LizardBot

Note: Some experience in the PHP programming language - which this bot is written in - is recommended for using this bot. The documentation on this site assumes that you are familiar with at least the basics of PHP (such as declaring variables, how to quote strings, etc.). That said, this is only a recommendation - if you don't know PHP at all, you are welcome to try out LizardBot, and do ask for help on our IRC channel or elsewhere if you need it.

LizardBot is a freely licensed PHP IRC bot written by FastLizard4 and the LizardBot Dev Team It is licensed under the Creative Commons GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GNU-GPL).

What does it do?

The bot covers all the basics, such as say, do, sending raw commands to the uplink stream, etc.
Some special features:

• Gets stock quotes
• Uses Pandorabot for a basic AI
• Uses the WoT API to get site safety ratings
• Uses google calc for calculations and currency conversions
• Checks editcounts for users on Wikimedia wikis
• Can convert URLs to TinyURLs

I want a copy!

OK! But first, you need the minimum system requirements:

Miminum System Requirements

• PHP 5 CLI (Must be PHP 5 and it must be the CLI, not CGI!) with Safe Mode DISABLED
• Any POSIX-compliant OS (MacOSX, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris) or Windows XP/Vista/7 32- or 64-bit (as long as you can find a version of PHP for your version of Windows) - Note: If you plan to use the bot on Windows, please read the Windows Manual instead of the standard Bot Setup and Operating the Bot pages.
• A POSIX-Compliant OS is recommended so you can take advantage of the process control functions and the standard hostmask system for access control, as used on IRC. If you run Windows and want access to a POSIX-compliant OS, see below.
• An internet connection that works with IRC (port 6667, usually)
• A MySQL database for some extra features (not technically required)
  • MySQL 5 required for this!

Required PHP extensions

• cURL (if you plan to use the Pandorabot AI, otherwise, leave it disabled - also required for the bit.ly API).
• Process Control (pcntl) on POSIX-based systems. Is not required for Windows users.
  • Note that pcntl should be built into the POSIX-compatible builds of PHP.
• MySQLi (MySQL Improved) if you plan to use LizardBot with MySQL.

Don't have a POSIX-compliant OS?

Hope is not lost! If you feel up to the task, you can install Ubuntu Linux, a free POSIX-compliant OS. You can also try to obtain access to an SSH server. SSH, or Secure Shell, is a connection protocol that allows shell, or command-line, access to a remote server. Most of these servers run Linux, making them POSIX compliant. The first thing you need to do is to get an SSH account at an SSH service such as ClueNet. You should then obtain permission to run the bot from the server operator. At the same time, you should verify with the server operator that the required extensions (above) are installed. If you are on Windows, you will then need an SSH client. I recommend PuTTY. In addition, if you are using an SSH client to connect to a Linux machine (or any UNIX-based machine with screen installed), you MUST start the bot in a "screen." To do so, first type screen into the shell, as below.

        username@host:~$ screen

A message may appear, but after you get through it, you will see a new blank prompt. Start the bot here. Before disconnecting from the server, type this key combination to detach the screen: <Ctrl>+<A>+<D>. You will then see a message like below.

        username@host:~$ screen
        [detached]
        username@host:~$

Now type exit and press enter to quit. PuTTY will automatically exit.
To return to the bot, reestablish the SSH connection, then type this command:

        username@host:~$ screen -raAd

You will then be returned the bot's outupt.

Ready to proceed?

• POSIX Users: If you are ready to continue, proceed to Bot Setup.
• Windows Users: If you are ready to continue, proceed to Windows Setup.