ACCOUNTS.md

Account Management Guide

DikuMUD Client provides comprehensive account management features to help you organize and quickly connect to multiple MUD servers.

Overview

Accounts are stored in ~/.config/dikuclient/accounts.json in JSON format. The file is created automatically when you save your first account. Account credentials are stored locally on your machine.

Creating Accounts

Interactive Account Creation

Run the client without any arguments to enter the interactive menu:

./dikuclient

You'll be presented with:

1. A list of saved accounts (if any)
2. Option to connect to a new server
3. Option to exit

When connecting to a new server, you'll be prompted to:

• Enter the hostname
• Enter the port (default: 4000)
• Username (optional, for auto-login and identification)
• Password (optional, for auto-login)

Save While Connecting

Connect to a server and save the account in one command:

./dikuclient --host mud.example.com --port 4000 --save-account

This will prompt you for:

• Account name (for easy identification)
• Username (optional, for auto-login)
• Password (optional, for auto-login)

Example Session

$ ./dikuclient --host aardmud.org --port 23 --save-account
Enter account name: AardMUD
Enter username (optional): mycharacter
Enter password (optional): mypassword
Account 'AardMUD' saved successfully.

Note: If you don't provide a username, you can still connect to the server but won't have saved credentials for auto-login.

Using Saved Accounts

Connect Using Account Name

./dikuclient --account AardMUD

The client will automatically:

1. Connect to the saved host and port
2. Wait for login prompts
3. Send username when prompted
4. Send password when prompted

Select from Interactive Menu

./dikuclient

Then choose the account number from the list.

Managing Accounts

List All Accounts

./dikuclient --list-accounts

Example output:

Saved accounts:
  1. AardMUD (aardmud.org:23)
     Username: mycharacter
  2. DikuMUD (diku.mud.org:4000)
     Username: player1
  3. TestMUD (localhost:4000)

Delete an Account

./dikuclient --delete-account AardMUD

This removes the account from your saved accounts list.

Update an Account

To update an account, simply save it again with the same name:

./dikuclient --host aardmud.org --port 23 --save-account

Enter the same account name, and the existing account will be updated with the new details.

Auto-Login Feature

When you save username and password with an account, the client will automatically detect common login prompts and send your credentials.

Supported Prompts

The client recognizes these patterns (case-insensitive):

• Username prompts: "name:", "login:", "account:", "character:"
• Password prompts: "password:", "pass:"

Auto-Login Sequence

1. Client connects to the MUD server
2. Waits for username prompt
3. Automatically sends username
4. Waits for password prompt
5. Automatically sends password
6. You're logged in and ready to play!

Visual Feedback

The client shows gray messages when auto-login is happening:

[Auto-login: sending username 'mycharacter']
[Auto-login: sending password]

Security Considerations

• Account credentials are stored in plain text in ~/.config/dikuclient/accounts.json
• The file has permissions 0600 (readable/writable only by you)
• Keep your computer secure to protect your credentials
• Consider using different passwords for MUDs than for important accounts

Example Account File

Here's what the accounts.json file looks like:

{
  "accounts": [
    {
      "name": "AardMUD",
      "host": "aardmud.org",
      "port": 23,
      "username": "mycharacter",
      "password": "mypassword"
    },
    {
      "name": "LocalTest",
      "host": "localhost",
      "port": 4000,
      "username": "",
      "password": ""
    }
  ]
}

Tips and Tricks

1. Quick Connect: Create accounts for your favorite MUDs and use --account flag for instant connection
2. Multiple Characters: Save multiple accounts for the same MUD with different usernames
3. No Credentials: You can save accounts without username/password for servers that don't require login
4. Account Names: Use descriptive names like "AardMUD-Main" and "AardMUD-Alt" for clarity

Troubleshooting

Auto-login not working?

The auto-login feature looks for common prompt patterns. If your MUD uses different prompts:

• The credentials are still saved
• You can manually type your username and password
• Consider reporting the prompt format so we can add support

Can't find config file?

The config file is located at:

• Linux/Mac: ~/.config/dikuclient/accounts.json
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.config\dikuclient\accounts.json

Want to edit accounts manually?

You can directly edit the accounts.json file with any text editor. The format is straightforward JSON.