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🛠️ Setting up the bot

Note: This bot is run on your own machine or a server.
To keep it online, you need to keep the bot process running.

Terminology

  • Main server (or main guild) is the server where users will be contacting modmail from
  • Inbox server (or inbox guild, or mail guild) is the server where modmail threads will be created. In a "single-server setup" this is the same server as the main server.
  • A modmail thread is a channel on the inbox server that contains the current exchange with the user. These threads can be closed to archive them. One user can only have 1 modmail thread open at once.
  • A moderator, in modmail's context, is a server staff member who responds to and manages modmail threads
  • A user, in modmail's context, is a Discord user who is contacting modmail by DMing the bot

Prerequisites

  1. Create a bot on the Discord Developer Portal
  2. Turn on Server Members Intent and Message Content Intent in the bot's settings page on the developer portal (Image)
  3. Install Node.js 18 (LTS) or higher
  4. Download the latest bot release here (click on "Source code (zip)")
  5. Extract the downloaded Zip file to a new folder
  6. In the bot's folder (that you extracted from the zip file), make a copy of the file config.example.ini and rename the copy to config.ini
    • If you're on Windows, the file may be named config.example (without .ini at the end)

Single-server setup

In this setup, modmail threads are opened on the main server in a special category. This is the recommended setup for small and medium sized servers.

  1. Go through the prerequisites above first!
  2. Open config.ini in a text editor and fill in the required values. mainServerId and inboxServerId should both be set to your server's id.
  3. Invite the bot to the server
  4. On a new line at the end of config.ini, add categoryAutomation.newThread = CATEGORY_ID_HERE
    • Replace CATEGORY_ID_HERE with the ID of the category where new modmail threads should go
  5. Make sure the bot has Manage Channels, Manage Messages, and Attach Files permissions in the category
    • It is not recommended to give the bot Administrator permissions under any circumstances
  6. 🏃 Start the bot!
  7. Want to change other bot options? See 📝 Configuration
  8. Have any other questions? Check out the 🙋 Frequently Asked Questions or join the support server!

Two-server setup

In this setup, modmail threads are opened on a separate inbox server. This is the recommended setup for large servers that get a lot of modmails, where a single-server setup could get messy. You might also want this setup for privacy concerns*.

  1. Go through the prerequisites above first!
  2. Create an inbox server on Discord
  3. Open config.ini in a text editor and fill in the required values
    • Set mainServerId to the ID of the main server where users will message the bot from
    • Set inboxServerId to the ID of the inbox server created in step 2
  4. Invite the bot to both the main server and the newly-created inbox server
  5. Open config.ini in a text editor and fill in the values
  6. Make sure the bot has the Manage Channels, Manage Messages, and Attach Files permissions on the inbox server
    • The bot does not need any permissions on the main server
  7. 🏃 Start the bot!
  8. Want to change other bot options? See 📝 Configuration
  9. Have any other questions? Check out the 🙋 Frequently Asked Questions or join the support server!

* Since all channel names, even for channels you can't see, are public information through the API, a user with a modified client could see the names of all users contacting modmail through the modmail channel names.