EPIC Enhanced Programmable IRC-II Client

set cmdchars

Synopsis

/set cmdchars [<characters>]
/set -cmdchars

Default: /. With no value, set displays the current string. /set -cmdchars unsets it. The setting remains a string variable, but its effect is limited as described below.

Description

Historically this variable listed characters that could introduce commands on the input line, with slash always accepted. The current EPIC6 command parser instead recognizes / directly and does not consult cmdchars when deciding whether interactive input is a command. Setting additional characters does not enable them as built-in command prefixes.

Interactive input without a slash follows the ordinary text-send path to the current target. For example, setting cmdchars to /! does not make !help a command; do not rely on that spelling to invoke a local command.

Remaining uses

The $K special expando returns the first byte of the configured string. When the setting is unset, it falls back to /. It does not return the complete set of characters, and setting a non-slash first character can therefore make script-generated command text disagree with the built-in parser.

Scripts can also read $cmdchars directly. The supplied tabkey.ce completion script uses it in its command-completion logic; that script behavior does not change the C command parser. Other scripts can implement their own input conventions, independently of the built-in parsing rule.

Changing or unsetting the string has no immediate callback and sends no IRC request. Because slash is the actual built-in command prefix, keeping the default avoids inconsistencies with scripts that still use this variable.

Example

Restore the conventional value used by $K and scripts:

/set cmdchars /

Use /help rather than an alternate prefix to invoke a local command under the built-in parser.

Source references