WeeChat scripting guide

This manual documents WeeChat chat client, it is part of WeeChat.

Latest version of this document can be found on this page ^↗.

1. Introduction

WeeChat (Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat) is a free chat client, fast and light, designed for many operating systems.

This manual documents way to write scripts for WeeChat, using one of supported script languages:

Python
Perl
Ruby
Lua
Tcl
Guile (Scheme)
JavaScript
PHP

Almost all examples in this doc are written in Python, but API is the same for other languages.

2. Scripts in WeeChat

2.1. WeeChat architecture

WeeChat is single-threaded, and this applies to scripts as well.

The code of a script is executed:

when the script is loaded: typically a call to the register function
when a hook callback is called by WeeChat (see the chapter Hooks).

When the code of a script is executed, WeeChat waits for the end of execution before going on. Therefore the script must NOT do blocking operations like network calls without using a dedicated API function like hook_process.

A script must NEVER fork or create threads without using a dedicated API function, this can crash WeeChat.
If something must be run in background, the function hook_process can be used. See example in the chapter Run a background process and the documentation on the function hook_process in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

2.2. Languages specificities

Python

Module

WeeChat defines a weechat module which must be imported with import weechat.
A Python stub for WeeChat API is available in the repository: weechat.pyi ^↗.

Functions

Functions are called with weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...).

Functions print* are called prnt* in python (because print was a reserved keyword in Python 2).

Strings received in callbacks

In Python 3 and with WeeChat ≥ 2.7, the strings received in callbacks have type str if the string has valid UTF-8 data (which is the most common case), or bytes if the string is not UTF-8 valid. So the callback should take care about this type if some invalid UTF-8 content can be received.

Some invalid UTF-8 data may be received in these cases, so the callback can receive a string of type str or bytes (this list is not exhaustive):

API function Arguments Examples Description

API function	Arguments	Examples	Description
`hook_modifier`	`irc_in_yyy`	`irc_in_privmsg irc_in_notice`	A message received in IRC plugin, before it is decoded to UTF-8 (used internally). It is recommended to use modifier `irc_in2_yyy` instead, the string received is always UTF-8 valid. See function `hook_modifier` in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.
`hook_signal`	`xxx,irc_out_yyy xxx,irc_outtags_yyy`	`,irc_out_privmsg ,irc_out_notice ,irc_outtags_privmsg ,irc_outtags_notice`	A message sent by IRC plugin, after it is encoded to the `encode` charset defined by the user (if different from the default `UTF-8`). It is recommended to use signal `xxx,irc_out1_yyy` instead, the string received is always UTF-8 valid. See function `hook_signal` in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.
`hook_process hook_process_hashtable`	`-`	`-`	Output of the command, sent to the callback, can contain invalid UTF-8 data.

hook_modifier

irc_in_yyy

irc_in_privmsg irc_in_notice

A message received in IRC plugin, before it is decoded to UTF-8 (used internally).

It is recommended to use modifier irc_in2_yyy instead, the string received is always UTF-8 valid.
See function hook_modifier in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

hook_signal

xxx,irc_out_yyy xxx,irc_outtags_yyy

*,irc_out_privmsg *,irc_out_notice *,irc_outtags_privmsg *,irc_outtags_notice

A message sent by IRC plugin, after it is encoded to the encode charset defined by the user (if different from the default UTF-8).

It is recommended to use signal xxx,irc_out1_yyy instead, the string received is always UTF-8 valid.
See function hook_signal in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

hook_process hook_process_hashtable

-

Output of the command, sent to the callback, can contain invalid UTF-8 data.

Perl

Functions

Functions are called with weechat::xxx(arg1, arg2, ...);.

Ruby

Initialization

You have to define weechat_init and call register inside.

Functions

Functions are called with Weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...).

