WEECHAT-HEADLESS(1)

NAME
weechat-headless - the extensible chat client (headless version)

SYNOPSIS

weechat-headless [-a|--no-connect] [--daemon] [--stdout] [-d|--dir <path>] [-t|--temp-dir] [-p|--no-plugin] [-P|--plugins <plugins>] [-r|--run-command <command>] [-s|--no-script] [--upgrade] [debug-option...] [plugin:option...]
weechat-headless [-c|--colors]
weechat-headless [-h|--help]
weechat-headless [-l|--license]
weechat-headless [-v|--version]

DESCRIPTION

WeeChat (Wee Enhanced Environment for Chat) is a free chat client, fast and light, designed for many operating systems. It is highly customizable and extensible with scripts.

The command weechat-headless runs WeeChat in a headless mode (no interface). It can be used for tests or to daemonize WeeChat with the option "--daemon".

OPTIONS

-a, --no-connect
    Disable auto-connect to servers when WeeChat is starting.

-c, --colors
    Display default colors in terminal.

--daemon
    Run WeeChat in background, as a daemon (works only with the command weechat-headless).

--stdout
    Display log messages on standard output instead of writing them in log file (works only with the command weechat-headless, not compatible with option "--daemon").

-d, --dir <path>
    Force a single directory for all WeeChat files (directory is created if not found). Four directories can be given, separated by colons (in this order: config, data, cache, runtime). If this option is not given, the environment variable WEECHAT_HOME is used (if not empty).

-t, --temp-dir
    Create a temporary WeeChat home directory and delete it on exit (incompatible with option "-d").
    The name of the directory is automatically built by WeeChat, with this template: "weechat_temp_XXXXXX" (where "XXXXXX" is random). It it created in the first available directory in this list: environment variable "TMPDIR", "/tmp" (may be different according to the operating system), environment variable "HOME", current directory.
    The temporary home directory has permissions 0700 (only owner can read, write and execute).

-h, --help
    Display help.

-i, --build-info
    Display build information and exit.

-l, --license
    Display WeeChat license.

-p, --no-plugin
    Disable plugins auto-load.

-P, --plugins <plugins>
    Load only these plugins at startup (see /help weechat.plugin.autoload). If this option is given, the option weechat.plugin.autoload is not used.

-r, --run-command <command>
    Run command(s) after startup; many commands can be separated by semicolons, this option can be given multiple times.

-s, --no-script
    Disable scripts auto-load.

--upgrade
    Upgrade WeeChat using session files generated with command /upgrade -quit.

-v, --version
    Display WeeChat version.

plugin:option
    Option for a plugin.

DEBUG OPTIONS

WARNING: these options are for debug purposes only, DO NOT USE IN PRODUCTION!

--no-dlclose
    Do not call the function dlclose after plugins are unloaded. This is useful with tools like Valgrind to display stack for unloaded plugins.

--no-gnutls
    Do not call the init and deinit functions of GnuTLS library. This is useful with tools like Valgrind and electric-fence, to prevent GnuTLS memory errors.

--no-gcrypt
    Do not call the init and deinit functions of Gcrypt library. This is useful with tools like Valgrind, to prevent Gcrypt memory errors.

PLUGIN OPTIONS

For complete doc on plugin options, please look at plugins documentation in

With irc plugin, you can connect to a server with an URL like:

    irc[6][s]://[[nickname][:password]@]server[:port][/#channel1[,#channel2...]]

To join WeeChat IRC channel support with nick "mynick":

    irc://mynick@irc.libera.chat/#weechat

IPv6 address can be enclosed in brackets to add a port after address, for example:

    irc://mynick@[2001:db8:0:85a3::ac1f:8001]:6668/#test

FILES

$HOME/.config/weechat/weechat.conf
    main WeeChat configuration file

$HOME/.config/weechat/plugins.conf
    plugins configuration file

$HOME/.config/weechat/sec.conf
    configuration file with secured data

$HOME/.config/weechat/alias.conf
    configuration file for alias plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/buflist.conf
    configuration file for buflist plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/charset.conf
    configuration file for charset plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/exec.conf
    configuration file for exec plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/fifo.conf
    configuration file for fifo plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/fset.conf
    configuration file for fset plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/guile.conf
    configuration file for guile plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/irc.conf
    configuration file for irc plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/javascript.conf
    configuration file for javascript plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/logger.conf
    configuration file for logger plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/lua.conf
    configuration file for lua plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/perl.conf
    configuration file for perl plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/php.conf
    configuration file for php plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/python.conf
    configuration file for python plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/relay.conf
    configuration file for relay plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/ruby.conf
    configuration file for ruby plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/script.conf
    configuration file for script plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/spell.conf
    configuration file for spell plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/tcl.conf
    configuration file for tcl plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/trigger.conf
    configuration file for trigger plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/typing.conf
    configuration file for typing plugin

$HOME/.config/weechat/xfer.conf
    configuration file for xfer plugin

$HOME/.local/share/weechat/weechat.log
    WeeChat log file

SEE ALSO

weechat(1)

AUTHORS

This manpage was written by Sébastien Helleu.

COPYRIGHT

WeeChat is written by Sébastien Helleu and contributors (complete list is in the AUTHORS.md file).

Copyright © 2003-2026 Sébastien Helleu

WeeChat is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Please read the COPYING file for more information.

Web:

SUPPORT / REPORTING BUGS

For help or a bug report:

AUTHOR

Sébastien Helleu