Settings Explained

Settings Explained

Everything in Settings (⌘,), tab by tab, switch by switch. (The basic Server / Identity / Authentication fields are in Getting Started.)

Connections — the server list

Left side: your servers. + adds one, − deletes the selected one. The dot shows its live state; Connect/Disconnect sits at the top of the editor.

User Modes (set on connect)

Switches the server flips on you automatically, right after every connect:

Mode	What it does
+i Invisible	hides you from /who and /names for people not in a channel with you
+w Wallops	receive network-wide announcements from IRC operators
+d Deaf	stop receiving channel chat; you still see joins, parts, topics and modes
+x Hidden host	masks your address as account.users.undernet.org — needs an X login (put it in On Connect below). Recommended

On Connect — the perform list

Commands Relay types for you after every connect, top to bottom. This is where logins go.

• Each row is one command plus a delay in seconds. The delay is a wait before that command is sent — use it to let the connection settle or a previous login land.
• Write commands exactly as you'd type them in the message box (/msg x@channels.undernet.org login name pass) or as raw IRC (MODE %nick% +x).
• %nick% is replaced with your current nickname — useful because your nick can change on collision.
• Drag rows to reorder; − removes one. The whole list always finishes before any channel is joined.

Classic Undernet setup: row 1 = your X login. Combined with the +x user mode, your real address is hidden before you enter a single room.

Delay before joining channels

An extra pause (seconds) between the last perform command and the channel joins — give a login a moment to take effect, so you join rooms with your host already masked.

Auto-join Channels

The rooms Relay enters for you on every connect (after the performs and the delay). Type a name and press Add — the # is optional. The − removes one. After an automatic reconnect, Relay also rejoins whatever else was open in your sidebar.

Options

Switch	What it does
Connect on launch	this network dials as soon as Relay starts
Reconnect automatically	redial with growing pauses when the connection drops unexpectedly

ASCII Art tab

• Your personal art lines, available under 🎨 → My Art and in right-click menus.
• Name = the menu label. Template = the actual line; put %nick% where a name should go.
• Colours are mIRC codes (the \x03 control character + a colour number 0–15). The dark strip under each row previews exactly what will be sent.

Appearance tab

Setting	What it does
Appearance	System, Light or Dark — follows or overrides macOS
Show timestamps	the small clock next to names in chat. Off = cleaner, denser look

Notifications tab

Setting	What it does
Notify on mentions	a Notification Center banner when someone says your name (or a keyword) in a channel — only while Relay is in the background
Notify on direct messages	same, for private messages
Dock icon count	the total unread number on Relay's Dock icon
Highlight keywords	extra words that count as mentions — red badge, highlight and notification. Your nickname always counts

Channel-specific settings (modes, bans, topic) live on the channel itself: double-click the topic bar. X service options are under the toolbar sliders → Channel Settings (X) — see The X Service.