Quoting the official //weechat// documentation: //"The Relay plugin can act as an IRC proxy: it will simulate an IRC server, and you can connect to WeeChat with any other IRC client (including WeeChat itself). You can define one port by IRC server, or one generic port for all servers."//

Weechat supports two different relay protocols: ''irc'' and ''weechat''. The ''weechat'' protocol is easier to set up but it has the disadvantage that you can only connect to it with a client that supports it (for example, //weechat// itself, //QWeeChat// or //weechat-android//). The ''irc'' one is a bit longer to setup depending on how many irc networks you connect to, but it is very easy to use and you can connect to it with almost all irc clients. Choose between the two following setups the one that best suits your needs.

**Using the IRC protocol:**

Configuring //weechat//'s irc relay plugin turns out to be really simple and straightforward. The great advantage over //irssi//'s proxy plugin for //sdf/sdf-eu// users is that in //weechat// you only need one port for all your servers whereas in //irssi// you need a different port for each server. This means that you need as many open ports on the host as irc servers you connect to.
 
//sdf/sdf-eu// users have one available port which is their //id// number. To find out your port type ''id'' at the terminal. You will see something similar to this:
 
''odin:~$ id''

''uid=007(bond) gid=500(arpa) groups=500(arpa),600(MetaARPA),700(dba),900(motd)''
 
Only the //uid// part is relevant here, **uid=007(bond)** which means that **007** is the 'port' and **bond** is the 'username'. Let's now assume that user **bond** wants to use the password **james_bond** (This way, you will understand the examples better).
 
To begin with, start //weechat-curses//, connect to your networks/servers and join your favourite channels.
 
**1.- Inside //weechat//:**
 
* First check that you have the relay plugin installed typing:

  /plugin

The relay plugin should be loaded by default. If it is not, for any reason, you can load it with: 

  /plugin load relay
 
Then, start the configuration as follows:
 
* Add the irc proxy, for all servers

  /relay add irc port  #Remember that your port is your id number

//Example//: /relay add irc 007
 
* Set the password

  /set relay.network.password "password"

//Example//: /set relay.network.password "james_bond"
 
**2.- Now on the client side:**
 
Configure your client to connect to //sdf.org// or //sdfeu.org// through your port.
 
//Example//: //sdfeu.org/007//
 
One important consideration here is to remember that since you are going to use the same port for all your servers, you have to make sure that your client sends the password in the form **server:password**. You can use the PASS command for that (PASS server:password).
 
Examples of adding the servers and connecting to them providing the password (the syntax may be different depending on the client you are using).

  /server add freenode sdfeu.org/007 -password=freenode:james_bond

and then:

  /connect freenode

You have to repeat the process for each server:

  /server add oftc sdfeu.org/007 -password=oftc:james_bond
 
and then:

  /connect oftc

Keep going until you have added all your servers:

  /server add sdf sdfeu.org/007 -password=sdf:james_bond

and then:

  /connect sdf

You will see how your client automatically connects to the servers you have just added and how your favourite channels appear in the client. As a bonus point, weechat will send the backlog to your client.

**Using the WEECHAT protocol:**

Again, this is easier to setup but it has the disadvantage that your client must support the weechat protocol. For this protocol you only need one single port.

**1.- Inside //weechat//:**

* First add the relay

  /relay add weechat port

//Example//: /relay add weechat 007

* Set the password

  /set relay.network.password "password"

//Example//: /set relay.network.password “james_bond”

**2.- Now on the client side:**

Simply connect from your client to //sdfeu.org// using your port and your password. Your client will connect to all networks and channels and retrieve the backlog.