> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.allthingslinux.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Glossary > Definitions of project-specific terms, acronyms, and service names used across the atl.chat documentation. This glossary defines every project-specific term, acronym, and service name used across the atl.chat documentation, so you can look up unfamiliar concepts in one place. ## Services and applications | Term | Definition | | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **UnrealIRCd** | The IRC server (version 6.x) that powers atl.chat's IRC network. Runs as a Docker container from `apps/unrealircd/` and handles client connections, channel management, and server-to-server linking. | | **Atheme** | The IRC services daemon that provides nickname registration (NickServ), channel management (ChanServ), operator tools (OperServ), and other service bots. Shares a network namespace with UnrealIRCd. | | **Prosody** | The XMPP server that provides real-time messaging alongside IRC. Configured via Lua (`prosody.cfg.lua`) and runs from `apps/prosody/`. | | **The Lounge** | A self-hosted web IRC client running in private mode. Connects to UnrealIRCd via WebIRC and provides a persistent, browser-based chat experience. Managed from `apps/thelounge/`. | | **ObsidianIRC** | A modern web IRC client built from upstream source with ATL-specific defaults. Single-server mode with auto-join configured. Runs from `apps/obsidianirc/`. | | **WebPanel** | The UnrealIRCd administration web panel served by nginx. Connects to UnrealIRCd's JSON-RPC interface for server management. Runs from `apps/webpanel/`. | | **Bridge** | A Python application (`apps/bridge/`) that relays messages between Discord, IRC, and XMPP using an event bus pattern. | | **Gamja** | A lightweight, planned IRC web client. Directory exists at `apps/gamja/` but is not yet active. | | **Portal** | The community web portal application, providing user-facing features beyond chat. Referenced in environment variable sections as the `PORTAL_*` variable group. | ## IRC service bots (Atheme) | Term | Definition | | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **NickServ** | Atheme service bot that handles nickname registration, identification, and account management. | | **ChanServ** | Atheme service bot that manages channel registration, access lists, and channel settings. | | **OperServ** | Atheme service bot that provides IRC operator tools: akills (network bans), server management, and administrative commands. | | **MemoServ** | Atheme service bot that provides offline messaging between registered users. | | **HostServ** | Atheme service bot that manages virtual hostnames (vhosts) for registered users. | | **BotServ** | Atheme service bot that assigns custom bot identities to channels. | ## Protocols and standards | Term | Definition | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **IRC** | Internet Relay Chat — a text-based real-time messaging protocol defined by RFCs 1459 and 2812 (with modern IRCv3 extensions). The primary chat protocol used by atl.chat. | | **XMPP** | Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol — an open XML-based messaging standard. atl.chat runs an XMPP server (Prosody) alongside IRC. | | **MUC** | Multi-User Chat — the XMPP extension (XEP-0045) for group chat rooms, analogous to IRC channels. | | **BOSH** | Bidirectional-streams Over Synchronous HTTP — an XMPP transport that tunnels XMPP stanzas over HTTP long-polling. Prosody exposes BOSH on port 5280. | | **WebSocket** | A full-duplex communication protocol over a single TCP connection. Used by UnrealIRCd (port 8000) and Prosody for browser-based clients. | | **SASL** | Simple Authentication and Security Layer — a framework for authentication in network protocols. Used by both IRC (IRCv3 SASL) and XMPP for client authentication. | | **SCRAM** | Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism — a SASL mechanism (SCRAM-SHA-256) used by Prosody for secure password-based authentication without transmitting plaintext passwords. | | **TLS** | Transport Layer Security — the cryptographic protocol that encrypts connections. All atl.chat services use TLS for client and inter-service communication. | | **STS** | Strict Transport Security — an IRCv3 capability that tells clients to always use TLS when connecting to the server. | | **WebIRC** | An IRC protocol extension that allows trusted web clients (like The Lounge) to forward the real IP address of connecting users to the IRC server. | | **XEP** | XMPP Extension Protocol — numbered specifications that extend the core XMPP standard. Examples include XEP-0045 (MUC), XEP-0313 (MAM), and XEP-0060 (PubSub). | | **RFC** | Request for Comments — standards documents published by the IETF. IRC is defined by RFCs 1459/2812; TLS by RFC 8446; XMPP by RFCs 6120/6121. | | **PubSub** | Publish-Subscribe — an XMPP extension (XEP-0060) for event-driven messaging where publishers send data to topics and subscribers receive updates. | | **MAM** | Message Archive