XDCC Tutorial

This tutorial assumes you have a good knowledge of IRC[1](Internet Relay Chat) and you are able to connect to a server and send messages to other users via your preferred IRC client.

So, what is XDCC in a nutshell ?

In order to understand the basics of XDCC we first need to understand DCC in general. DCC[2] stands for Direct Client-to-Client, it is a way to establish a “communication” between clients, in this case the clients being the IRC clients. DCC is not a standard, neither is XDCC. DCC is an extension added by the IRC clients in order to facilitate the sending of files via IRC. IRC in itself does not support DCC, when you are sending a file or opening a DCC chat it goes straight from your computer to the target computer, hence the “Direct”.
XDCC is using the existing DCC protocol and it tries to extend it by introducing new features. XDCC can also be described as an advanced IRC “script” which allows people to issue commands, queue and download files on demand. Any IRC client nowadays will be able to run this as a service and share files with other clients using the XDCC protocol. This is a great way for people to share files and was widely adopted by the fansub[3] teams. The way this works is really neat and simple, each fansub will have their own “bots” running the XDCC script and allowing channel members to download their files, the bots will regularly “announce” what they have in their disposition, you can also use their search functionality if you are looking for something specific.
All the XDCC commands are issued via private messaging, exception is the search command, it is also possible to issue limited commands directly into the channel in order to perform a “wide” search for instance. Imagine how painful it will be to issue a “search” command to each bot if you have 100 bots available on the channel ready to serve. The fansub owners in addition also provide XDCC search facilities via their website so all you have to do is quickly search on their website, find the desired file, connect to the correct server/channel and start requesting to download the desired file.

Basic usage of XDCC commands

Here is a list of basic XDCC commands which are widely supported by most of the bots out there.
[code language=”bash”]
/msg [botname] search
[/code]
Perform a basic search with the keyword , the bot will message you back with limited number of (due to spam restrictions) results, the search will also include a number which you need to remember if you want to request a download.
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[code language=”bash”]
/msg [botname] list
[/code]
Request the full list of files the bot can serve
[code language=”bash”]
/msg [botname] info [number]
[/code]
Request additional information about the file such as the file size, how many times it has been download and in some cases the checksum of the file.
[code language=”bash”]
/msg [botname] send [number]
[/code]
This will ask the bot to send you the file numbered [number], the bot will either send you directly the file or it will put you in a queue depending how many people are using the service and the bandwidth the bot can cope with. You can request multiple sends at the same time the bot will decide either to put you in a queue or send you the files at the same time, most of the time the bots will only send you one file at the time. Once you are in a queue, you will be regularly updated by the bot with the progress of your queue, including the estimated time and the position in the queue for your download.
[code language=”bash”]
/msg [botname] cancel [number]
[/code]
If you already started a download and want to cancel an item you can either stop the download yourself or request a cancel for the current download in progress.

Searching XDCC files online

You can visit ixirc.com and search for your favourite animes, find the server and channel where the bots are offering them and start the downloading.
Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and you are ready to get your favourite animes via IRC!

References:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Client-to-Client
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fansub