View source for Eggdrop

{{Short description|Chat program}}
{{Other uses|Egg drop (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox software
|name = Eggdrop
|logo = EggheadsEdwardEDropLogo.png
|screenshot =
|caption =
|collapsible =
|author =
|developer = Eggheads<ref>[http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi/eggdrop1.6/AUTHORS?view=markup AUTHORS] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130414210108/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi/eggdrop1.6/AUTHORS?view=markup |date=2013-04-14 }} - List of Eggdrop developers and development history</ref><ref>[http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi/eggdrop1.6/THANKS?view=markup THANKS] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130414210055/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi/eggdrop1.6/THANKS?view=markup |date=2013-04-14 }} - List of Eggdrop contributors</ref>
|released = {{Start date and age|1993|12}}
|latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1297422|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
|latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1297422|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
|latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1297422|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
|latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q1297422|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
|programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]], [[Tcl]]
|operating system = [[Unix-like]]
|size = 1 MB
|genre = [[IRC bot]]
|license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]]
|website = {{URL|www.eggheads.org}}
}}

'''Eggdrop''' is a popular [[IRC bot]] and the oldest that is still being [[Software maintenance|maintained]].<ref>{{cite web
 | url=http://www.eggheads.org/
 | title=Homepage
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230054258/http://www.eggheads.org/
 | archive-date=2008-12-30
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref><ref name="book: irc hacks">{{cite book
 | last = Mutton
 | first = Paul
 | title = IRC Hacks
 | publisher = [[O'Reilly Media]]
 |date=July 2004
 | isbn = 978-0-596-00687-7
 | page = 294
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xEgsPNw4-qQC&pg=PA294
}}</ref><ref name="book: extrusion detection">{{cite book
 | last = Bejtlich
 | first = Richard
 | title = Extrusion Detection: Security Monitoring for Internal Intrusions
 | series = Professional Series
 | publisher = [[Addison-Wesley]]
 |date=November 2005
 | isbn = 978-0-321-34996-5
 | page = 308
}}</ref>

It was originally written by Robey Pointer in December 1993 to help manage and protect the [[EFnet]] channel #gayteen; one Eggdrop bot version was named Valis.<ref name="Leonard">{{cite book |last       = Leonard
 |first      = Andrew
 |title      = Bots: The Origin of New Species
 |edition    = 1st
 |date       = July 1997
 |publisher  = Hardwired
 |location   = [[San Francisco, CA]]
 |isbn       = 1-888869-05-4
 |quote      = Meanwhile, back in #gayteen, Pointer's other IRC haunt, a raging power struggle had alienated most of the regular members of the channel
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/botsoriginofnews00leon
}}</ref><ref name="Wired96">{{cite web
 | url = https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.04/netbots.html?pg=5
 | title = Wired 4.04: Bots Are Hot!
 | access-date = 2008-12-26
 | last = Leonard
 | first = Andrew
 |date=April 1996
 | work = Wired Magazine
 | publisher = Condé Nast Publications
 | page = 5
 | quote = There are bots that greet newcomers to channels with information about the channel. Valis, the gaybot at #gayteen, is such a bot.
}}</ref><ref name="about">{{cite web
 | url=http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/ABOUT?view=markup
 | title=ABOUT
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-date=2011-07-26
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020248/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/ABOUT?view=markup
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

Eggdrop was originally intended to help manage and protect [[IRC channel#Channels|channels]] from [[IRC takeover|takeover]] attempts.<ref name="book: extrusion detection" /><ref name="Lewis">{{cite book
 | last = Lewis
 | first = Chris
 |author2=Steve Pickavance
 | title = Selecting MPLS VPN Services
 | series = Networking Technology
 | publisher = [[Cisco Press]]
 |date=February 2006
 | isbn = 978-1-58705-191-3
 | page = 266
}}</ref><ref name="SecIM">{{cite book
 | last = Piccard
 | first = Paul
 |author2=Brian Baskin |author3=George Spillman |author4=Marcus Sachs
  | title = Securing IM and P2P Applications for the Enterprise
 | edition = 1st
 | publisher = [[Syngress Publishing]]
 |date=May 2005
 | isbn = 978-1-59749-017-7
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZU95ZdQ908C&pg=401
 | page = 401
}}</ref><ref name="book: avatars">{{cite book
 | last = Damer
 | first = Bruce
 | title = Avatars! Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet
 | edition = 1st
 | publisher = [[Peachpit]]
 | date = October 1997
 | isbn = 978-0-201-68840-5
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/avatarsexploring00dame
 }}</ref><ref name="Clemm">{{cite book
 | last = Clemm
 | first = Alexander
 |author2=Lisandro Zambenedetti Granville |author3=Rolf Stadler
  | title = Managing Virtualization of Networks and Services
 | series = Lecture Notes in Computer Science
 | publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media]]
 |date=December 2007
 | isbn = 978-3-540-75693-4
 | page = 1
}}</ref>