Management — an XMPP extension (XEP-0313) that stores message history server-side so clients can retrieve past messages. | | **TURN/STUN** | Traversal Using Relays around NAT / Session Traversal Utilities for NAT — protocols that help establish peer-to-peer connections through firewalls and NAT devices. The `infra/turn-standalone/` directory contains configuration for a standalone TURN server. | | **ACME** | Automatic Certificate Management Environment — the protocol used by Let's Encrypt (and other CAs) to automate TLS certificate issuance and renewal. | | **DNS-01** | An ACME challenge type that proves domain ownership by creating a DNS TXT record. Used by the cert-manager service with Cloudflare DNS for wildcard certificates. | ## IRC concepts | Term | Definition | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **cloak** | A virtual hostname applied to a user's connection to hide their real IP address. Generated using cloak keys defined in the environment variables. | | **oper** | An IRC operator — a privileged user with administrative access to the IRC server. Configured via oper blocks in UnrealIRCd's configuration. | | **rehash** | An UnrealIRCd command that reloads the server configuration without disconnecting users. Used after config changes or certificate renewal. | | **netsplit** | A temporary disconnection between IRC servers in a network, causing users on each side to appear to leave channels. | ## Infrastructure and tooling | Term | Definition | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Docker Compose** | The container orchestration tool used to define and run the entire atl.chat stack. The root `compose.yaml` includes fragments from `infra/compose/*.yaml`. | | **just** | A command runner (similar to `make`) used throughout the project. The root `justfile` defines commands like `just dev`, `just prod`, and `just test`. Per-app recipes are loaded via `mod`. | | **envsubst** | A GNU gettext utility that substitutes environment variable references in template files. Used by `scripts/prepare-config.sh` to generate service configuration files from templates. | | **cert-manager** | A Docker service defined in `infra/compose/cert-manager.yaml` that uses Lego to obtain and renew TLS certificates via ACME. | | **Lego** | A Go-based ACME client used by the cert-manager service to request TLS certificates from Let's Encrypt. Supports DNS-01 challenges via Cloudflare. | | **Tailscale** | A mesh VPN service. In production, atl.chat services bind to Tailscale IP addresses for secure inter-node communication. | | **OpenMetrics** | A metrics exposition format (compatible with Prometheus) used for monitoring service health and performance. | ## Development and CI/CD tools | Term | Definition | | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Gitleaks** | A secret scanning tool configured as a pre-commit hook to prevent accidental commits of passwords, tokens, and API keys. | | **ruff** | A fast Python linter and formatter used for all Python code in the monorepo (primarily the bridge application). | | **Biome** | A JavaScript/TypeScript linter and formatter. Used via the `ultracite` wrapper for the web and docs applications. | | **luacheck** | A static analysis tool for Lua code. Used to lint Prosody configuration and UnrealIRCd Lua scripts. | | **shellcheck** | A static analysis tool for shell scripts. Used to lint bash scripts in `scripts/` and infrastructure directories. | | **semantic-release** | An automated versioning and release tool configured via `.releaserc.json`. Generates changelogs and version bumps from Conventional Commits. | | **Conventional Commits** | A commit message convention (`type(scope): description`) used by the project to enable automated changelogs and semantic versioning. | ## Documentation and web | Term | Definition | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Fumadocs** | The documentation framework used by `apps/docs/`. Built on Next.js with file-system routing — the directory structure under `content/docs/` determines the navigation hierarchy. | | **MDX** | Markdown with JSX — a file format that combines Markdown content with React components. All documentation pages are `.mdx` files. | | **Cloudflare Pages** | The hosting platform where the documentation site and web application are deployed. The docs site builds via the OpenNext adapter for Cloudflare Workers. | | **BLUF** | Bottom Line Up Front — a writing principle used throughout this documentation where the key takeaway appears in the first sentence of every page. | | **Mermaid** | A diagramming language rendered in MDX via the `remarkMdxMermaid` plugin. Used for all architecture and flow diagrams instead of ASCII art. | ## Related pages * [FAQ](/docs/reference/faq) — frequently asked questions about atl.chat * [Environment Variables](/docs/reference/environment-variables) — complete variable reference * [Architecture Overview](/docs/architecture) — system diagram and design decisions * [Getting Started](/docs/getting-started) — prerequisites and monorepo orientation