%28docs%29/getting-started/page.mdx

---
title: Getting Started - SudoBot
short_name: Getting Started
---

import Callout from "@/components/Alerts/Callout";

# Getting Started

Thanks for choosing SudoBot! In this article you'll learn how to set up a custom instance of SudoBot and configure it so that it does exactly what you want.

<Callout type="info">
    If you don't want to set the bot up yourself and want a pre-hosted solution
    for free, you can contact
    [@rakinar2](https://discord.com/users/774553653394538506) at Discord. Your
    Discord server should have at least 50 members to be eligible.
</Callout>

## Requirements

These are the requirements to host SudoBot:

-   A Discord API Application token (Go to [Discord Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications) to obtain a token)
-   [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) version 18 or higher
-   A PostgreSQL database (If you're looking for a free PostgreSQL hosting service, check out [Neon](https://neon.tech))

Additionally, you can also set these up if you want to use them:

-   Cat and dog API Token (for fetching cat and dog images using `cat` and `dog` commands, the tokens can be obtained at [thecatapi.com](https://thecatapi.com) and [thedogapi.com](https://thedogapi.com))
-   Pixabay API Token to use the `pixabay` command (can be obtained [here](https://pixabay.com/api/docs/))
-   A Discord Webhook URL for sending error reports

## Cloning the project and setting up

First of all, clone the repository using [git](https://git-scm.com) or download the [latest release](https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot/releases/latest) and extract it.

To clone the repository, run this command:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot
```

After this command completes, go inside of the directory. (`sudobot/` if you cloned it using the above command)

Then, install the dependencies using the following command:

```bash
npm install -D
```

## Building the bot

Now we need to invoke the TypeScript compiler (`tsc`) to build the bot and generate compiled JavaScript files that the Node.js interpreter can run. To compile the bot, simply run:

```bash
npm run build
```

## JSON Configuration Schema

Generate the JSON config schema files using the following command:

```bash
npm run gen:schema
```

## The environment variables

Create a file named `.env` inside of the root project directory. This file will contain some secret information that the bot needs, to work. (e.g. bot token)

Then you need to add a few variables to `.env` file:

```bash
# This is your bot's token.
TOKEN=

# This is the home server, where the bot will search for emojis.
HOME_GUILD_ID=

# The client ID of your bot application.
CLIENT_ID=

# Database URL
DB_URL=
```

Here:

-   `TOKEN` is your bot token. Make sure to put the correct token here, otherwise the bot won't be able to log in to Discord. The bot token can be obtained from [https://discord.com/developers/applications](https://discord.com/developers/applications).
-   `HOME_GUILD_ID` is the main server ID of the bot. The bot expects that it will always stay in that server, and it will search for the emojis there. You can download the emojis and use them freely. To download, go to [the downloads list](https://www.onesoftnet.eu.org/downloads/sudo/emojis/).
-   `CLIENT_ID` is the client ID of your bot application. You can obtain the client ID for your bot at [https://discord.com/developers/applications](https://discord.com/developers/applications).
-   `DB_URL` is the database URL. We'll be talking about this just in a moment. You can [jump](getting-started.md#setting-up-a-database-for-the-bot) into that section right now if you want.

A few more environment variables can be specified:

-   `DEBUG`: Used by the [Prisma](https://prisma.io/) ORM. This enables extra debug logging, aka Verbose Mode.
-   `SUDO_ENV` and `NODE_ENV`: If one of these is set to `dev`, then the bot will enter Verbose Mode, and log everything that it does or happens. This is useful if you want to debug the bot or troubleshoot something.
-   `CAT_API_TOKEN`: The Cat API token to use when fetching cat images, using `cat` command.
-   `DOG_API_TOKEN`: The Dog API token to use when fetching dog images, using `dog` command.

## Setting up a Database for the bot

As we've said [before](getting-started.md#configuration-and-the-environment-variables), `DB_URL` is the environment variable that you need to put in `.env` and the value of this variable should be the database URL. SudoBot at the moment, only supports **PostgreSQL**.

<Callout type="warning">
    As of November 28, 2023, we no longer officially support MySQL as a database
    for being used with SudoBot. Please migrate to PostgreSQL.
</Callout>

<Callout type="info">
    If you want a free PostgreSQL hosting service, check out
    [Neon](https://neon.tech). It's easy to set up, and completely free of cost.
</Callout>

Your database URL should look like this if you're using PostgreSQL:

