";
    chatnet = "Freenode";
    port = "6697";
    use_ssl = "yes";
    ssl_cert = "~/.irssi/irssi.pem";
    ssl_pass = "";
    ssl_verify = "yes";
    ssl_capath = "/etc/ssl/certs";
  },
...

*Note 2016-12-13: You should no longer specify ssl_capath when defining servers in the irssi config file. Reference: https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/16651

The above was automatically generated by irssi when I invoked /save after registering my SSL key with Freenode NickServ.

Looking at this syntax, I think it might be possible to replace the plain-text sasl_password in my old irssi config file with something like:

sasl_password = "~/.irssi/mypw.txt"

And then add mypw.txt to .gitignore to avoid accidentally including my password in a public git repo.

Now when I /connect Freenode with SSL cert auth enabled, my nick is authenticated automatically. Very convenient!

How to group chat in Slack through irssi + bitlbee

This tutorial assumes that you already have irssi and bitlbee installed and set up and therefore only details the process of adding the #general channel on a Slack board so you can group chat in the terminal. This tutorial will not go through how to get irssi and bitlbee set up for using XMPP chat services in the terminal, however, as there are already many good sources on the Internet that explain how to do this (Archlinux bitlbee tutorial, Slack tutorial on connecting via XMPP or IRC, etc).

In the bitlbee admin channel (/join &bitlbee), initially adding a slack account is straightforward:

account add jabber userName@myBoardName.xmpp.slack.com [Slack-generated XMPP password]

Note that you can find your Slack-generated XMPP password at myBoardName.slack.com/account/gateways at the bottom of the page with a section that reads "Getting Started: XMPP". This password is different from your main Slack password!

OK, so now you've added your XMPP account for a Slack board. If you do nothing else, you can at least chat with individual users on the board with the /msg userName command, but you won't be able to chat in channels such as #general.

To enable #general in Slack, enter the following from the bitlbee admin channel (all one line):

chat add userName@myBoardName.xmpp.slack.com general@conference.myBoardName.xmpp.slack.com

This step is not clear from the instructions provided by Slack on the .../account/gateways page.

But there is one problem -- unless your default irssi nick matches the one you are using in your Slack board, you will be refused access to #general. You can set your default irssi nick in $HOME/.irssi/config in the following line:

settings = {
  core = { real_name = "My real name"; user_name = "YourUserNameHere"; nick = "YourNick"; };
  "fe-text" = { actlist_sort = "refnum"; };
};

To apply changes, restart irssi. Or you can change your Slack username to match your irssi nick by clicking on Account Settings in the Slack UI.

Some screen shots of irssi + bitlbee in action with a Slack channel (already added).