# Connecting with Thunderbird

[Thunderbird](/https://www.thunderbird.net) is an open-source mail client that can also be used for IRC.

# Click on the menu button, then click on `New`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-new.png

# Click on `Chat Account`\\

Attach:thunderbird-chat.png

# Choose `IRC`\\

Attach:thunderbird-protocol.png

# Fill in your nickname and server (it will look like `example.ircnow.org`).\\

Attach:thunderbird-server.png

# If you have a NickServ password, you can enter it here. Otherwise, leave this blank. **NOTE**: This is not the same as the bouncer password from IRCNow.\\

Attach:thunderbird-password.png

# Set port to 31337 and check `SSL`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-options.png

# Review the settings and click `Done`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-summary.png

# Click on the menu button again, then select `Preferences`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-preferences.png

# Click `I accept the risk!`\\

Attach:thunderbird-config.png

# In the search bar, type your username. Find your account number (in this case 1). Then, right-click on the empty area and click `New`, then `String`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-string.png

# Type `messenger.account.accountN.options.serverPassword` in the field, where N is the number of the account. In this case, it is 1.\\

Attach:thunderbird-string2.png

# Press `OK`, then enter your bouncer username, the network you want, and bouncer password in the format `username/network:password` -- for example, if your username is `john` and you want to connect to `ircnow`, you might fill in `john/ircnow:abcde12345`.\\

Attach:thunderbird-string3.png

# If you see a message saying ZNC is not yet connected, type `/znc connect` -- wait a few minutes to connect.