source: skype/README @ df482d4

Last change on this file since df482d4 was df482d4, checked in by Miklos Vajna <vmiklos@…>, at 2008-07-29T16:12:02Z

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[0c60f96]1= Skype plugin for BitlBee
[7f1cf70]2Miklos Vajna <vmiklos-at-vmiklos-dot-hu>
[afe221f]3
[56e4ac4]4== Status
5
[9f829c4]6[quote, Wilmer van der Gaast (author of BitlBee)]
[4eaadf6]7____
8Okay, this exists now, with lots of thanks to vmiklos for his *excellent*
9work!!
10
11It's not in the main BitlBee and it'll never be for various reasons, but
12because it's a plugin that shouldn't be a problem.
13____
14
[56e4ac4]15One day I browsed the BitlBee bugtracker and found
16http://bugs.bitlbee.org/bitlbee/ticket/82[this] ticket. Then after a while I
[1138b25]17returned and saw that it was still open. So I wrote it.
[56e4ac4]18
[2042b56]19It's pretty stable, I use it for my daily work. Being a plug-in, no patching
[20994cb]20is required, you can just install it after installing BitlBee itself.
[75742cc]21
[4c3a4c8]22NOTE: You will see that this implementation of the Skype plug-in still requires
[54c269d]23a Skype instance to be running. This is because I'm not motivated to reverse
24engineer Skype's
25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype_Protocol#Obfuscation_Layer[obfuscation
26layer]. (Not mentioning that you should ask your lawyer about if it is legal or
27not..)
28
[22d97b4]29== Requirements
30
[7987be8]31* Skype >= 1.4.0.99. The latest version I've tested is 2.0.0.68.
[039116a]32* BitlBee >= 1.2.1. Use old versions (<=0.5.1) if you have 1.2 or
33  1.1.1dev installed.
[eb39102]34* Skype4Py >= 0.9.28.7. Previous versions won't work due to API changes.
[d276c9a]35
[59bf24f]36NOTE: 1.x just does not work for me. I mailed the author but did not
37receive any answer so far.
[d276c9a]38
[c60b864]39* Python >= 2.5. Skype4Py does not work with 2.4.
[e49da25]40* PyGObject >= 2.8.0. Older versions are part of PyGTK. (And you don't want to
41  install GTK for nothing, right?)
[b0d40f5]42* pyopenssl or python-gnutls.
[22d97b4]43
[df1a59d4]44`bitlbee-skype` has been tested under Linux and Mac OS X. Skype and Skype4py is
45available under Windows, too, so it probably works, but this has not been tested.
[760ed1f]46
[9e03e55]47== How to set it up
[afe221f]48
[751b149]49Before you start. The setup is the following: BitlBee can't connect directly to
50Skype servers (the company's ones). It needs a running Skype client to do so.
51In fact BitlBee will connect to `skyped` (a tcp server, provided in this
[4c3a4c8]52package) and `skyped` will connect to to your Skype client.
[751b149]53
[d0a6a8c]54The benefit of this architecture is that you can run Skype and `skyped`
55on a machine different to the one where you run BitlBee (it can be even
56a public server) and/or your IRC client.
[7e4f0ca1]57
[d0a6a8c]58NOTE: The order is important. First `skyped` starts Skype. Then `skyped`
59connects to Skype, finally BitlBee can connect to `skyped`.
60
61=== Installing under Frugalware
62
63- Install the necessary packages:
[11eed8f]64
[36fbaa0]65----
[1d14818]66# pacman-g2 -S bitlbee-skype
[36fbaa0]67----
68
[4966d841]69and you don't have to compile anything manually.
70
[d0a6a8c]71=== Installing under Debian
72
73- Install the necessary development package:
[4966d841]74
75----
76# apt-get install bitlbee-dev
77----
78
[5293707]79and you have to install `bitlbee-skype` and `skype4py` from source.
[4966d841]80
[d0a6a8c]81=== Installing from source
82
83- You need the latest stable BitlBee release:
[afe221f]84
[0c60f96]85----
[36fbaa0]86$ wget http://get.bitlbee.org/src/bitlbee-1.2.tar.gz
87$ tar xf bitlbee-1.2.tar.gz
88$ cd bitlbee-1.2
[0c60f96]89----
[afe221f]90
[d044a5a]91NOTE: You no longer need additional patches, as of version 1.1.1dev.
[b8b0bfd]92
[afe221f]93- Now compile and install it:
94
[0c60f96]95----
[ccb50f5]96$ ./configure
97$ make
98# make install install-dev
[0c60f96]99----
[afe221f]100
[21a387fd]101- Get the plugin code (in an empty dir, or whereever you want, it does
102  not matter):
[afe221f]103
[0c60f96]104----
[3b495c0]105$ wget http://vmiklos.hu/project/bitlbee-skype/bitlbee-skype-@VERSION@.tar.gz
106$ tar xf bitlbee-skype-@VERSION@.tar.gz
107$ cd bitlbee-skype-@VERSION@
[0c60f96]108----
[afe221f]109
110- Compile and install it:
111
[0c60f96]112----
[ccb50f5]113$ ./configure
114$ make
115# make install
[0c60f96]116----
[afe221f]117
[21a387fd]118This will install the plugin to where BitlBee expects them, which is
119`/usr/local/lib/bitlbee` if you installed BitlBee from source.
