After downloading guppy, the directory structure will be similar to something like this:
conf/
dist/
extra/
guppy
irc.py
plugins/
README
The extra/ directory contains plugins that are either unfinished or very specific, you will usually not need them. (You can put them in plugins/ before running the install script, if you need them, but do please read them first if you decide to do so.)
The dist/ directory contains installation scripts for certain operating systems, this may be useful if you are using them. Currently available install scripts are for:
Archlinux
If this is not your distro, run the guppy executably once to launch the installer script.
$ ./guppy
It will prompt you with a list of plugins. Choose carefully, the default is minimal!
What IRC network do I connect to (just the name)? []: gnu
What is the IRC network address (eg. irc.example.org)? []: irc.gnu.org
What channels to automatically join (comma-separated, no spaces)? []: #bots
What nickname should I use? []:
...
After the configuration, the binary will exit, and you will need to start it again in screen or tmux with no arguments; guppy does not fork into the background.
$ screen -U ./guppy
or
$ tmux ./guppy
Once the bot joins the channel, if you loaded auth plugin, you will need to set up your password. Otherwise anyone who uses your nickname can control the bot. Use the "passwd" command in PM with the bot to set a new password.