Window target lists

Each window has a list of targets associated with it, usually nicknames. These associations influence output routing and the window's current query. They do not verify that a nickname exists, send a message, or join a channel.

Output routing

In normal fullscreen routing, output associated with an ordinary nickname is sent to the window whose target list contains that nickname on the same server, before message-level routing. This is not a promise that every line mentioning the nickname goes there: the output must carry the corresponding routing context. An explicit output window takes precedence, suppressed output is not routed, and non-fullscreen output follows a separate path.

Channel output follows the channel's own window association rather than an arbitrary nickname-list claim. Use window channel for channel placement. Scripts and commands that explicitly direct output can bypass ordinary target routing. See levels for level-based routing.

Current query and send target

Query selection uses per-target recency counters. The current query is the entry matching the window's current query counter. window query explicitly selects a query; switch_query can cycle query priorities. A window can retain older targets while another is current.

The current query is used in these places:

%Q in the status format, through the status_query wrapper, and $q in expando evaluation.
$windowctl(get <refnum> query_nick), window descriptions, and the query column in window listings.
$querywin(<target> [server]), which searches current queries, not every entry in every target list. It returns the first matching user-visible refnum, or -1; supply the server to avoid an ambiguous cross-network match.
The effective send target, exposed by $t: query first, then current channel.
send, ordinary interactive text, and me, which use that effective target.
say, which instead prefers the current channel and uses the query only when there is no channel.
exec -out, which captures the effective target when that option is processed; it does not automatically follow later query changes.

Default window-log filename construction uses the current channel first, then the query if no channel exists, then a Window_<refnum> fallback. An explicit window logfile bypasses that default construction. The query affects a filename, not a hostname.

A server can reject the eventual message or action regardless of local target selection. A query and a current channel remain separate concepts in EPIC6.

Modifying the list

Action	Result
`/window query nick`	Add or select a target as the current query.
`/window query`	Remove only the current query; another remaining target can become current.
`/window -query`	Remove all target-list entries.
`/window add nick`	Add a routing target without explicitly promoting it to current query.
`/window remove nick`	Remove that target and recompute the current query from remaining priorities.

query, add, and remove accept comma-separated target lists as one argument. Their argument-free and hyphen-prefixed forms differ; consult the individual pages rather than treating them as interchangeable list operations. Adding a routing-only target uses counter zero and does not provide a general guarantee that the current-query result is unchanged in every counter state.

For example:

/window 2 query alice
/window 2 add bob
/window 2 query
/window 2 -query

The first selects Alice in window 2; the second associates Bob for routing. The third removes the current query, and the fourth clears all remaining conversations. These operations do not part channels or erase saved output.

Server scope and ownership

Ordinary nickname associations are per server. Claiming a target in another window on the same server moves its association out of the previous owner. The same nickname on another server is a different conversation.

Internal target lookup also has legacy global-target exceptions for names beginning with =, %, @, or /. These exceptions do not make ordinary nickname output cross-server, and target-list acceptance alone does not establish a working external-process or protocol destination. Prefer the documented destination syntax of the sending command.

Source references

source/window.c: target ownership, counters, query selection, list operations, getters, and logging filenames.
source/screen.c: output-routing priorities and separate non-fullscreen path.
source/commands.c: query-first/channel-first sending, interactive text, and actions.
source/functions.c: querywin, $q, and $t.
source/exec.c: -out target capture.