120
[5293707]121- To install http://skype4py.sourceforge.net/[Skype4Py] from source:
122
123----
124$ tar -zxvf Skype4Py-x.x.x.x.tar.gz
125$ cd Skype4Py-x.x.x.x
126# python setup.py install
127----
[c15f71a]128
[d0a6a8c]129=== Configuring
130
[52d377d]131- Edit `/usr/local/etc/skyped/skyped.conf`: adjust `username` and `password`. The
[e65ceaa]132  `username` should be your Skype login and the `password` can be whatever you
133  want, but you will have to specify that one when adding the Skype account to
134  BitlBee (see later).
135
[52d377d]136NOTE: Here, and later - `/usr/local/etc` can be different on your installation
137if you used the `--sysconfdir` switch when running bitlbee-skype's `configure`.
138
139- Generate the SSL pem files:
140
141----
[ccb50f5]142# cd /usr/local/etc/skyped
143# openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -config skyped.cnf -out skyped.cert.pem \
[52d377d]144        -keyout skyped.key.pem
145----
146
[ccb50f5]147NOTE: Maybe you want to adjust the permissions in the `/usr/local/etc/skyped`
148dir. For example make it readable by just your user.
149
[b0d40f5]150- If both pyopenssl and python-gnutls are available, then python-gnutls
151  will be used. This behaviour can be overwritten by:
152
153----
154$ export SKYPED_NO_GNUTLS=1
155----
156
[833eaee]157- Start `skyped` (the tcp server):
[afe221f]158
[0c60f96]159----
[ccb50f5]160$ skyped
[0c60f96]161----
[ba20c39]162
[4c3a4c8]163- Start your `IRC` client, connect to BitlBee and add your account:
[7338d59]164
165----
[789d055]166account add skype <user> <pass>
167account set skype/server localhost
[7338d59]168----
169
[e65ceaa]170<user> should be your Skype account name, <pass> should be the one you declared
[10a42d9]171in `skyped.conf`. If you want to run skyped on a remote machine, replace
172`localhost` with the name of the machine.
[7338d59]173
[9ace502]174If you are running skyped on a custom port:
175
176----
177account set skype/port <port>
178----
179
[7996794]180If you want to set your full name (optional):
181
182----
183account set skype/display_name "John Smith"
184----
185
186If you want to see your skypeout contacts online as well (they are
187offline by default):
188
189----
190account set skype/skypeout_offline false
191----
192
[23b84e1]193== Setting up Skype in a VNC server (optional)
194
195Optionally, if you want to run Skype on a server, you might want to setup up
[4c3a4c8]196a `VNC` server as well. I used `tightvnc` but probably other `VNC` servers will
[23b84e1]197work, too.
198
199First run
200
201----
[ccb50f5]202$ vncpasswd ~/.vnc/passwd
[23b84e1]203----
204
205and create a password. You will need it at least once.
206
207Now create `~/.vnc/xstartup` with the following contents:
208
209----
210#!/bin/sh
211
[2dbb768]212twm
[23b84e1]213----
214
[57087df]215Adjust the permissions:
216
217----
[ccb50f5]218$ chmod +x ~/.vnc/xstartup
[57087df]219----
220
[23b84e1]221Then start the server:
222
223----
[ccb50f5]224$ vncserver
[23b84e1]225----
226
[ece66da]227Then connect to it, start an `xterm`, set up Skype (username, password,
228enable X11 API and allow the `Skype4Py` client), quit from Skype, and
229start `skyped`. If you want to watch its traffic, enable debug messages
230and foreground mode:
[23b84e1]231
[ece66da]232----
233$ skyped -n -d
234----
[dffa24f]235
[123e45a]236== Features
[b6d26ac]237
[adce2de]238- Download nicks and away statuses from Skype
[b6d26ac]239
[39a0d64]240- Noticing joins / parts while we're connected
241
[93ece66]242- Sending messages
243
[8dd21bb]244- Receiving messages
245
[72f697b]246- Receiving away status changes
247
[62bb4e4]248- `skyped` (the tcp daemon that is a gateway between Skype and tcp)
[ed2e37f]249
[62bb4e4]250- Error handling when `skyped` is not running and when it exits
[afe221f]251
[62bb4e4]252- Marking received messages as seen so that Skype won't say there are unread messages
[440665b]253
[6627d92]254- Adding / removing contacts
255
[23411c6]256- Set away state when you do a `/away`.
