mud-telnet

name	mud-telnet
description	Connect to the running Oxidus MUD via telnet to test in-game functionality, reload objects with update, run developer/admin commands, and verify colour rendering. Use when a task requires in-game verification or execution.

MUD Telnet Access

You can connect to the running Oxidus MUD via telnet to test in-game functionality. This skill covers the connection details, the account → character login flow, and common recipes.

When to Use Telnet

Use telnet access for:

• Testing in-game functionality (commands, output, messages, etc.)
• Reloading objects after code changes (update /path/to/file.lpc)
• Running developer/admin commands
• Verifying colour code rendering

Do NOT use for:

• Simple file editing (use file tools directly)
• Operations that can be done from the shell or via fluffos_validate
• Long-running interactive sessions

Connection Details

• Host: localhost
• Port: 1336 (plain telnet)
  • Port 1337 is the TLS port — raw telnet cannot speak TLS, so always use 1336.
• Login form: character@account then password (see below)

Oxidus login is account-based with character selection. Each account can own multiple characters. The login object (/adm/obj/login.lpc) accepts a combined character@account form at the account prompt, which selects that character directly and skips the character-select menu — this is the form to script, because it logs straight into the world with no menu step.

There is a 60-second login timeout: the login object self-destructs 60 seconds after connecting if you haven't entered the world. Keep the whole handshake well under that.

Security Protocol

NEVER put credentials directly in command lines. Use environment variables (these are already set in the environment):

export OX_TELNET_HOST=127.0.0.1
export OX_TELNET_PORT=1336
export OX_TELNET_USERNAME=character@account
export OX_TELNET_PASSWORD=yourpassword

OX_TELNET_USERNAME is already the combined character@account login string — send it verbatim at the account prompt.

Login Sequence

After connecting you'll see the login banner, then:

Login as which account?        <- send: character@account
Please enter your password:    <- send: the password

If the character belongs to the account, you're dropped straight into the world. (If you send a bare account name instead of character@account, you'll land on a numbered character-select menu and have to send the character's list number or n to create one — avoid this by always using the character@account form.)

The first character ever created on a fresh MUD is auto-granted admin.

Clean Output

Two per-character preferences clutter raw telnet output; turn both off at the start of any session that isn't specifically testing them. Both are saved prefs — set once and they persist across logins.

Colour

Colour is on/off (no high/low modes), spelled colour (Canadian):

> colour off      # no colour codes — use this by default for clean grep
> colour on       # true-colour ANSI output
> colour list     # list available colours
> colour show 42  # preview colour index 42

ANSI codes make output hard to read and grep, so default to colour off. Flip to colour on only when colour rendering itself is what you're verifying.

Feedback decorations

System feedback (_ok/_error/_info/_warn/_question) is prefixed with a status glyph — •/●/◦/▲/◆, or o without unicode. That's the leading o you see on lines like o Activity logged.. Turn it off:

> set feedback off    # strip the leading status glyph
> set feedback on     # restore it (default)

Default to set feedback off alongside colour off for clean, greppable output. With it off, _ok etc. print just the bare message.

Activity Logging

Precede every in-game command with the claude command, e.g. claude updating the score command. This writes a timestamped line to the claude log (/log/claude) and pings any online admin so they can watch the session in real time. It's a cmds/dev/ command, so it requires the dev access the claude character already has.

> claude <description of what you're about to do>
• Activity logged.
> <actual command>

Log the quit too. The log is an audit trail of what the agent did, so a one-line description before each command keeps it readable.

Connection Pattern

Single Command

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "set feedback off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "claude %s\n" "DESCRIPTION"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND"; sleep 1.5; printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Replace DESCRIPTION with what you're doing and COMMAND with the actual command.

Multiple Commands

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "set feedback off\n"; sleep 0.4; \
printf "claude %s\n" "DESCRIPTION_1"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND_1"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude %s\n" "DESCRIPTION_2"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND_2"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Add more printf "claude ...\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "..."; sleep 1.5; blocks for additional commands. Since colour and feedback are saved prefs, the two setup lines can be dropped once they're set on the character. Keep the total well under the 60-second login timeout. Sleep timings give each command time to process; increase them if output is truncated.

Common Recipes

Update / Reload a File

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "set feedback off\n"; sleep 0.4; \
printf "claude updating /path/to/file.lpc\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "update %s\n" "/path/to/file.lpc"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Run a Command and Read Output

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "set feedback off\n"; sleep 0.4; \
printf "claude running COMMAND\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Update Then Test

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "set feedback off\n"; sleep 0.4; \
printf "claude updating /path/to/file.lpc\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "update %s\n" "/path/to/file.lpc"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude testing the change\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND_THAT_USES_IT"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Verify Colour Rendering

bash -lc '(sleep 0.5; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_USERNAME"; sleep 0.6; printf "%s\n" "$OX_TELNET_PASSWORD"; sleep 1.5; printf "colour on\n"; sleep 0.4; \
printf "claude checking colour rendering\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "%s\n" "COMMAND"; sleep 1.5; \
printf "colour off\n"; sleep 0.4; printf "claude quitting\n"; sleep 0.3; printf "quit\n"; sleep 0.3) | telnet "$OX_TELNET_HOST" "$OX_TELNET_PORT"'

Important Rules

1. Log every action with claude <description> before each command, including the quit.
2. Always use quit to log out — never exit or just disconnecting.
3. Set environment variables first — never embed credentials in the command string.
4. Log in with the character@account form to skip the character menu.
5. Use port 1336 (plain telnet); 1337 is TLS and won't work with telnet.
6. Keep the whole session under the 60-second login timeout.

Reading Telnet Output

• System feedback comes from the _ok / _error / _info / _warn helpers, so success/failure shows up as those styled lines.
• With colour on, output contains true-colour ANSI escapes; colour off gives clean, greppable text.
• update reports success or the compile error; a failed reload prints the driver error, which is your signal the file didn't load.

Error Handling

• Connection refused: the MUD isn't running on localhost:1336.
• Stuck at "Login as which account?": account/character names are wrong, or you sent a bare account name and are now at the character menu — re-send using the character@account form.
• "That password is incorrect.": wrong password (3 failures disconnects you).
• No output: increase the sleep timings between commands.
• Always finish with quit, even if errors occurred.