== Features ==
The bot is written in the [[C (programming language)|C programming language]] and features interfaces for C [[Modular programming|modules]] and [[Tcl]] scripts that allow users to further enhance the functionality of the bot.<ref name="book: irc hacks" /><ref name="about" /><ref name="readme">{{cite web
 | url=http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/README?view=markup
 | title=README
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-date=2011-07-26
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020401/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/README?view=markup
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

A large number of [[Tcl]] scripts are available to expand the bot's functionality, most of them written by Eggdrop users.<ref name="book: irc hacks" /><ref>{{cite web
 | url=http://www.egghelp.org/tcl.htm
 | title=egghelp.org: Tcl Archive
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-date=2008-12-19
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219092357/http://www.egghelp.org/tcl.htm
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url=http://ftp.eggheads.org/pub/eggdrop/scripts/
 | title=eggheads.org FTP: Scripts
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
}}</ref>
Scripts are available to add and extend support for: [[online games]], stats, user and channel management, information storage and lookup, greeting channel members, tracking last seen times, botnet management, [[anti-spam]], file serving and distribution (usually via the [[Direct Client-to-Client|DCC]] protocol), [[IRC services]] (similar to ChanServ and NickServ), and much more.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}}

Eggdrop includes built-in support for sharing user information and channel bans. However, a script is required to simultaneously control multiple bots and for bots to coordinate [[IRC channel#Channels|channel]] management and modes.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}}

The bot also features a "botnet", which allows multiple bots to be linked together to share data and act in a coordinated fashion.<ref name="about" /><ref name="book: avatars" /><ref name="readme" /><ref name="botnet">{{cite web
 | url=http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/BOTNET?view=markup
 | title=BOTNET
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-date=2011-07-26
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020412/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/BOTNET?view=markup
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref><ref>Piccard, et al., p. 390</ref> The botnet supports a "party line", which is accessible via [[Direct Client-to-Client|DCC CHAT]] and [[Telnet]]. People can communicate within the botnet on various channels in an equivalent to a miniature IRC. Channel 0, the default, is referred to as the "party line".<ref name="book: avatars" /><ref name="partyline">{{cite web
 | url=http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/PARTYLINE?view=markup
 | title=PARTYLINE
 | publisher=eggheads.org
 | access-date=2008-12-24
 | archive-date=2011-07-26
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020417/http://cvs.eggheads.org/viewvc/eggdrop1.6/doc/PARTYLINE?view=markup
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

== Popularity ==
Over the years Eggdrop has become one of the most popular bots run by [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] users.<ref name="book: avatars" /><ref name="Orwant">{{cite book
 | last = Orwant
 | first = Jon
 | title = Games, Diversions & Perl Culture
 | url = https://archive.org/details/gamesdiversionsp00orwa
 | url-access = limited
 | edition = 1st
 | series = Best of the Perl Journal
 | publisher = [[O'Reilly Media]]
 |date=August 2004
 | isbn = 978-0-596-00312-8
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/gamesdiversionsp00orwa/page/n115 116]
}}</ref><ref name="Casey">{{cite book
 | last = Casey
 | first = Eoghan
 | title = Digital Evidence and Computer Crime
 | url = https://archive.org/details/digitalevidencec00maeo_283
 | url-access = limited
 | edition = 2nd
 | publisher = [[Academic Press]]
 |date=March 2004
 | isbn = 978-0-12-163104-8
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/digitalevidencec00maeo_283/page/n673 497]
}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Internet Relay Chat]]
* [[Internet Relay Chat bot]]
* [[Comparison of Internet Relay Chat bots]]
* [[Shell account]]
* [[Tcl]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|www.eggheads.org}}
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.superlinux.tcltktutorials Tcl/Tk tutorials YouTube playlist in an Android application for your Eggdrop Tcl Scripts]
* {{Freecode|id=eggdrop|name=Eggdrop}}
* {{SourceForge|id=eggdrop|name=Eggdrop}}
* {{Openhub|id=eggdrop|name=Eggdrop}}
* [http://uptime.eggheads.org/ The IRC bot uptime project]
* [https://eggdrop.retro-os.live/ Modern site to support Eggdrop and even provides Eggdrop hosting]

{{IRC bots}}
{{FOSS}}

[[Category:IRC]]
[[Category:IRC bots]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in Tcl]]
[[Category:Cross-platform free software]]
[[Category:Internet software for Linux]]
[[Category:Unix Internet software]]
[[Category:Windows Internet software]]
[[Category:1993 software]]