257
[d3cbd17]258- When you `account off`, Skype will set status to `Offline`
[348a3a2]259
[d3cbd17]260- When you `account on`, Skype will set status to `Online`
[348a3a2]261
[d3cbd17]262- Detect when somebody wants to add you and ask for confirmation
[8dd21bb]263
[df9255d]264- Detect when somebody wants to transfer a file
265
[d6a371e]266- Group chat support:
267
268  * Detect if we're invited
269
270  * Send / receive group chat messages
[93ece66]271
[ff58445]272  * Invite others (using `/invite <nick>`)
[c5dd164]273
[d6a371e]274  * Part from group chats
[c5dd164]275
[ff58445]276  * Starting a group chat (using `/j #nick`)
277
[e103e73]278- Topic changes in group chats:
279
280  * Show the current topic (if any) on join
281
282  * Notice when someone changes the topic
283
284  * Support changing the topic using `/topic`
285
[fb36492]286- Viewing the profile using the `info` command.
287
[a06a0a5]288- Handling skype actions (when the `CHATMESSAGE` has `EMOTED` type)
289
[6b266f6]290- Setting your display name using the `nick` command.
[a06a0a5]291
[ccb50f5]292- Running Skype on a machine different to BitlBee is possible, the
293  communication is encrypted.
294
[9aed2f1]295- Managing outgoing calls (with call duration at the end, including
296  SkypeOut calls if you use a phone number instead of a nick):
[2eb4b1f]297
298  * `account set skype/call nick`
299  * `account set -del skype/call`
[123e45a]300
[e0074cb]301- Managing incoming calls via questions, just like when you add / remove
302  contacts.
[c5dd164]303
[9aed2f1]304- Querying the current SkypeOut balance:
305
306  * `account set skype/balance query`
307
[e0074cb]308== What needs to be done (aka. TODO)
[846ceffb]309
[d6a371e]310- Notice if foo invites bar. Currently you can see only that bar joined.
311
[6344674]312- Public chats. See
313  link:https://developer.skype.com/jira/browse/SCL-381[this feature
314  request], this is because it is still not possible (under Linux) to
315  `join_chat` to a public chat..
[d6a371e]316
[3511d80]317- Add `--disable-skyped` and `--disable-plugin` switches in case one wants to
318  build `bitlbee-skype` only for a public server or only for use with a public
319  server.
[fdde7d8]320
[0c60f96]321== I would like to have support for ...
322
[23b84e1]323If something does not work and it's not in the TODO section, then please
[e72d869]324contact me! Please also try the link:HACKING[git version] before reporting a bug, your
[80d9004]325problem may be already fixed there.
[23b84e1]326
327In fact, of course, I wrote this documentation after figured out how to do this
328setup, so maybe I left out some steps. If you needed 'any' additional tricks,
329then it would be nice to include them here.
[afe221f]330
[f78f949]331== Known bugs
332
[5652d43]333- None at this time.
[f78f949]334
[0c60f96]335== Screenshots
336
[668a122]337You can reach some screenshots link:shot[here].
[ddd3502]338
[25d87e4]339== Additional resources
[a60c3c2]340
[25d87e4]341You can reach the Changelog link:Changelog[here], and a gitweb interface
[6f01885]342http://vmiklos.hu/gitweb/?p=bitlbee-skype.git[here].
[a60c3c2]343
[c09f90f]344The Skype API documentation is
345https://developer.skype.com/Docs/ApiDoc[here] if you're interested.
346
[ceee9c7]347
348== Testimonials
349
350----
35100:56 < scathe> vmiklos: I like your skype plugin :)
352----
353
[6774d83]354----
355It's really working great so far.
356
357Good Job and thank you!
358Sebastian
359----
360
[587a921]361----
362Big respect for your work, i really appreciate it.
363
364Martin
365----
366
[93264f0]367----
368Thanks for bitlbee-skype. As a blind Linux user, I cannot use the
369skype GUI client because qt apps ar not accessible yet with the
370available screen readers. bitlbee-skype allows me to make use of skype
371without having to interact much with the GUI client, which helps me a
372lot.
373
374Lukas
375----
376
[e3d0b10]377----
37802:12 < newton> i must say, i love this little bee ;)
37902:15 < newton> tried it out today with the skype plugin, good work!
380----
381
[df482d4]382----
38318:10 < miCSu> it works fine
384----
385
[65e4020]386== Thanks
387
388for the following people:
389
[e49da25]390* Wilmer van der Gaast, for answering questions about the BitlBee plugin interface
[65e4020]391
[56a3616]392* Arkadiusz Wahlig, author of skype4py, for making suggestions to skyped
[65e4020]393
[9834597]394* Gabor Adam Toth (tg), for noticing extra code is needed to handle multiline
395  messages
396
397* Cristobal Palmer (tarheelcoxn), for helping to testing the plugin in a
398  timezone different to mine
[65e4020]399
[4834307]400* Risko Gergely, for his SkypeOut ideas
401
[437ddf5]402* people on `#bitlbee` for feedback
403
[eb9cbb8]404Back to my link:/projects[projects page].
405
[0c60f96]406// vim: ft=asciidoc
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