Logging & Search
repartee includes a built-in logging system backed by SQLite with optional encryption and full-text search.
Configuration
[logging]
enabled = true
encrypt = false
retention_days = 0 # 0 = keep forever
event_retention_hours = 72 # auto-prune events after 72h (0 = keep forever)
exclude_types = [] # e.g. ["join", "part", "quit"]
Storage
Logs are stored in ~/.repartee/logs/messages.db using SQLite with WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) mode for concurrent read/write performance.
Database schema
Each message is stored with:
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
msg_id | TEXT | Unique UUID |
network | TEXT | Connection/network ID |
buffer | TEXT | Channel or query name |
timestamp | INTEGER | Unix timestamp |
msg_type | TEXT | Message type (privmsg, join, etc.) |
nick | TEXT | Sender nick |
text | TEXT | Message content |
highlight | INTEGER | 1 if message is a highlight |
ref_id | TEXT | Reference to primary row (for fan-out dedup) |
Fan-out deduplication
Events like QUIT and NICK affect multiple channels. repartee stores a single full row for the first channel and reference rows (with empty text and a ref_id pointing to the primary) for subsequent channels. This saves storage while preserving per-channel history.
Encryption
When encrypt = true, message text is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage. The encryption key is derived from a passphrase stored in ~/.repartee/.env:
# ~/.repartee/.env
REPARTEE_LOG_KEY=your-secret-passphrase
Encrypted logs can only be searched/read with the correct key.
Full-text search
repartee uses SQLite FTS5 for fast full-text search across all logs:
/log search <query>
Search supports standard FTS5 syntax including phrase matching ("exact phrase"), prefix matching (prefix*), and boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).
Commands
/log status
Show logging status, database size, and message count.
/log search <query>
Search across all logged messages.
Read-only log browser
Start repartee in log browser mode to inspect stored history without connecting to IRC, running scripts, or starting the web frontend:
repartee l
repartee logs
In this mode the log database is opened read-only and IRC connections, the web service, scripts, and autoconnect are all disabled. The normal TUI is rendered, but the buffer list is built from the catalog of networks and channels found in the logs, the topic bar shows log metadata for each buffer, and the status line indicates that you are in log mode.
Loading more history
Buffers are loaded lazily — opening a buffer fetches the most recent page; scrolling up automatically pages older messages from disk. Day separators and network headers are inserted between sections so long histories stay readable.
Slash commands in log mode
Only a small dispatcher is active in log browser mode:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/search <query> | Full-text search inside the read-only database (plain-text logs only — encrypted text is not indexed) |
/quit | Exit the browser |
/help | Show available log-mode commands |
You can also press Q at any time to quit, exactly like /quit.
Encrypted logs
When encrypt = true, log text is stored as ciphertext and /search cannot index it, so search is unavailable in log browser mode for encrypted databases. Reading buffers still works — messages are decrypted on the fly using the key stored in ~/.repartee/.env.
Chat history backlog
When you open a channel, query, or DCC chat buffer, repartee automatically loads the most recent messages from the log database — so you immediately see recent context without scrolling.
/set display.backlog_lines 20 # default — load last 20 messages
/set display.backlog_lines 50 # load more history
/set display.backlog_lines 0 # disable backlog
Backlog messages appear at the top of the buffer, followed by a separator:
─── End of backlog (20 lines) ───
Date separator lines are automatically inserted between messages from different days for easier history reading. Day-changed markers also appear at midnight in all active chat buffers. Both the date_separator and backlog_end formats are customizable via the theming system.
Backlog messages do not trigger highlights or notifications, and are not re-logged to the database (they already exist). This works for autoconnect channels, manual /join, queries opened via incoming messages, and DCC chat reconnections.
Event retention
Event messages (join, part, quit, nick, kick, mode changes) are high-volume noise that accumulates over time. The event_retention_hours setting automatically prunes old event messages while keeping actual chat history intact.
/set logging.event_retention_hours 72 # default — keep 3 days of events
/set logging.event_retention_hours 24 # aggressive — only 1 day
/set logging.event_retention_hours 0 # disable — keep events forever
Pruning runs on startup and every hour in the background. It only deletes rows with type = 'event' — chat messages, actions, notices, and CTCPs are never touched regardless of their age.
This complements retention_days which controls the maximum age for all message types. When both are set, event messages are pruned at whichever threshold is reached first.
Batched writes
Messages are written to the database in batches (50 rows or every 1 second) using an async writer task connected via a tokio mpsc channel. This minimizes SQLite lock contention and ensures the UI never blocks on disk I/O.