Badwolf Web IRC Client vs NS Chat

A modern, feature-rich WebSocket IRC client for WordPress. Connect your website visitors to your IRC server with real-time chat, private messaging, desktop notifications, and a beautiful tabbed interface. Version 5.2.0 – What’s New 🔧 WordPress 6.9 Compatibility FIXED: Plugin now works perfectly with WordPress 6.9 FIXED: Script loading issues with block themes and Full Site Editing (FSE) FIXED: Configuration passing to JavaScript 🔌 WebSocket Improvements FIXED: Connection stability issues FIXED: Binary WebSocket data handling ADDED: IRC subprotocol support for UnrealIRCd ⚙️ User Experience ADDED: Settings link in plugin list for easy access IMPROVED: Error handling and logging IMPROVED: Connection reliability Features ✅ Real-time IRC chat via secure WebSocket (wss://) ✅ Private messaging between users ✅ Desktop notifications for mentions and PMs ✅ Multiple channel support with tabbed interface ✅ User list with right-click context menus ✅ Command history (use arrow keys) ✅ Auto-reconnection with smart retry logic ✅ Customizable themes (light/dark) ✅ Mobile-responsive design ✅ IRC commands support (/nick, /join, /part, /msg, /me) ✅ Tab completion for nicknames ✅ Unread message badges ✅ Message history (500 messages per channel) Requirements WordPress: 5.0 or higher (tested up to 6.9) PHP: 7.4 or higher IRC Server: UnrealIRCd 6.x with WebSocket support (recommended) SSL Certificate: Valid SSL/TLS certificate for secure WebSocket (wss://) Configuration WordPress Settings Navigate to Settings → Badwolf Web IRC Client and configure: WebSocket URL: Your IRC server WebSocket URL (e.g., wss://irc.example.com:7443) Default Channel: IRC channel to join (e.g., #general) Nickname Prefix: Prefix for auto-generated nicknames (e.g., guest) Real Name: Default real name for users Theme: Light or Dark theme Auto Connect: Automatically connect when page loads UnrealIRCd Server Configuration Your UnrealIRCd server must have WebSocket support enabled: `conf Load WebSocket module loadmodule “websocket”; Configure WebSocket listener listen { ip *; port 7443; options { tls; websocket; } tls-options { certificate “/path/to/fullchain.pem”; key “/path/to/privkey.pem”; options { no-client-certificate; } } } ` SSL Certificate Setup (Let’s Encrypt) `bash Install certbot if not already installed sudo apt-get install certbot Get certificate for your IRC domain sudo certbot certonly –standalone -d irc.yourdomain.com Copy certificates to UnrealIRCd sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/irc.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/ sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/irc.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/ Set correct permissions sudo chown unrealircd:unrealircd /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/*.pem sudo chmod 600 /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/privkey.pem sudo chmod 644 /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/fullchain.pem Restart UnrealIRCd cd /path/to/unrealircd ./unrealircd restart ` Auto-Renewal Setup Create a renewal hook to automatically copy certificates: `bash Create renewal hook script sudo nano /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/copy-to-unrealircd.sh ` Add this content: `bash !/bin/bash cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/irc.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/ cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/irc.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/ chown unrealircd:unrealircd /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/*.pem chmod 600 /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/privkey.pem chmod 644 /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/fullchain.pem /path/to/unrealircd/unrealircd rehash ` Make it executable: `bash sudo chmod +x /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/copy-to-unrealircd.sh ` Usage Basic Shortcode ` [web_irc_client] ` Shortcode with Attributes ` [web_irc_client theme=”dark” width=”100%” height=”600px”] ` Available attributes: theme – Override theme (light or dark) width – Set custom width (default: 100%) height – Set custom height (default: 70vh) IRC Commands Users can use standard IRC commands: /nick newname – Change nickname /join #channel – Join a channel /part – Leave current channel /msg username message – Send private message /me action – Send action message /help – Show available commands Troubleshooting Connection Issues Problem: “Reconnecting…” message appears Solutions: Verify UnrealIRCd is running: ps aux | grep unrealircd Check port is listening: sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 