IRC Channel Auto-Connection with Irssi

This tutorial explains how to configure the Irssi ("the client of the future") IRC client to automatically connect to one or more channels when run.

1. Invoke Irssi from the shell:

   $ irssi

2. After Irssi starts, enter the following commands:

   
   /network add sdf
   /server add -auto -network sdf irc.sdf.org
   /channel add -auto #sdf sdf
       

   (You may add other channels¹. Channel #helpdesk is added automatically.)
3. Quit Irssi:

   /quit

4. Invoke Irssi again:

   $ irssi

   (Irssi runs and automatically connects to the channels you defined in 2.)
5. Select the channel you want to see first when Irssi starts by cycling through the channel windows (Ctrl-n, Ctrl-p).
6. Save the Irssi channel window configuration:

/layout save

If you experience trouble, it may help to reset your Irssi configuration by deleting or renaming the file ~/.irssi/config.

Notes

1. See IRC Channels on SDF.