Quassel IRC

h1. Autostart Core on Mac

{{toc}}

h2. Introduction

One common method by which to start a daemon on the Mac, either in realtime or at boot, is to use *launchd*.  Using this method requires the creation of a property list file _(plist)_ which is used by _launchd_ to start the desired daemon which is, in this particular scenario, the  _*quasselcore*_ daemon.  Also, while our primary goal is to have the daemon launch at boot, much of the following also applies to manually using _launchd (via the +launchctl+ command)_ to run & stop the same daemon via the command line in realtime.

bq. *NOTE:* The terms _"launch controller"_ or _"controller"_ are used as shorthand in reference to using the *launchctl* command.

---

h2. Creating & saving the plist file

First, we need to create the necessary plist file which will then be saved to the user's launch agent directory - examples and location are provided below _(if the file exists in the proper location, you may skip this step)_:

h3. plist example _(by e-jat)_

<pre><code class="xml">

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

	<key>Label</key>

	<string>com.quasselcore.daemon</string>

	<key>ProgramArguments</key>

	<array>

		<string>/Applications/Quassel/quasselcore</string>

	</array>

	<key>RunAtLoad</key>

	<true/>

	<key>WorkingDirectory</key>

	<string>/Applications/Quassel</string>

</dict>

</plist>

</code></pre>

h3. plist save location

*FILENAME:*  org.quassel-irg.quasselcore.plist

*DIRECTORY:*  ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

*FULL FILENAME:*  ~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.quassel-irg.quasselcore.plist

---

h2. Manually loading & unloading using the launch controller

bq. *NOTE:* The following commands must be *executed by the user who owns the plist-file*.  In addition, *do not use sudo* when using launchctl with user-owned plist LaunchAgent files.  Trying to execute these commands as a user who does not own the plist or with sudo will result in the system detecting an ownership anomaly and refusal to launch the quasselcore daemon. 

*Load:*

<pre>

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.quassel-irg.quasselcore.plist

</pre>

*Unload:*

<pre>

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.quassel-irg.quasselcore.plist

</pre>

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h2. Configuring runtime options

Several runtime options exist to enhance and modify quasselcore's operation _(see list below)_.  These options apply to both daemon launch methods: *(a)* via the controller _(i.e. launchd)_; or *(b)* via the command line.  When launching the daemon via the controller, all options are specified in the same plist file created above.   Each option is specified by the use of _<string>_ statements in the _ProgramArguments array_ section of the plist.  When entering the different options, no white-space or other parsing is entered - the controller will take care of those specifics.  Syntax and examples follow:

*plist option argument syntax*

<pre>

<string>OPTION_ARGUMENT</string>

</pre>

*EXAMPLE 1: listen on non-default port*

<pre>

<string>-p 12345</string>

</pre>

*EXAMPLE 2: enable logging to syslog*

<pre>

<string>--syslog</string>

</pre>

*EXAMPLE 3: enable debug mode*

<pre>

<string>-d</string>

OR

<string>--debug</string>

</pre>

*EXAMPLE 4: all of the above along with the _ProgramArguments_ section header*

<pre><code class="xml">

<key>ProgramArguments</key>

<array>

	<string>/Applications/Quassel/quasselcore</string>

	<string>-p 12345</string>

	<string>--syslog</string>

	<string>-d</string>

</array>

</code></pre>

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h2. Runtime option list

<pre>

--debug, -d                             Enable debug output

--help, -h                              Display this help and exit

--version, -v                           Display version information

--configdir, -c <path>                  Specify the directory holding

                                        configuration files, the SQlite

                                        database and the SSL certificate

										--configdir instead

--listen <<address>[,<address>[,...]]>  The address(es) quasselcore will

                                        listen on

--port, -p <port>                       The port quasselcore will listen at

--norestore, -n                         Don't restore last core's state

--loglevel, -L <level>                  Loglevel Debug|Info|Warning|Error

--syslog                                Log to syslog

--logfile, -l <path>                    Log to a file

--select-backend <backendidentifier>    Switch storage backend (migrating

                                        data if possible)

--add-user                              Starts an interactive session to add

                                        a new core user

--change-userpass <username>            Starts an interactive session to

                                        change the password of the user

                                        identified by <username>

--oidentd                               Enable oidentd integration

--oidentd-conffile <file>               Set path to oidentd configuration

                                        file

--require-ssl                           Require SSL for remote (non-loopback)

                                        client connections

--ssl-cert <path>                       Specify the path to the SSL

                                        Certificate

--ssl-key <path>                        Specify the path to the SSL key

--enable-experimental-dcc               Enable highly experimental and

                                        unfinished support for CTCP DCC

                                        (DANGEROUS)

</pre>