---
name: "overchan"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "inn"
version: "2.7.4-4"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/overchan"
---

# overchan(8)

Batch update the INN overview database

## NAME

overchan - Batch update the INN overview database

## SYNOPSIS

**overchan** \[*file* ...\]

## DESCRIPTION

**overchan** reads overview data from the specified files or from standard input if no files are specified, and writes that data into the INN overview database.  (The file `"-"` means to read data from standard input as well.)

Normally, overview data is stored by **innd** for articles as they're accepted.  For performance, however, it's sometimes useful to have overview data written by a separate process.  To do this, set *useoverchan* to true in *inn.conf* to tell **innd** to not write overview data directly and then add an **overchan** channel in *newsfeeds*:

```
    overview!:*:Tc,WnteO:<pathbin>/overchan
```

where \<pathbin\> is *pathbin* in *inn.conf*.  Additionally, **overchan** can be used to bulk-load overview data from appropriately formatted batch files (such as overflow files from an **overchan** channel).

Each line of input should have the following format:

```
    <token> <arrived> <expires> <data>
```

where \<token\> is the storage API token of the article in textual form (surrounded by `"@"` characters), \<arrived\> is the arrival timestamp of the article in seconds since epoch, \<expires\> is the expiration time of the article in seconds since epoch or 0 if there is none, and \<data\> is the tab-separated overview data.  Each of these fields must be separated by a single space.

## HISTORY

Written by Rob Robertson \<rob@violet.berkeley.edu\> and Rich $alz \<rsalz@uunet.uu.net\> for InterNetNews.  Man page rewritten in POD by Russ Allbery \<eagle@eyrie.org\>.

## SEE ALSO

[inn.conf(5)](/inn.conf/5.md), [innd(8)](/innd/8.md), [newsfeeds(5)](/newsfeeds/5.md)