Support Troubleshooting Updated 2026-06-29

Certificate fingerprint warnings

When Eggy BNC connects to a remote IRC network over SSL/TLS, ZNC checks the server certificate. If it cannot verify the certificate normally, it may show a fingerprint warning.

You may see a command like:

/msg *status AddTrustedServerFingerprint <fingerprint>

Do not add a fingerprint just to make the warning disappear. A fingerprint is a trust decision.

Common causes

Fingerprint warnings can happen when:

  • the IRC server uses a self-signed certificate
  • the certificate chain is incomplete
  • the server hostname does not match the certificate
  • the server pool rotates different certificates
  • the network has outdated TLS configuration

What to check

Confirm the server hostname and SSL port from the network's official documentation. Make sure you are using the correct SSL/TLS hostname, not a plain-only server name.

When to ask support

If you are unsure, open a ticket with the network name, server, port, and fingerprint shown. Do not blindly trust unknown fingerprints, especially on networks where account passwords or NickServ authentication are used.

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