Due to a limitation of Ruby (15 arguments max by function), the function Weechat.config_new_option receives the callbacks in an array of 6 strings (3 callbacks + 3 data strings), so a call to this function looks like:

Weechat.config_new_option(config, section, "name", "string", "description of option", "", 0, 0,
                          "value", "value", 0, ["check_cb", "", "change_cb", "", "delete_cb", ""])

And the function Weechat.bar_new receives the colors in an array of 4 strings (color_fg, color_delim, color_bg, color_bg_inactive), so a call to this function looks like:

Weechat.bar_new("name", "off", "0", "window", "", "left", "vertical", "vertical", "0", "0",
                ["default", "default", "default", "default"], "0", "items")

Lua

Functions

Functions are called with weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...).

Tcl

Functions

Functions are called with weechat::xxx arg1 arg2 ....

Null values

Since Tcl only has string types, there’s no null type to pass as an argument when a function accepts null values or to get as an argument in a callback function. To overcome this the WeeChat API defines the constant $::weechat::WEECHAT_NULL which acts as a null value. This constant is defined as \uFFFF\uFFFF\uFFFFWEECHAT_NULL\uFFFF\uFFFF\uFFFF, so it’s very unlikely to appear unintentionally.

You can pass this constant when a function accepts null as an argument and you will get it as the value of an argument in a callback function if the argument value is null. To see which functions accept null values and passes null values to callbacks, look at the Python prototypes in the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

Guile (Scheme)

Functions

Functions are called with (weechat:xxx arg1 arg2 ...).

The following functions take one list of arguments (instead of many arguments for other functions), because number of arguments exceed number of allowed arguments in Guile:

config_new_section
config_new_option
bar_new

JavaScript

Functions

Functions are called with weechat.xxx(arg1, arg2, ...);.

PHP

Functions

Functions are called with weechat_xxx(arg1, arg2, ...);.

2.3. Register function

All WeeChat scripts must "register" themselves to WeeChat, and this must be first WeeChat function called in script.

Prototype (Python):

def register(name: str, author: str, version: str, license: str, description: str, shutdown_function: str, charset: str) -> int: ...

Arguments:

name: string, internal name of script
author: string, author name
version: string, script version
license: string, script license
description: string, short description of script
shutdown_function: string, name of function called when script is unloaded (can be empty string)
charset: string, script charset (if your script is UTF-8, you can use blank value here, because UTF-8 is default charset)

Example of script, for each language:

Python:

import weechat

weechat.register("test_python", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "")
weechat.prnt("", "Hello, from python script!")

Perl:

weechat::register("test_perl", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "");
weechat::print("", "Hello, from perl script!");

Ruby:

def weechat_init
  Weechat.register("test_ruby", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "")
  Weechat.print("", "Hello, from ruby script!")
  return Weechat::WEECHAT_RC_OK
end

Lua:

weechat.register("test_lua", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "")
weechat.print("", "Hello, from lua script!")

Tcl:

weechat::register "test_tcl" "FlashCode" "1.0" "GPL3" "Test script" "" ""
weechat::print "" "Hello, from tcl script!"

Guile (Scheme):

(weechat:register "test_scheme" "FlashCode" "1.0" "GPL3" "Test script" "" "")
(weechat:print "" "Hello, from scheme script!")

JavaScript:

weechat.register("test_js", "FlashCode", "1.0", "GPL3", "Test script", "", "");
weechat.print("", "Hello, from javascript script!");

PHP:

weechat_register('test_php', 'FlashCode', '1.0', 'GPL3', 'Test script', '', '');
weechat_print('', 'Hello, from PHP script!');

2.4. Load script

It is recommended to use the "script" plugin to load scripts, for example:

/script load script.py
/script load script.pl
/script load script.rb
/script load script.lua
/script load script.tcl
/script load script.scm
/script load script.js
/script load script.php

Each language has also its own command:

/python load script.py
/perl load script.pl
/ruby load script.rb
/lua load script.lua
/tcl load script.tcl
/guile load script.scm
/javascript load script.js
/php load script.php

You can make link in directory language/autoload to autoload script when WeeChat is starting.

