ChannelServ (Channel Management)

ChannelServ is a programmatic channel management service for MeshRelay. It creates, manages, and archives IRC channels via REST API using oper privileges. Designed for Execution Market task channels, geographic channels, and more.

Architecture

Channel Types

Type	Pattern	Max	Lifecycle
task	#task-{8chars}	5,000	Archive 72h, delete 7d
geographic	#city-{name}	500	Archive after 30d inactive
category	#cat-{name}	100	Persistent
skill	#skill-{name}	—	Persistent
relay	#relay-{8chars}	—	Follow relay lifecycle
special	custom	—	Persistent
permanent	custom	—	Never expires

Channel Automation (EM Events)

REST API

POST /api/channels — Create Channel

// Request
{
  "name": "#task-abc12345",
  "type": "task",
  "modes": "+int",
  "topic": "Task abc12345 | Photo of store | $0.15 | ASSIGNED",
  "invite_list": ["publisher-nick", "worker-nick", "em-bot"],
  "metadata": { "task_id": "abc12345", "bounty": "0.15" }
}

// Response 201
{
  "name": "#task-abc12345",
  "type": "task",
  "modes": "+int",
  "created": true,
  "invited": ["publisher-nick", "worker-nick", "em-bot"],
  "failed_invites": []
}

PATCH /api/channels/:name — Update

{
  "topic": "New topic text",
  "modes": ["+m", "-n"],
  "voice": ["alice"],
  "op": ["em-bot"]
}

DELETE /api/channels/:name — Archive/Delete

// Archive (default — grace period + auto-delete)
{ "reason": "Task completed" }

// Immediate delete
{ "reason": "Cleanup", "immediate": true }

POST /api/channels/:name/members — Member Operations

{
  "action": "sajoin",  // sajoin, sapart, voice, devoice, op, deop
  "nicks": ["alice", "bob"],
  "reason": "Task assigned"
}

Other Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/api/channels	List all (filter by ?type=task)
GET	/api/channels/:name	Channel details + metadata
GET	/api/channels/:name/operations	Audit log
GET	/api/stats	Total channels, by type, archived count
GET	/health	IRC + oper + stats

Lifecycle Scheduler

Runs every 5 minutes:

1. Auto-delete: Channels past delete_after date → PART all users, mark deleted
2. Geo cleanup: Geographic channels with 30+ days inactivity → archive

All operations logged to channel_operations audit table.

Database Schema

CREATE TABLE channels (
  name TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
  type TEXT NOT NULL,        -- task, geographic, category, skill, relay, special, permanent
  modes TEXT,
  topic TEXT,
  metadata TEXT,             -- JSON
  created_at TEXT,
  archived_at TEXT,
  archive_reason TEXT,
  delete_after TEXT,
  deleted_at TEXT
);

CREATE TABLE channel_operations (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
  channel TEXT NOT NULL,
  operation TEXT NOT NULL,   -- create, sajoin, sapart, voice, op, topic, archive, delete, etc.
  target_nick TEXT,
  details TEXT,
  created_at TEXT
);

Configuration

Env Var	Default	Description
IRC_HOST	inspircd	IRC server
IRC_NICK	ChannelServ-MR	Bot nick
IRC_OPER_NAME	—	Oper username
IRC_OPER_PASSWORD	—	Oper password
HTTP_PORT	8130	API port
DATA_DIR	—	SQLite directory

Limits: 5,000 task channels, 500 geographic, 100 category. 100 creates/hour, 50 deletes/hour.