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ft_irc - IRC Server

42 school C++ Poll

About

ft_irc is a project that implements a lightweight IRC server in C++98. The server accepts multiple clients at the same time, keeps them registered, and routes IRC messages through a non-blocking event loop.

Project Goals

  • Build a server that listens on a configurable port
  • Protect the server with a connection password
  • Support several clients without blocking the event loop
  • Parse IRC commands and return protocol-compliant replies
  • Manage users, channels, and server-side state cleanly

IRC Server Model

The server follows a typical IRC workflow:

  • A client connects to the server through TCP
  • The client authenticates with PASS
  • The client registers a nickname with NICK
  • The client registers user information with USER
  • After registration, the client can interact with channels and other users

The implementation is centered around a poll-driven loop that watches the server socket and all connected client sockets. New connections are accepted in non-blocking mode, and each connected client is tracked by file descriptor.

Rules and Constraints

Program Arguments

./ircserv <port> <password>
  • port: TCP port used by the IRC server
  • password: connection password required by clients during registration

Server Behavior

  • The server must reject invalid command-line arguments
  • The listening socket is configured in non-blocking mode
  • Client sockets are also non-blocking
  • The event loop must keep running until the server is stopped
  • Input is parsed line by line from each connected client
  • Replies are sent using IRC-style numeric codes and messages

Key Features

1. Connection Handling

Clients connect over TCP and are added to the server’s polling set. Each client is wrapped in a server-side object so the connection state, hostname, nickname, and registration status can be tracked independently.

2. Registration Flow

The server supports the standard IRC registration steps with password checking and identity setup. The codebase already contains support for commands such as PASS, NICK, USER, and CAP, which are handled during the registration phase.

3. Channel and User Management

Connected clients can be organized into channels, and the server keeps shared structures for looking up clients, managing membership, and delivering command results.

4. Reply Formatting

Protocol responses are centralized in helper code so replies stay consistent across commands. This keeps numeric replies, welcome messages, and error messages aligned with IRC formatting.

5. Graceful Shutdown

The server handles termination cleanly, closes sockets, and releases allocated client objects when it stops.

Compilation

Build the Program

make

This creates the ircserv executable.

Available Make Commands

  • make - Build the server
  • make clean - Remove object files
  • make fclean - Remove object files and the executable
  • make re - Rebuild everything from scratch

Compiler Flags

  • -Wall -Wextra -Werror - Enable strict warnings
  • -std=c++98 - Use the required C++ standard

Usage

Basic Example

./ircserv 6667 mypassword

Expected Workflow

  1. Start the server on a chosen port
  2. Connect with an IRC client or a socket tester
  3. Send PASS, NICK, and USER
  4. Join channels and exchange messages once registered

Testing Ideas

  • Connect with a valid password and verify registration replies
  • Connect with an invalid password and check rejection behavior
  • Open multiple clients and confirm the server keeps them responsive
  • Send partial lines and verify buffered parsing behaves correctly
  • Stop the server with Ctrl+C and verify sockets close cleanly

Implementation Structure

The project is split into small modules:

  • main.cpp - Argument parsing and server startup
  • Server.cpp - Socket setup, polling loop, connection handling
  • Client.cpp - Per-client state and message buffering
  • Channel.cpp - Channel state and membership logic
  • IRCCommand.cpp - Command parsing and representation
  • ChannelsClientsManager.cpp - Shared client and channel operations
  • Reply.cpp - IRC replies and error helpers

Technical Details

  • Language: C++98
  • Networking: TCP sockets
  • I/O Model: non-blocking sockets with poll()
  • Server Style: single-process, event-driven
  • Protocol: IRC-inspired message handling

Authors

opopov and zkhojazo