otr

OTR [OPTION]

Command to control the OTR module. Without an option, /OTR INFO is printed.

This help contains three sections which are options, quickstart and files.

To add the OTR status bar (highly recommended):

/statusbar window add otr

Options

AUTH <secret>

Start or respond to an authentication process.

AUTHQ <question> <secret>

Start a SMP authentication process.

Example: /otr authq "My question is" "this is the secret"

AUTHABORT

Abort an ongoing authentication process.

CONTEXTS

List known contexts which basically list the known fingerprints and their state.

DEBUG

Turn on debugging.

DISTRUST <fingerprint>

Distrust a specific fingerprint. This command can be done inside a private window for which the current fingerprint of the other person will be used or else set fp to a human readable OTR fingerprint available with the above contexts command.

Examples: /otr distrust 487FFADA 5073FEDD C5AB5C14 5BB6C1FF 6D40D48A

FINISH

End the OTR session. This MUST be done inside a private conversation window.

FORGET <fingerprint>

Forget a specific fingerprint (deleted from the known fingerprints). The behavior is the same as the distrust command explained above.

GENKEY <name>

Generate OTR keys for a given account name. This is done automatically if someone tries to establish a secure session.

This process is done in a background worker and can take an arbitrary amount of time. The completion is checked when another irssi event is caught.

HELP

Print this help.

INFO

Display the OTR fingerprint(s) of all your account(s).

INIT

Initialize an OTR conversation within a private conversation window.

TRUST <fingerprint>

Trust a specific fingerprint. The behavior is the same as the forget and distrust commands explained above.

VERSION

Print the version of the OTR module.

Quickstart

Start a private conversation with the person you want to initiate a secure session. Once in the private message window:

/otr init

Key generation should start if no key is found for your account name. Once the process is done, either type a message which should automatically start the session or redo the init command.

Time to authenticate the person. Either use a shared secret exchange through phone or GPG-signed email or use the socialist millionaire problem mechanism (SMP) which is basically to ask a question for which the answer can only be known by the other person.

/otr auth <shared-secret> OR /otr authq "A question" <shared-secret>

Or to respond to an authentication:

/otr auth <secret>

Files

This otr modules creates a directory in $HOME/.irssi/otr and creates three files:

otr.key

Contains your OTR private key(s). NEVER shared this directory with someone else unless you know what you are doing.

otr.fp

The known fingerprints with their trust status.

otr.instag

Instance tag of the libotr. This should NEVER be copied to an other computer. If unsure, just ignore this file.

For more information on OTR, see https://otr.cypherpunks.ca/