Differences between revisions 11 and 12
Revision 11 as of 2014-07-15 12:21:14
Size: 7272
Editor: dx
Comment: update some info to reflect current status (3.2.2). also link to whatsapp wiki page, and add more details in some questions
Revision 12 as of 2014-07-15 12:28:45
Size: 7368
Editor: dx
Comment: table of contents, be more specific in the "work in progress" (specify a date range)
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 1: Line 1:
= FAQ (WORK IN PROGRESS!) = = FAQ =
Line 4: Line 4:

Work in progress! Currently covers questions from IRC logs from 2014-03-01 to 2014-05-03.

<<TableOfContents>>

FAQ

I'm going to put #bitlbee frequently asked questions here, in no particular order, based on answers given in #bitlbee.

Work in progress! Currently covers questions from IRC logs from 2014-03-01 to 2014-05-03.

Contents

  1. FAQ
    1. How to get the bitlbee version
    2. Version "3.2.1+otr4-1" losing messages or crashing
    3. Can't connect to google talk
    4. "help otr" gives a help message but "otr foo" says "unknown command"
    5. Skype plugin losing messages
    6. jabber: Setting `oauth' does not exist.
    7. I've rebuilt bitlbee and everything seems the same
    8. msn - Error: Session terminated by remote server (RCT)
    9. The nick is (probably) not registered
    10. twitter: Error: Could not retrieve /1.1/favorites/create.json: 404 Not Found (Sorry, that page does not exist)
    11. `make install` throws errors about xmlto not found
    12. Random issues that make no sense at all and absolutely nobody understands
    13. <root> Setting ` ' does not exist. (and similar errors)
    14. How to register a new jabber account in a server?
    15. How to configure bitlbee to listen on SSL/TLS?
    16. How to show offline nicks in /names list
    17. Twitter shows messages from blocked users
    18. facebook: Several "FacebookUser" contacts that can't be identified
    19. facebook: Users join before sending messages, then quit
    20. facebook: Other weird issues
    21. twitter: Error: Stream closed (200 OK)
    22. Twitter reconnects too often, it's annoying
    23. What SSL/TLS library does bitlbee use?
    24. Is there facebook groupchat support?
    25. Is there google hangouts groupchat support?
    26. Whatsapp?
    27. Telegram?
    28. Is MSN still alive?
    29. Facebook says that I use an application called "Rtgw_xmpp_username_password_login"
    30. OAuth failure (Unusuable response) [sic]
    31. twitter - Login error: Could not retrieve /friends/ids.xml: 403 Forbidden (SSL is required)
    32. Loop of "Trying to take over existing session"

How to get the bitlbee version

/ctcp root version

The result might be in the status window, depending on irc client.

Version "3.2.1+otr4-1" losing messages or crashing

Upgrade to latest bzr (apt repo here) or 3.2.2. Applies to early development versions and the ones that are currently shipped with debian testing/unstable and ubuntu trusty 14.04.

See: VersionReference http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/1109 http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/1110

Can't connect to google talk

Probably a SRV resolution error, related to http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/1098

account jabber set server talk.google.com

"help otr" gives a help message but "otr foo" says "unknown command"

The help text is always included even if you don't have the otr plugin installed. Install it.

Skype plugin losing messages

See known issues section of HowtoSkype, a few workarounds there.

jabber: Setting `oauth' does not exist.

You're using bitlbee-libpurple, which has a different jabber implementation without oauth. Install the normal bitlbee if you don't need any libpurple specific plugins.

As of 3.2.2 you can build bitlbee with the builtin jabber module and libpurple by running ./configure with --jabber=1 --purple=1

Tickets: http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/1141 http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/731

I've rebuilt bitlbee and everything seems the same

Check ps aux, kill all old bitlbee processes. Disconnect your irc client. Ensure that you installed to the right place (the configure script installs to /usr/local by default)

msn - Error: Session terminated by remote server (RCT)

RCT means reconnect. The remote server needs to restart for maintenance.

The nick is (probably) not registered

Check that the permissions of the files in /var/lib/bitlbee match the user that is running the bitlbee daemon.

twitter: Error: Could not retrieve /1.1/favorites/create.json: 404 Not Found (Sorry, that page does not exist)

The tweet was deleted

`make install` throws errors about xmlto not found

It's building the user guide. Install asciidoc. You could also ignore the error.