```
postgresql://username:password@hostname:port/dbname
```

-   `username` is your database username (usually this is `postgres`)
-   `password` is your database password
-   `hostname` is your database hostname
-   `port` is your database port (usually this is `5432`)
-   `dbname` is your database name (usually this is `postgres`)

After you have set the database URL inside `.env`, you can run the following command:

```bash
npx prisma db push
```

This will create the necessary tables for you inside the database.

## Configuration

Now it's time to configure the bot. Now, SudoBot comes with the config files bundled already, but you should edit them.

**Step 1.** Open up `config/config.json` and you have two options:

Remove everything inside of the file, and just put an empty object `{}` inside of that file and save it if you don't want to configure anything and just want the default settings. Or,

Manually set the settings inside of the file. If you're following along this documentation and have run the script `generate-config-schema.js` (previously specified [here](getting-started.md#cloning-the-project-and-setting-up)), then when you edit the file, you can remove everything inside of the file, and put the following JSON object inside of that file:

```json
{
    "$schema": "./schema/config.json",
    "guild_id": {}
}
```

Replace `guild_id` with your main guild ID, where you want to use the bot. If you want to use the bot in multiple servers, specify them here, as the keys of the root object.

If you're using an IDE or editor like [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) or [WebStorm](https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/), you can hit Ctrl + Space (or Cmd + Space if you're on a Mac) to get auto completion and see available options. The IDE/editor will highlight errors inside of your config file if you have any.

**Step 2.** Open up `config/system.json` file and similarly here you'll get autocompletion. But you don't need to delete everything here, just change the `system_admins` property, which is an array of user IDs. Just add your User ID into the array. System Admins are those who have full access to the bot and can control everything. They are able to run commands like `-eval`.

## Registering Application Commands

If you want to use the application slash commands and context menu commands of SudoBot, you have to register it to the API first. To do that, simply run:

```bash
node scripts/deploy-commands.js
```

Pass the `--guild` option to register guild commands instead of global commands, and `--clear` to clear all the registered slash commands in the API.

## Starting the bot

Now it's time to start the bot. Run the following command to start the bot:

