Help
Guides for the software most people end up running on ShadowShells: an IRC bouncer, a terminal IRC client kept alive under screen or tmux, and an IRC bot. Start here if you're setting one of these up for the first time.
Guides
- Setting up ZNC — an IRC bouncer that stays connected while you're offline
- irssi with screen or tmux — a persistent terminal IRC client without a bouncer
- Setting up an eggdrop bot — a scriptable, Tcl-based IRC bot
The basics
Connecting
SSH in with your username:
ssh username@shell.shadowsquad.org
You'll need an SSH key added to your account first, from the dashboard.
Checking your usage
Run usage at your shell prompt to see your current foreground and background process counts against your plan's limits.
Foreground and background processes
A foreground process is attached to the terminal you're logged into — it stops the moment you disconnect. A background process is detached: running under screen or tmux, started with nohup, or running as a daemon. Anything meant to keep running after you close your terminal — an IRC bot, a ZNC bouncer, anything long-lived — has to be started as a background process, or it dies with your SSH session. See irssi with screen or tmux for the mechanics of doing that.
Both process types are capped per plan. Run usage to see where you currently stand, and see plans for the limits themselves.
Incoming ports are assigned, not chosen
If something you run needs to accept connections from the internet — a ZNC bouncer, an eggdrop party line — it needs a port, and you cannot pick the number yourself. Ports are assigned by the system: request one from the Ports section of the dashboard, and it allocates a free port from its own range and opens the firewall for it. A port number you invent and drop into a config file will simply be unreachable — the firewall doesn't know about it. How many ports you can request depends on your plan.
The rules
Run rules at the shell for the short version of the acceptable use policy, or read the full Acceptable Use Policy.