Random issues that make no sense at all and absolutely nobody understands

Might be selinux. If you're on a redhat distro, use their packages and init scripts, which are correctly configured. Otherwise, learn to configure it or disable it.

<root> Setting ` ' does not exist. (and similar errors)

You might have a OTR plugin in your irc client or bouncer, which sends a whitespace pattern (made of spaces and tabs) when it's set to "opportunistic" mode, and having that at the end of root commands confuses bitlbee. Find a way to disable it. (Note that the bitlbee otr plugin does the same, but only where it makes sense).

How to register a new jabber account in a server?

Not supported yet. You can use a client like psi or gajim one time just to do the registration step, then do the rest in bitlbee.

How to configure bitlbee to listen on SSL/TLS?

Use stunnel or tls-enabled irc bouncer (e.g. ZNC) in front of it. (TODO: docs)

How to show offline nicks in /names list

chan &bitlbee set show_users online+,away+,offline

Twitter shows messages from blocked users

Turns out we're supposed to get a list of blocked users and hide them on our side. (TODO: trac ticket)

facebook: Several "FacebookUser" contacts that can't be identified

These are most likely profiles that were deleted or that blocked you. They might be included in the friends list of your facebook profile. The facebook mobile app might show an option to remove those contacts.

facebook: Users join before sending messages, then quit

This is bitlbee showing exactly what the facebook xmpp server says. You might want to ignore it in your irc client.

Example /ignore for irssi (will not work for other clients)

/ignore *!*@chat.facebook.com JOINS QUITS

facebook: Other weird issues

The fallback answer for most facebook issues is "blame their server" - it's not a real xmpp server but a gateway to their service, which doesn't have a history of being particularly stable.

(But if the issue is not here or in HowtoFacebook, ask on IRC! We might find a solution)

twitter: Error: Stream closed (200 OK)

Bitlbee has to reconnect due to twitter server side maintenance. It's often harmless, but might be annoying, see the following question.

Twitter reconnects too often, it's annoying

Try this:

account twitter set show_old_mentions 0

What SSL/TLS library does bitlbee use?

Either gnutls, openssl, or nss, depending on compilation parameters.

GnuTLS is the most common one, most distros use it, and it's the recommended option.

OpenSSL has no detection code (will never be used unless chosen explicitly) and will show a warning about the possible GNU GPL license incompatibility when trying to compile against it. Last time i checked, only openbsd compiled bitlbee against openssl.

NSS is used by redhat based distros - RHEL, centos, fedora, etc. Affected by this bug http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/785 - but should be okay when using the systemd scripts provided in their packages, or inetd mode.

Is there facebook groupchat support?

No. Groupchats aren't supported in Facebook's XMPP, so Bitlbee can't support them.

Is there google hangouts groupchat support?

No. One to one chats should still work through jabber.

Whatsapp?

See HowtoWhatsapp

Telegram?

Probably not. http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/1140

Is MSN still alive?

Yes, and microsoft still uses the msn protocol internally. See HowtoMsn

Facebook says that I use an application called "Rtgw_xmpp_username_password_login"

This probably means "Realtime gateway xmpp username/password login" and it happens when you use password based login instead of oauth. See HowtoFacebook

OAuth failure (Unusuable response) [sic]

You're probably using NSS, the default ssl/tls library in redhat based distros. Workaround, start bitlbee like this:

nohup bitlbee -Dn &

Or start bitlbee using xinetd. Or use the distro provided systemd units (the fedora ones start it correctly)

Bug http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/785

There's a fix for this issue in the fedora 22 packages.

twitter - Login error: Could not retrieve /friends/ids.xml: 403 Forbidden (SSL is required)

Upgrade to 3.2.1 (or 3.2.2)

Note that some builds are labeled 3.2-1, this is not the same as 3.2.1

Loop of "Trying to take over existing session"

The session takeover feature isn't particularly good, and should be avoided. Do set allow_takeover off and consider using a bouncer like ZNC instead if you need this.

BitlBee Wiki: FAQ (last edited 2017-02-05 04:07:56 by dx)