```bash
npm start
```

And if everything was configured correctly, the bot will log in successfully to Discord. Congratulations, you've set up your own instance of SudoBot!

## Emojis

The bot uses some custom emojis and it will try to find those emojis in the Home Guild (The main server, which is configured in `HOME_GUILD_ID` environment variable).

The emojs are freely available for download at the [download site](https://www.onesoftnet.eu.org/downloads/sudo/emojis/). The bot uses some other emojis as well, if you want you can download them from [emoji.gg](https://emoji.gg).

If you don't add these emojis, the bot may send messages that look weird or too simple.

## Help & Support

In case if you're facing issues, feel free to open an issue at [GitHub](https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot/issues). Or you can contact the Author of the bot in the following ways:

-   Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
-   Discord: [@rakinar2](https://discord.com/users/774553653394538506)
-   Discord Servers: [OSN's server](https://discord.gg/JJDy9SHzGv)

Give the repository a star to show your support! We'll be really thankful if you do.
1	---
2	title: Getting Started - SudoBot
3	short_name: Getting Started
4	---
5
6	import Callout from "@/components/Alerts/Callout";
7
8	# Getting Started
9
10	Thanks for choosing SudoBot! In this article you'll learn how to set up a custom instance of SudoBot and configure it so that it does exactly what you want.
11
12	<Callout type="info">
13	If you don't want to set the bot up yourself and want a pre-hosted solution
14	for free, you can contact
15	[@rakinar2](https://discord.com/users/774553653394538506) at Discord. Your
16	Discord server should have at least 50 members to be eligible.
17	</Callout>
18
19	## Requirements
20
21	These are the requirements to host SudoBot:
22
23	- A Discord API Application token (Go to [Discord Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications) to obtain a token)
24	- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) version 18 or higher
25	- A PostgreSQL database (If you're looking for a free PostgreSQL hosting service, check out [Neon](https://neon.tech))
26
27	Additionally, you can also set these up if you want to use them:
28
29	- Cat and dog API Token (for fetching cat and dog images using `cat` and `dog` commands, the tokens can be obtained at [thecatapi.com](https://thecatapi.com) and [thedogapi.com](https://thedogapi.com))
30	- Pixabay API Token to use the `pixabay` command (can be obtained [here](https://pixabay.com/api/docs/))
31	- A Discord Webhook URL for sending error reports
32
33	## Cloning the project and setting up
34
35	First of all, clone the repository using [git](https://git-scm.com) or download the [latest release](https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot/releases/latest) and extract it.
36
37	To clone the repository, run this command:
38
39	```bash
40	git clone https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot
41	```
42
43	After this command completes, go inside of the directory. (`sudobot/` if you cloned it using the above command)
44
45	Then, install the dependencies using the following command:
46
47	```bash
48	npm install -D
49	```
50
51	## Building the bot
52
53	Now we need to invoke the TypeScript compiler (`tsc`) to build the bot and generate compiled JavaScript files that the Node.js interpreter can run. To compile the bot, simply run:
54
55	```bash
56	npm run build
57	```
58
59	## JSON Configuration Schema
60
61	Generate the JSON config schema files using the following command:
62
63	```bash
64	npm run gen:schema
65	```
66
67	## The environment variables
68
69	Create a file named `.env` inside of the root project directory. This file will contain some secret information that the bot needs, to work. (e.g. bot token)
70
71	Then you need to add a few variables to `.env` file:
72
73	```bash
74	# This is your bot's token.
75	TOKEN=
76
77	# This is the home server, where the bot will search for emojis.
78	HOME_GUILD_ID=
79
80	# The client ID of your bot application.
81	CLIENT_ID=
82
83	# Database URL
84	DB_URL=
85	```
86
87	Here:
88
89	- `TOKEN` is your bot token. Make sure to put the correct token here, otherwise the bot won't be able to log in to Discord. The bot token can be obtained from [https://discord.com/developers/applications](https://discord.com/developers/applications).
90	- `HOME_GUILD_ID` is the main server ID of the bot. The bot expects that it will always stay in that server, and it will search for the emojis there. You can download the emojis and use them freely. To download, go to [the downloads list](https://www.onesoftnet.eu.org/downloads/sudo/emojis/).
91	- `CLIENT_ID` is the client ID of your bot application. You can obtain the client ID for your bot at [https://discord.com/developers/applications](https://discord.com/developers/applications).
92	- `DB_URL` is the database URL. We'll be talking about this just in a moment. You can [jump](getting-started.md#setting-up-a-database-for-the-bot) into that section right now if you want.
93
94	A few more environment variables can be specified:
95
96	- `DEBUG`: Used by the [Prisma](https://prisma.io/) ORM. This enables extra debug logging, aka Verbose Mode.