7443 Verify SSL certificate is valid and not expired Check UnrealIRCd logs: tail -f /path/to/unrealircd/logs/ircd.log Test WebSocket connection: https://www.piesocket.com/websocket-tester SSL Certificate Errors Problem: Certificate expired or invalid Solution: `bash Check certificate expiry sudo certbot certificates Renew if needed sudo certbot renew –force-renewal Copy to UnrealIRCd and restart sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/irc.yourdomain.com/*.pem /path/to/unrealircd/conf/tls/ ./unrealircd restart ` Plugin Not Loading Problem: IRC client doesn’t appear on page Solutions: Verify shortcode is correct: [web_irc_client] Clear WordPress cache Clear browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+R) Check browser console for JavaScript errors (F12) Verify WebSocket URL is configured in plugin settings WordPress 6.9 Issues Problem: Plugin stopped working after WordPress 6.9 update Solution: Update to version 5.2.0 which includes WordPress 6.9 compatibility fixes. Support GitHub: https://github.com/badwolf1972/web-irc-client Issues: https://github.com/badwolf1972/web-irc-client/issues WordPress Support: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/badwolf-web-irc-client/ Credits Author: Martin Cooper (badwolf72) Website: https://www.oo3dmodels.com License: GPL v2 or later

NS Chat Plugin enables real-time communication between WordPress users using WebSocket technology, powered by the Workerman library. Key Features: * Real-time private chat between users * Visual unread message indicators * Persistent chat history stored in the database * Lightweight modular JS + PHP architecture * Automatic migration and sync of WP users to chat system * Linux daemon service with SSL support for secure connections * Future-ready integration with NFS or AWS S3 for file upload/download Planned Features: * Message editing and deletion * Read receipt indicators (message seen) * File attachments with optional NFS or AWS S3 integration Ideal for community websites, intranets, or any platform requiring internal messaging without third-party services. For integration help or consulting on adapting the plugin to your project, contact the developer at: [email protected] WebSocket Server Setup (Linux with SSL) Create a systemd service file: bash sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/websocket_server.service Paste the following content: bash [Unit] Description=WebSocket Server for NS Chat (SSL) After=network.target [Service] ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /file/to/path/yourdomain/wp-content/plugins/ns-chat/server.php start Restart=always RestartSec=25 User=www-data Group=www-data StandardOutput=file:/var/log/websocket_server.out.log StandardError=file:/var/log/websocket_server.err.log [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target Add SSL context in server.php: php $context = [ 'ssl' => [ 'local_cert' => '/path/to/file.crt', 'local_pk' => '/path/to/file.key', 'verify_peer' => false, ] ]; Set permissions for plugin folder: bash sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /path/to/ns-chat/ sudo chmod -R 775 /path/to/ns-chat/ Reload and start the daemon: bash sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable websocket_server --now sudo systemctl restart websocket_server sudo systemctl status websocket_server Check logs if needed: bash /var/log/websocket_server.out.log /var/log/websocket_server.err.log Custom Port Configuration By default, the WebSocket server listens on port 2346. To use a different port: Change the port in server.php: php $wsWorker = new Worker('websocket://0.0.0.0:2346', $context); Change the port in ns-chat.php: php $ws_port = 2346; You can check and change the port in chat-ui.js: js const port = nschat_data.wsPort || 2346; If the port is closed, then open a new port on your server’s firewall: bash sudo ufw allow /tcp sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port= /tcp sudo firewall-cmd --reload sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport -j ACCEPT sudo iptables-save > /etc/iptables/rules.v4 Database Tables The plugin creates and uses the following tables: wp_ns_chat_dialogues wp_ns_chat_messages wp_ns_chat_users Tables are created and populated automatically on plugin activation. User Synchronization Initial migration of all users from wp_users to wp_ns_chat_users on plugin activation. New registrations are handled by: php add_action('user_register', 'ns_chat_add_user_on_registration'); Profile updates are synced via: php add_action('profile_update', 'ns_chat_update_user_data'); You may bind these functions to custom hooks based on your app’s logic. License GPLv2 or later