For example with Python:

$ cd ~/.local/share/weechat/python/autoload
$ ln -s ../script.py

When installing a script with command /script install the link in autoload directory is automatically created.

3. Differences with C API

Script API is almost the same as C plugin API. You can look at WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗ for detail about each function in API: prototype, arguments, return values, examples.

It’s important to make difference between a plugin and a script: a plugin is a binary file compiled and loaded with command /plugin, whereas a script is a text file loaded with a plugin like python with command /python.

When your script test.py calls a WeeChat API function, path is like that:

               ┌──────────────────────┐        ╔══════════════════╗
               │     python plugin    │        ║  WeeChat "core"  ║
               ├────────────┬─────────┤        ╟─────────┐        ║
test.py ─────► │ script API │  C API  │ ─────► ║  C API  │        ║
               └────────────┴─────────┘        ╚═════════╧════════╝

When WeeChat calls a callback in your script test.py, it’s reverse of previous path:

╔══════════════════╗        ┌──────────────────────┐
║  WeeChat "core"  ║        │     python plugin    │
║        ┌─────────╢        ├─────────┬────────────┤
║        │  C API  ║ ─────► │  C API  │ script API │ ─────► test.py
╚════════╧═════════╝        └─────────┴────────────┘

3.1. Pointers

As you probably know, there is not really "pointers" in scripts. So when API functions return pointer, it is converted to string for script.

For example, if function return pointer 0x1234ab56, script will get string "0x1234ab56".

And when an API function expects a pointer in arguments, script must give that string value. C plugin will convert it to real pointer before calling C API function.

Empty string or "0x0" are allowed, they means NULL in C. For example, to print data on core buffer (WeeChat main buffer), you can do:

weechat.prnt("", "hi!")

In many functions, for speed reasons, WeeChat does not check if your pointer is correct or not. It’s your job to check you’re giving a valid pointer, otherwise you may see a nice crash report ;)

3.2. Callbacks

Almost all WeeChat callbacks must return WEECHAT_RC_OK or WEECHAT_RC_ERROR (exception is modifier callback, which returns a string).

C callbacks are using "callback_pointer" and "callback_data" arguments, which are pointers. In script API, there is only "callback_data" (or "data"), and it is a string instead of a pointer.

Example of callback, for each language:

Python:

def timer_cb(data, remaining_calls):
    weechat.prnt("", "timer! data=%s" % data)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

weechat.hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "timer_cb", "test")

Perl:

sub timer_cb {
    my ($data, $remaining_calls) = @_;
    weechat::print("", "timer! data=$data");
    return weechat::WEECHAT_RC_OK;
}

weechat::hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "timer_cb", "test");

Ruby:

def timer_cb(data, remaining_calls)
  Weechat.print("", "timer! data=#{data}");
  return Weechat::WEECHAT_RC_OK
end

Weechat.hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "timer_cb", "test");

Lua:

function timer_cb(data, remaining_calls)
    weechat.print("", "timer! data="..data)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK
end

weechat.hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "timer_cb", "test")

Tcl:

proc timer_cb { data remaining_calls } {
    weechat::print {} "timer! data=$data"
    return $::weechat::WEECHAT_RC_OK
}

weechat::hook_timer 1000 0 1 timer_cb test

Guile (Scheme):

(define (timer_cb data remaining_calls)
  (weechat:print "" (string-append "timer! data=" data))
  weechat:WEECHAT_RC_OK
)

(weechat:hook_timer 1000 0 1 "timer_cb" "test")

JavaScript:

function timer_cb(data, remaining_calls) {
    weechat.print("", "timer! data=" + data);
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK;
}

weechat.hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, "timer_cb", "test");

PHP:

$timer_cb = function ($data, $remaining_calls) {
    weechat_print('', 'timer! data=' . $data);
    return WEECHAT_RC_OK;
};

weechat_hook_timer(1000, 0, 1, $timer_cb, 'test');

4. Script API

For more information about functions in API, please read the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

4.1. Functions

List of functions in script API:

Category	Functions
general	register
plugins	plugin_get_name
strings	charset_set iconv_to_internal iconv_from_internal gettext ngettext strlen_screen string_match string_match_list string_has_highlight string_has_highlight_regex string_mask_to_regex string_format_size string_parse_size string_color_code_size string_remove_color string_is_command_char string_input_for_buffer string_eval_expression string_eval_path_home
directories	mkdir_home mkdir mkdir_parents
sorted lists	list_new list_add list_search list_search_pos list_casesearch list_casesearch_pos list_get list_set list_next list_prev list_string list_size list_remove list_remove_all list_free
configuration files	config_new config_new_section config_search_section config_new_option config_search_option config_string_to_boolean config_option_reset config_option_set config_option_set_null config_option_unset config_option_rename config_option_is_null config_option_default_is_null config_boolean config_boolean_default config_integer config_integer_default config_string config_string_default config_color config_color_default config_write_option config_write_line config_write config_read config_reload config_option_free config_section_free_options config_section_free config_free config_get config_get_plugin config_is_set_plugin config_set_plugin config_set_desc_plugin config_unset_plugin
key bindings	key_bind key_unbind
display	prefix color print (for python: prnt) print_date_tags (for python: prnt_date_tags) print_datetime_tags (for python: prnt_datetime_tags) print_y (for python: prnt_y) print_y_date_tags (for python: prnt_y_date_tags) print_y_datetime_tags (for python: prnt_y_datetime_tags) log_print
hooks	hook_command hook_command_run hook_timer hook_fd hook_process hook_process_hashtable hook_connect hook_line hook_print hook_signal hook_signal_send hook_hsignal hook_hsignal_send hook_config hook_completion hook_modifier hook_modifier_exec hook_info hook_info_hashtable hook_infolist hook_focus hook_set unhook unhook_all
buffers	buffer_new buffer_new_props current_buffer buffer_search buffer_search_main buffer_clear buffer_close buffer_merge buffer_unmerge buffer_get_integer buffer_get_string buffer_get_pointer buffer_set buffer_string_replace_local_var buffer_match_list
windows	current_window window_search_with_buffer window_get_integer window_get_string window_get_pointer window_set_title
nicklist	nicklist_add_group nicklist_search_group nicklist_add_nick nicklist_search_nick nicklist_remove_group nicklist_remove_nick nicklist_remove_all nicklist_group_get_integer nicklist_group_get_string nicklist_group_get_pointer nicklist_group_set nicklist_nick_get_integer nicklist_nick_get_string nicklist_nick_get_pointer nicklist_nick_set
bars	bar_item_search bar_item_new bar_item_update bar_item_remove bar_search bar_new bar_set bar_update bar_remove
commands	command command_options
completion	completion_new completion_search completion_get_string completion_list_add completion_free
infos	info_get info_get_hashtable
infolists	infolist_new infolist_new_item infolist_new_var_integer infolist_new_var_string infolist_new_var_pointer infolist_new_var_time infolist_get infolist_next infolist_prev infolist_reset_item_cursor infolist_search_var infolist_fields infolist_integer infolist_string infolist_pointer infolist_time infolist_free
hdata	hdata_get hdata_get_var_offset hdata_get_var_type_string hdata_get_var_array_size hdata_get_var_array_size_string hdata_get_var_hdata hdata_get_list hdata_check_pointer hdata_move hdata_search hdata_char hdata_integer hdata_long hdata_string hdata_pointer hdata_time hdata_hashtable hdata_compare hdata_update hdata_get_string
upgrade	upgrade_new upgrade_write_object upgrade_read upgrade_close

4.2. Constants

List of constants in script API:

Category Constants

Category	Constants
return codes	`WEECHAT_RC_OK` (integer) `WEECHAT_RC_OK_EAT` (integer) `WEECHAT_RC_ERROR` (integer)
configuration files	`WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_OK` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_MEMORY_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_FILE_NOT_FOUND` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_OK` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_MEMORY_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OK_CHANGED` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OK_SAME_VALUE` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OPTION_NOT_FOUND` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_NO_RESET` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_RESET` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_REMOVED` (integer) `WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_ERROR` (integer)
sorted lists	`WEECHAT_LIST_POS_SORT` (string) `WEECHAT_LIST_POS_BEGINNING` (string) `WEECHAT_LIST_POS_END` (string)
hotlist	`WEECHAT_HOTLIST_LOW` (string) `WEECHAT_HOTLIST_MESSAGE` (string) `WEECHAT_HOTLIST_PRIVATE` (string) `WEECHAT_HOTLIST_HIGHLIGHT` (string)
hook process	`WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_RUNNING` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_ERROR` (integer)
hook connect	`WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_OK` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_IP_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_CONNECTION_REFUSED` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_PROXY_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_LOCAL_HOSTNAME_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_INIT_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_HANDSHAKE_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_MEMORY_ERROR` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_TIMEOUT` (integer) `WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_SOCKET_ERROR` (integer)
hook signal	`WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_STRING` (string) `WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_INT` (string) `WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_POINTER` (string)

return codes

WEECHAT_RC_OK (integer)
WEECHAT_RC_OK_EAT (integer)
WEECHAT_RC_ERROR (integer)

configuration files

WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_OK (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_MEMORY_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_READ_FILE_NOT_FOUND (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_OK (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_WRITE_MEMORY_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OK_CHANGED (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OK_SAME_VALUE (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_SET_OPTION_NOT_FOUND (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_NO_RESET (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_RESET (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_OK_REMOVED (integer)
WEECHAT_CONFIG_OPTION_UNSET_ERROR (integer)

sorted lists

WEECHAT_LIST_POS_SORT (string)
WEECHAT_LIST_POS_BEGINNING (string)
WEECHAT_LIST_POS_END (string)

hotlist

WEECHAT_HOTLIST_LOW (string)
WEECHAT_HOTLIST_MESSAGE (string)
WEECHAT_HOTLIST_PRIVATE (string)
WEECHAT_HOTLIST_HIGHLIGHT (string)

hook process

WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_RUNNING (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_ERROR (integer)

hook connect

WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_OK (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_IP_ADDRESS_NOT_FOUND (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_CONNECTION_REFUSED (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_PROXY_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_LOCAL_HOSTNAME_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_INIT_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_GNUTLS_HANDSHAKE_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_MEMORY_ERROR (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_TIMEOUT (integer)
WEECHAT_HOOK_CONNECT_SOCKET_ERROR (integer)

hook signal

WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_STRING (string)
WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_INT (string)
WEECHAT_HOOK_SIGNAL_POINTER (string)

5. Common tasks

This chapter shows some common tasks, with examples. Only partial things in API are used here, for full reference, see the WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

5.1. Buffers

Display messages

An empty string is often used to work with WeeChat core buffer. For other buffers, you must give pointer (as string, see pointers).

Examples:

# display "hello" on core buffer
weechat.prnt("", "hello")

# display "hello" on core buffer, but do not write it to log file
# (version ≥ 0.3.3 only)
weechat.prnt_date_tags("", 0, "no_log", "hello")

# display prefix "==>" and message "hello" on current buffer
# (prefix and message must be separated by tab)
weechat.prnt(weechat.current_buffer(), "==>\thello")

# display error message on core buffer (with error prefix)
weechat.prnt("", "%swrong arguments" % weechat.prefix("error"))

# display message with color on core buffer
weechat.prnt("", "text %syellow on blue" % weechat.color("yellow,blue"))

# search buffer and display message
# (full name of buffer is plugin.name, for example: "irc.libera.#weechat")
buffer = weechat.buffer_search("irc", "libera.#weechat")
weechat.prnt(buffer, "message on #weechat channel")

# other solution to find an IRC buffer (better)
# (note that server and channel are separated by a comma)
buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "libera,#weechat")
weechat.prnt(buffer, "message on #weechat channel")

Print function is called prnt in Python and print in other languages.