97	- `SUDO_ENV` and `NODE_ENV`: If one of these is set to `dev`, then the bot will enter Verbose Mode, and log everything that it does or happens. This is useful if you want to debug the bot or troubleshoot something.
98	- `CAT_API_TOKEN`: The Cat API token to use when fetching cat images, using `cat` command.
99	- `DOG_API_TOKEN`: The Dog API token to use when fetching dog images, using `dog` command.
100
101	## Setting up a Database for the bot
102
103	As we've said [before](getting-started.md#configuration-and-the-environment-variables), `DB_URL` is the environment variable that you need to put in `.env` and the value of this variable should be the database URL. SudoBot at the moment, only supports PostgreSQL.
104
105	<Callout type="warning">
106	As of November 28, 2023, we no longer officially support MySQL as a database
107	for being used with SudoBot. Please migrate to PostgreSQL.
108	</Callout>
109
110	<Callout type="info">
111	If you want a free PostgreSQL hosting service, check out
112	[Neon](https://neon.tech). It's easy to set up, and completely free of cost.
113	</Callout>
114
115	Your database URL should look like this if you're using PostgreSQL:
116
117	```
118	postgresql://username:password@hostname:port/dbname
119	```
120
121	- `username` is your database username (usually this is `postgres`)
122	- `password` is your database password
123	- `hostname` is your database hostname
124	- `port` is your database port (usually this is `5432`)
125	- `dbname` is your database name (usually this is `postgres`)
126
127	After you have set the database URL inside `.env`, you can run the following command:
128
129	```bash
130	npx prisma db push
131	```
132
133	This will create the necessary tables for you inside the database.
134
135	## Configuration
136
137	Now it's time to configure the bot. Now, SudoBot comes with the config files bundled already, but you should edit them.
138
139	Step 1. Open up `config/config.json` and you have two options:
140
141	Remove everything inside of the file, and just put an empty object `{}` inside of that file and save it if you don't want to configure anything and just want the default settings. Or,
142
143	Manually set the settings inside of the file. If you're following along this documentation and have run the script `generate-config-schema.js` (previously specified [here](getting-started.md#cloning-the-project-and-setting-up)), then when you edit the file, you can remove everything inside of the file, and put the following JSON object inside of that file:
144
145	```json
146	{
147	"$schema": "./schema/config.json",
148	"guild_id": {}
149	}
150	```
151
152	Replace `guild_id` with your main guild ID, where you want to use the bot. If you want to use the bot in multiple servers, specify them here, as the keys of the root object.
153
154	If you're using an IDE or editor like [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) or [WebStorm](https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/), you can hit Ctrl + Space (or Cmd + Space if you're on a Mac) to get auto completion and see available options. The IDE/editor will highlight errors inside of your config file if you have any.
155
156	Step 2. Open up `config/system.json` file and similarly here you'll get autocompletion. But you don't need to delete everything here, just change the `system_admins` property, which is an array of user IDs. Just add your User ID into the array. System Admins are those who have full access to the bot and can control everything. They are able to run commands like `-eval`.
157
158	## Registering Application Commands
159
160	If you want to use the application slash commands and context menu commands of SudoBot, you have to register it to the API first. To do that, simply run:
161
162	```bash
163	node scripts/deploy-commands.js
164	```
165
166	Pass the `--guild` option to register guild commands instead of global commands, and `--clear` to clear all the registered slash commands in the API.
167
168	## Starting the bot
169
170	Now it's time to start the bot. Run the following command to start the bot:
171
172	```bash
173	npm start
174	```
175
176	And if everything was configured correctly, the bot will log in successfully to Discord. Congratulations, you've set up your own instance of SudoBot!
177
178	## Emojis
179
180	The bot uses some custom emojis and it will try to find those emojis in the Home Guild (The main server, which is configured in `HOME_GUILD_ID` environment variable).
181
182	The emojs are freely available for download at the [download site](https://www.onesoftnet.eu.org/downloads/sudo/emojis/). The bot uses some other emojis as well, if you want you can download them from [emoji.gg](https://emoji.gg).
183
184	If you don't add these emojis, the bot may send messages that look weird or too simple.
185
186	## Help & Support
187
188	In case if you're facing issues, feel free to open an issue at [GitHub](https://github.com/onesoft-sudo/sudobot/issues). Or you can contact the Author of the bot in the following ways:
189
190	- Email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
191	- Discord: [@rakinar2](https://discord.com/users/774553653394538506)
192	- Discord Servers: [OSN's server](https://discord.gg/JJDy9SHzGv)
193
194	Give the repository a star to show your support! We'll be really thankful if you do.