Table of Contents
Doors in Synchronet
This page is about Synchronet on Linux. Running Synchronet on Windows? See The Windows version: it has the SCFG settings for LORD FP as a Windows door, step by step.
Synchronet calls doors “external programs”. Each one gets a directory under /sbbs/xtrn and an entry in SCFG, under External Programs > Online Programs (Doors), inside a program section such as “Games”. DOS doors need dosemu2 for Synchronet first.
A DOS door, step by step
- Make a directory for the door under
/sbbs/xtrn, with a short name that is also a valid DOS name (8 characters or fewer, no spaces), for example/sbbs/xtrn/bre. Unzip the door into it. - Make sure the user Synchronet runs as owns the files:
chown -R <bbsuser> /sbbs/xtrn/bre. Doors write their data files as they run. - Run the door's setup program under
de(see the local DOS prompt). Wherever it asks for paths, give DOS paths: the game directory isE:\BRE\, and the drop file is inD:\. - If the door expects a batch file to start it (most do), check that it changes to the door's directory or doesn't need to.
external.bathas already changed to the start-up directory before it runs the command line. - Run
scfg, go to External Programs > Online Programs (Doors), pick a section and add the door with the settings below. - Log in to the BBS and run the door. Test entering, a few keys, and quitting back to the BBS.
- If the door has a daily maintenance program, add it as a timed event (SCFG > External Programs > Timed Events) or use the door's own “run maintenance at first login” option.
SCFG settings for a DOS door
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | What callers see. |
| Internal Code | e.g. BRE (up to 8 characters, unique). |
| Start-up Directory | ../xtrn/bre. Relative to /sbbs/ctrl, so it starts with ../xtrn/. A wrong path here is the most common cause of a door that hangs at start. |
| Command Line | e.g. bre.bat or start.bat %# (%# is the node number). |
| Multiple Concurrent Users | Yes, if the door supports it. |
| I/O Method | FOSSIL or UART (not Standard). |
| Native Executable/Script | No (“DOS program, use dosemu2”). |
| Use Shell or New Context | Yes. |
| BBS Drop File Type | What the door reads (below). |
| Place Drop File In | Node Directory (the door finds it on D:\). |
Drop file types
The drop file tells the door who the caller is, their time left and their terminal. Pick the one the door's documentation asks for:
| SCFG type | File | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| GAP (extended) | DOOR.SYS, 52 lines | TradeWars 2002, most 1990s doors. |
| GAP (original) | DOOR.SYS, 31 lines | LORD (either works). |
| RBBS/QuickBBS | DORINFO1.DEF | Barren Realms Elite, Esterian Conquest. |
| Mystic | DOOR32.SYS | Newer and native Linux doors. |
| Others | CHAIN.TXT, CALLINFO.BBS, PCBOARD.SYS, SFDOORS.DAT, DOORFILE.SR | Doors written for those BBS packages. |
A native Linux door
A Linux program that talks to the caller on standard input and output needs no dosemu2. The differences in SCFG:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Command Line | The full path to the program and its options. |
| Native Executable/Script | Yes. |
| I/O Method | Standard (stdio); turn input echo off if the program echoes for itself. |
| Use Shell or New Context | No. |
An rlogin door
To send players to another server (TWGS, LORD Server), the command line is Synchronet's ?rlogin script, with no drop file: ?rlogin host:port -t xtrn=A -P.
Working examples
The door entries on Kalgoorlie Retro BBS, in a section called “Games Hosted by Kalgoorlie Retro”:
| Door | Start-up directory | Command line | Drop file |
|---|---|---|---|
| LORD 4.06 | ../xtrn/lord4 | start.bat %# | GAP (original) |
| LORD FP (DOS) | ../xtrn/lordf | start.bat %# | GAP (original) |
| LORD FP (Linux) | ../xtrn/lordfp | /sbbs/xtrn/lordfp/lord -d %n -r %r (native) | GAP (original) |
| LORD - Windows Server | ?rlogin 10.0.0.8:5130 -t xtrn=A -P | none | |
| TradeWars 2002 | ../xtrn/tw2002 | tw.bat %# | GAP (extended) |
| Barren Realms Elite | ../xtrn/bre | bre.bat | DORINFO1.DEF |
| Esterian Conquest | ../xtrn/EC | ec.bat | DORINFO1.DEF |
Their batch files:
REM tw.bat - TradeWars 2002 @ECHO OFF SET RTM=EXTMAX 1024 TW2002 TWNODE=%1 SHARE VIDEO=SLOW > TWERR%1.LOG
REM bre.bat - Barren Realms Elite @ECHO OFF E: CD \BRE SRDOOR BRE
REM ec.bat - Esterian Conquest (game in a subdirectory) @ECHO OFF CD GAME01 ..\ECGAME D:\DORINFO1.DEF CD ..