Send text to buffer

You can send text or command to a buffer. This is exactly like if you type text on command line and press [Enter].

Examples:

# execute command "/help" on current buffer (result is on core buffer)
weechat.command("", "/help")

# send "hello" to #weechat IRC channel (users on channel will see message)
buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "libera,#weechat")
weechat.command(buffer, "hello")

Create new buffer

You can create a new buffer in your script, then use it for displaying messages.

Two callbacks can be called (they are optional): one for input data (when you type some text and press [Enter] on buffer), the other is called when buffer is closed (for example by /buffer close).

Example:

# callback for data received in input
def buffer_input_cb(data, buffer, input_data):
    # ...
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

# callback called when buffer is closed
def buffer_close_cb(data, buffer):
    # ...
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

# create buffer
buffer = weechat.buffer_new("mybuffer", "buffer_input_cb", "", "buffer_close_cb", "")

# set title
weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "title", "This is title for my buffer.")

# disable logging, by setting local variable "no_log" to "1"
weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_set_no_log", "1")

Buffer properties

You can read buffer properties, as string, integer or pointer.

Examples:

buffer = weechat.current_buffer()

number = weechat.buffer_get_integer(buffer, "number")
name = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "name")
short_name = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "short_name")

It is possible to add, read or delete local variables in buffer:

# add local variable
weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_set_myvar", "my_value")

# read local variable
myvar = weechat.buffer_get_string(buffer, "localvar_myvar")

# delete local variable
weechat.buffer_set(buffer, "localvar_del_myvar", "")

To see local variables of a buffer, do this command in WeeChat:

/buffer listvar

5.2. Hooks

Add new command

Add a custom command with hook_command. You can use a custom completion template to complete arguments of your command.

Example:

def my_command_cb(data, buffer, args):
    # ...
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

hook = weechat.hook_command("myfilter", "description of myfilter",
    "[list] | [enable|disable|toggle [name]] | [add name plugin.buffer tags regex] | [del name|-all]",
    "description of arguments...",
    "list"
    " || enable %(filters_names)"
    " || disable %(filters_names)"
    " || toggle %(filters_names)"
    " || add %(filters_names) %(buffers_plugins_names)|*"
    " || del %(filters_names)|-all",
    "my_command_cb", "")

And then in WeeChat:

/help myfilter

/myfilter arguments...

Add a timer

Add a timer with hook_timer.

Example:

def timer_cb(data, remaining_calls):
    # ...
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

# timer called each minute when second is 00
weechat.hook_timer(60 * 1000, 60, 0, "timer_cb", "")

Run a background process

You can run a background process with hook_process. Your callback will be called when data is ready. It may be called many times.

For the last call to your callback, return_code is set to 0 or positive value, it is the return code of command.

Example:

def my_process_cb(data, command, return_code, out, err):
    if return_code == weechat.WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_ERROR:
        weechat.prnt("", "Error with command '%s'" % command)
        return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK
    if return_code >= 0:
        weechat.prnt("", "return_code = %d" % return_code)
    if out:
        weechat.prnt("", "stdout: %s" % out)
    if err:
        weechat.prnt("", "stderr: %s" % err)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

weechat.hook_process("/bin/ls -l /etc", 10 * 1000, "my_process_cb", "")

You can also call directly a script function that does something blocking, instead of an external command:

def get_status(data):
    # do something blocking...
    # ...
    return "this is the result"

def my_process_cb(data, command, return_code, out, err):
    if return_code == weechat.WEECHAT_HOOK_PROCESS_ERROR:
        weechat.prnt("", "Error with command '%s'" % command)
        return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK
    if return_code >= 0:
        weechat.prnt("", "return_code = %d" % return_code)
    if out:
        weechat.prnt("", "stdout: %s" % out)
    if err:
        weechat.prnt("", "stderr: %s" % err)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

hook = weechat.hook_process("func:get_status", 5000, "my_process_cb", "")

URL transfer

New in version 0.3.7.

