IRC in Mozilla, aka ChatZilla
Basics
ChatZilla is an IRC client that is written entirely in JavaScript and XUL. You must be using a Mozilla based browser to run ChatZilla.
- If you don't have a Mozilla based browser, you can install the latest Netscape branded browser, or get the latest mozilla.org build from mozillaZine's build comment page.
- If you do have a a Mozilla based browser, you can install ChatZilla now. The ChatZilla homepage has the current version in a form you can install right from your browser.
- If you find a bug in ChatZilla, check out the open bug list, If you can't find your problem there, please file a bug against ChatZilla.
Once ChatZilla is properly installed, it can be started in any of the following ways...
- Select IRC Chat from the Tasks menu.
- Type in an irc: url in the url bar.
- Start your browser with the -chat option.
- Start your browser with the -chrome chrome://chatzilla/content option
Documentation
| Site | Description |
|---|---|
| Official ChatZilla FAQ | The official ChatZilla FAQ, available in either HTML or XML. You've got questions, we've got </answers> |
| Unofficial ChatZilla FAQ | A FAQ maintained by moztips. |
| Sample Startup Script | Currently there is one sample script in there. It shows how to define a new command, how to add commands to menus, and how to define new preferences. There is a big comment at the top that describes where to put the script, etc. |
| ChatZilla homepage | A page I can update faster than this page. It sometimes has more current information about bugs and workarounds that creep in from day to day. This is also where to find development versions of ChatZilla. |
| "Faces" motifs | Motifs that put faces next to the names of many moznet regulars. |
| ChatZilla motifs | This document describes how to create and use your own style sheets for ChatZilla output. |
| irc: url syntax | This document describes the syntax of irc: urls. You can use these urls to link from a web page to your (well, anyone's really) IRC channel. You can also bookmark these urls for quick access. |
| #chatzilla on moznet | Join the #chatzilla IRC channel and ask questions or make (constructive) comments. |
| ChatZilla screenshots | Who doesn't love screenshots? In the older screenshots, the most recent messages are at the top of the window (this worked around a bug at the time.) |
| irchelp.org | General information and FAQs about IRC. Nothing to do specifically with ChatZilla, but a good place to go if you want to learn more about IRC. |
Contributors
Robert Ginda () is the original author of ChatZilla.
Samuel Sieb () has been regularly contributing to the project for quite some time now. He has filed, and supplied patches for lots of bugs, and has been of great help to ChatZilla.
James Ross () contributed ChatZilla's preference panels, and provided patches for a number of other bugs.
Peter Van der Beken () re-implemented connection-xpcom.js to use necko, instead of the bslib, thus freeing ChatZilla of its C++ code. He's also been ChatZilla's best MacBuddy. Peter kept the ChatZilla related build goop up to date on the Macintosh (before jar.mn files were around), and runs ChatZilla on his Mac as his primary client.
Christine Begle wrote the /stalk and /unstalk commands.
Josh Gough () had been hacking on ChatZilla when it was a JavaScript 'bot named mingus. He implemented a fistfull of commands for ChatZilla, and added context menu support in the userlist.
Dan Matejka Migrated the ChatZilla makefiles when manifest.rdf files were introduced.
Simon Fraser put together the initial Macintosh build goop, allowing Mac users to experience the joy of ChatZilla.
Building ChatZilla in the mozilla.org source tree
Unix
In autoconf environments such as Unix, configure your build with --with-extensions=default,irc, to create the necessary makefiles, and rebuild. If your tree is already built, you only need to gmake in extensions/irc (after configuring) to add the IRC client.
Windows & Mac
ChatZilla is built by default on Windows and Mac.