Administration

This page lists the bbs commands a sysop uses day to day. Each command works on the configuration the BBS runs with (-config FILE; without it, the defaults and bbs.db in the current directory). All of them are safe to run while the BBS is serving callers.

Users¶

bbs user list
bbs user add NAME [-sysop]          # asks for the password (or reads it from a pipe)
bbs user passwd NAME
bbs user lock NAME                  # and unlock
bbs user sysop NAME                 # and unsysop
bbs user del NAME                   # their mail goes; their messages stay

The database¶

bbs db copy DATABASE                # into a new one: a path, postgres://..., mysql://...

See Databases.

Access¶

bbs user level NAME N               # 0-255
bbs user flags NAME +AB -C          # or AB: exactly those
bbs user waiting                    # under validated_level
bbs user validate NAME
bbs area require AREA READ POST     # "30 F", sysop, - for none
bbs filearea require AREA DOWNLOAD UPLOAD

See Access levels.

SSH keys¶

bbs sshkey add USER FILE            # each authorized_keys line in FILE (- : stdin)
bbs sshkey list [USER]
bbs sshkey del ID

Users can also add their own keys from their profile or through the API: see SSH.

Message areas¶

bbs area list
bbs area add NAME "DESCRIPTION" [-sysop-only]
bbs area del NAME                   # and its messages
bbs area newsgroup AREA GROUP       # make it a newsgroup (- : no longer)
bbs area echo AREA TAG              # make it a FidoNet echo (- : no longer)
bbs area group AREA GROUP           # list it under a group (- : none)
bbs area aliases AREA yes|no        # whether its posters may use their aliases
bbs area keep AREA MESSAGES DAYS    # keep the newest MESSAGES, for DAYS (0: no limit)
bbs area purge                      # take away what areas keep no more, now

The BBS applies each area's limits every hour while it runs, and bbs area purge applies them at once. Messages beyond the newest MESSAGES, and messages older than DAYS, are deleted along with their votes and polls.

A sysop can also add areas from inside the BBS (+ in the message areas) and delete any message. For newsgroups, see Newsgroups and NNTP; for echoes, see FidoNet.

File areas¶

bbs filearea list
bbs filearea add NAME "DESCRIPTION" [-sysop-upload]
bbs filearea del NAME
bbs filearea group NAME GROUP|-          # a CompuServe forum's library (- : none)
bbs file add AREA PATH ["DESCRIPTION"]   # as the first sysop
bbs file list AREA
bbs file del AREA NAME

See Files and FTP.

Image boards¶

bbs chan board add DIR TITLE [DESCRIPTION] [-nsfw]   # /DIR/ at /chan/DIR/
bbs chan board set DIR KEY VALUE    # pages, per_page, bump_limit, mods, nsfw, oekaki...
bbs chan board list
bbs chan board del DIR              # its posts and images too
bbs chan ban add ADDRESS DAYS [BOARD|-] [REASON...]
bbs chan ban list | del ID

See Image boards.

Mail exchange¶

The BBS exchanges mail with its peers on its own schedule. These commands do it now.

bbs news sync [PEER]                # exchange articles with news peers now
bbs fido poll [LINK]                # call FidoNet links now
bbs fido scan [LINK]                # pack new mail into the outbound
bbs fido toss [LINK]                # take in what has come
bbs fido node ADDRESS               # a system in the nodelist
bbs fido nodes WORDS...             # systems by name, place or sysop
bbs fido subs LINK                  # the echoes and file echoes a link has
bbs fido link|unlink LINK TAG...    # link it to echoes (filelink, fileunlink)
bbs fido areafix|filefix LINK CMD...  # a request to a link's AreaFix (FileFix)
bbs qwknet call [NET]               # call QWK networks' hubs now
bbs user qwknode|unqwknode NAME     # an account a QWK node calls this hub as

Chat rooms¶

bbs room list                       # the permanent rooms, with their topics
bbs room add ROOM ["TOPIC"]         # kept open when empty (IRC: held by BBSServ)
bbs room topic ROOM ["TOPIC"]       # set its topic (none: clear it)
bbs room del ROOM                   # it goes with its last caller

A running BBS picks up these changes at its next start; BBSServ's ROOM command makes them at once. See IRC.

The rest¶

bbs check                           # read the configuration, show its warnings
bbs init                            # make the database, with two areas
bbs [serve]                         # answer callers

See also: Running, Configuration