To download URL (or post to URL), you have to use function hook_process, or hook_process_hashtable if you need to set options for URL transfer.

Example of URL transfer without option: the HTML page will be received as "out" in callback (standard output of process):

# Display latest stable version of WeeChat.
weechat_latest_version = ""

def weechat_process_cb(data, command, return_code, out, err):
    global weechat_latest_version
    if out:
        weechat_latest_version += out
    if return_code >= 0:
        weechat.prnt("", "Latest WeeChat version: %s" % weechat_latest_version)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

weechat.hook_process("url:https://weechat.org/dev/info/stable/",
                     30 * 1000, "weechat_process_cb", "")

All infos available about WeeChat are on this page ^↗.

Example of URL transfer with an option: download latest WeeChat development package in file /tmp/weechat-devel.tar.gz:

def my_process_cb(data, command, return_code, out, err):
    if return_code >= 0:
        weechat.prnt("", "End of transfer (return code = %d)" % return_code)
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

weechat.hook_process_hashtable("url:https://weechat.org/files/src/weechat-devel.tar.gz",
                               {"file_out": "/tmp/weechat-devel.tar.gz"},
                               30 * 1000, "my_process_cb", "")

For more information about URL transfer and available options, see functions hook_process and hook_process_hashtable in WeeChat plugin API reference ^↗.

5.3. Config / options

Set options for script

Function config_is_set_plugin is used to check if an option is set or not, and config_set_plugin to set option.

Example:

script_options = {
    "option1": "value1",
    "option2": "value2",
    "option3": "value3",
}
for option, default_value in script_options.items():
    if not weechat.config_is_set_plugin(option):
        weechat.config_set_plugin(option, default_value)

Detect changes

You must use hook_config to be notified if user changes some script options.

Example:

SCRIPT_NAME = "myscript"

# ...

def config_cb(data, option, value):
    """Callback called when a script option is changed."""
    # for example, read all script options to script variables...
    # ...
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

# ...

weechat.hook_config("plugins.var.python." + SCRIPT_NAME + ".*", "config_cb", "")
# for other languages, change "python" with your language (perl/ruby/lua/tcl/guile/javascript)

Read WeeChat options

Function config_get returns pointer to option. Then, depending on option type, you must call config_string, config_boolean, config_integer or config_color.

# string
weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.item_time_format is: %s"
                 % (weechat.config_string(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.item_time_format"))))

# boolean
weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.day_change is: %d"
                 % (weechat.config_boolean(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.day_change"))))

# integer
weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.look.scroll_page_percent is: %d"
                 % (weechat.config_integer(weechat.config_get("weechat.look.scroll_page_percent"))))

# color
weechat.prnt("", "value of option weechat.color.chat_delimiters is: %s"
                 % (weechat.config_color(weechat.config_get("weechat.color.chat_delimiters"))))

5.4. IRC

Catch messages

IRC plugin sends four signals for a message received (xxx is IRC internal server name, yyy is IRC command name like JOIN, QUIT, PRIVMSG, 301, ..):

xxx,irc_in_yyy: signal sent before processing message, only if message is not ignored
xxx,irc_in2_yyy: signal sent after processing message, only if message is not ignored
xxx,irc_raw_in_yyy: signal sent before processing message, even if message is ignored
xxx,irc_raw_in2_yyy: signal sent after processing message, even if message is ignored

def join_cb(data, signal, signal_data):
    # signal is for example: "libera,irc_in2_join"
    # signal_data is IRC message, for example: ":nick!user@host JOIN :#channel"
    server = signal.split(",")[0]
    msg = weechat.info_get_hashtable("irc_message_parse", {"message": signal_data})
    buffer = weechat.info_get("irc_buffer", "%s,%s" % (server, msg["channel"]))
    if buffer:
        weechat.prnt(buffer, "%s (%s) has joined this channel!" % (msg["nick"], msg["host"]))
    return weechat.WEECHAT_RC_OK

