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# Download

Get the latest mcabber release from the [official website][mcabber]. It's
usually a bzipped tarball, for example `mcabber-0.9.10.tar.bz2`.
Untar it:

    % tar xvjf mcabber-0.9.10.tar.bz2
    % cd mcabber-0.9.10

# Install

Note: if you do not want to make a system-wide installation, you can use the
`--prefix` option.

    % ./configure
    % make
    % make install

OpenBSD users: you'll probably want to add `--enable-sigwinch` as there is no
default SIGWINCH handler.

# First run

You could launch mcabber with no configuration file, but then you would have to
set the options manually. The simpler way is to copy the sample configuration
file provided with the source tree:

    % mkdir ~/.mcabber
    % chmod 0700 ~/.mcabber
    % cp mcabberrc.example ~/.mcabber/mcabberrc

Now, edit the configuration file. You need to set your username and server (or
only the `jid` option, starting from mcabber 0.10.0). (Note: if you want to use
SSL/TLS encryption, have a look at the `ssl_verify` or `ssl_ignore_checks`
options).

Ok, you should be able to launch mcabber now!

# It's running... Now how does it work??

The mcabber screen is divided into 4 regions. The **roster**, alias
**buddylist**, is on the left. The **chat window**, or chat buffer, is on the
right. The **input line** lies at the bottom of the screen, under a small **log
window**. Two status lines surround the log window. The bottom status line is
the "main status line" and reflects mcabber general status. The other line is
the "chat status line" and shows the status of the currently selected buddy. To
display buddies chat buffers, you will have to enter [[Chat_Mode]]. You can
enter _chat mode_ by pressing enter, and leave _chat mode_ with the ESC key.
Simply sending a message will also enable _chat mode_. Use PageUp/PageDown to
move inside the roster.

Take a look at the small [User Guide][userguide] to get a quick overview.

All commands in mcabber have an online help (use `/help` or `/help command`)!

# Configuration etc.

Read The (F) [Manpage][mcabber_man] for more details, and the [sample
configuration file][sample_rc] to see all the available options. You can use the
online help (command `/help`). If mcabber's help files have been translated into
your language, you can set the corresponding `lang` option (see the config.
file).

[mcabber]:     http://mcabber.com/
[userguide]:   http://mcabber.com/files/mcabber_guide.pdf
[mcabber_man]: http://lilotux.net/~mikael/mcabber/files/mcabber.1.html
[sample_rc]:   https://bitbucket.org/McKael/mcabber-crew/raw/tip/mcabber/mcabberrc.example