# it is useful here to use "*" as server, to catch JOIN messages on all IRC
# servers
weechat.hook_signal("*,irc_in2_join", "join_cb", "")

Modify messages

IRC plugin sends two "modifiers" for a message received ("xxx" is IRC command), so that you can modify it:

irc_in_xxx: modifier sent before charset decoding: use with caution, the string may contain invalid UTF-8 data; use only for raw operations on a message
irc_in2_xxx: modifier sent after charset decoding, so the string received is always UTF-8 valid (recommended)

def modifier_cb(data, modifier, modifier_data, string):
    # add server name to all messages received
    # (OK that's not very useful, but that's just an example!)
    return "%s %s" % (string, modifier_data)

weechat.hook_modifier("irc_in2_privmsg", "modifier_cb", "")

A malformed message could crash WeeChat or cause severe problems!

Parse message

New in version 0.3.4.

You can parse an IRC message with info_hashtable called "irc_message_parse".

The result is a hashtable with following keys (the example values are built with this message: @time=2015-06-27T16:40:35.000Z :nick!user@host PRIVMSG #weechat :hello!):

Key Since WeeChat ⁽¹⁾ Description Example

Key	Since WeeChat ⁽¹⁾	Description	Example
tags	0.4.0	The tags in message (can be empty).	`time=2015-06-27T16:40:35.000Z`
tag_xxx	3.3	Unescaped value of tag "xxx" (one key per tag).	`2015-06-27T16:40:35.000Z`
message_without_tags	0.4.0	The message without the tags (the same as message if there are no tags).	`:nick!user@host PRIVMSG #weechat :hello!`
nick	0.3.4	The origin nick.	`nick`
user	2.7	The origin user.	`user`
host	0.3.4	The origin host (includes the nick).	`nick!user@host`
command	0.3.4	The command (PRIVMSG, NOTICE, …).	`PRIVMSG`
channel	0.3.4	The target channel.	`#weechat`
arguments	0.3.4	The command arguments (includes the channel).	`#weechat :hello!`
text	1.3	The text (for example user message).	`hello!`
paramN	3.4	Command parameter (from 1 to N).	`#weechat`
num_params	3.4	Number of command parameters.	`2`
pos_command	1.3	The index of command in message ("-1" if command was not found).	`47`
pos_arguments	1.3	The index of arguments in message ("-1" if arguments was not found).	`55`
pos_channel	1.3	The index of channel in message ("-1" if channel was not found).	`55`
pos_text	1.3	The index of text in message ("-1" if text was not found).	`65`

5.5. Infos

WeeChat version

The best way to check version is to ask "version_number" and make integer comparison with hexadecimal version number.

Example:

version = weechat.info_get("version_number", "") or 0
if int(version) >= 0x00030200:
    weechat.prnt("", "This is WeeChat 0.3.2 or newer")
else:
    weechat.prnt("", "This is WeeChat 0.3.1 or older")

Versions ≤ 0.3.1.1 return empty string for info_get("version_number") so you must check that value returned is not empty.

To get version as string:

# this will display for example "Version 0.3.2"
weechat.prnt("", "Version %s" % weechat.info_get("version", ""))

Other infos

# WeeChat config directory, for example: "/home/user/.config/weechat"
weechat.prnt("", "WeeChat config dir: %s" % weechat.info_get("weechat_config_dir", ""))

# keyboard inactivity
weechat.prnt("", "Inactivity since %s seconds" % weechat.info_get("inactivity", ""))

5.6. Infolists

Read an infolist

You can read infolist built by WeeChat or other plugins.

Example:

# read infolist "buffer", to get list of buffers
infolist = weechat.infolist_get("buffer", "", "")
if infolist:
    while weechat.infolist_next(infolist):
        name = weechat.infolist_string(infolist, "name")
        weechat.prnt("", "buffer: %s" % name)
    weechat.infolist_free(infolist)

Don’t forget to call infolist_free to free memory used by infolist, because WeeChat will not automatically free memory.