Configuration Guide

Environment Variables

InterChat uses environment variables for configuration. Create a .env file in the root directory of your installation with the following variables:

Required Variables

# Discord Bot Configuration
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_discord_bot_token
CLIENT_ID=your_discord_application_id
 
# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/interchat?retryWrites=true&w=majority
 
# Redis Configuration
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
 
VOTE_WEBHOOK_URL=your_vote_webhook_url
 
NODE_ENV=development # or production
PORT=3000
DEBUG=true
 
REDIS_URI=redis://localhost:6379
 
GRAFANA_DASHBOARD_URL=your_grafana_dashboard_url
GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN=your_grafana_service_account_token
GRAFANA_CLOUD_URL=your_grafana_cloud_url
GRAFANA_CLOUD_USERNAME=your_username
GRAFANA_CLOUD_API_KEY="your_api_key"
 
TENOR_KEY=your_tenor_api_key
 
TOPGG_API_KEY=your_topgg_api_key
TOPGG_WEBHOOK_SECRET=your_topgg_webhook_secret

Discord Bot Configuration

Creating a Discord Application

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Click "New Application" and give it a name
3. Navigate to the "Bot" tab
4. Click "Add Bot"
5. Under the "Token" section, click "Copy" to get your bot token (used for DISCORD_TOKEN)
6. Note your Application ID from the "General Information" tab (used for CLIENT_ID)

Required Bot Permissions

Your bot needs the following permissions:

• Read Messages/View Channels
• Send Messages
• Manage Messages
• Embed Links
• Attach Files
• Read Message History
• Use External Emojis
• View Audit Log
• Add Reactions
• Manage Webhooks

Required Gateway Intents

In the Discord Developer Portal, under the "Bot" tab, enable:

• Server Members Intent
• Message Content Intent

Database Configuration

InterChat uses MongoDB Atlas for its database. The DATABASE_URL should follow this format:

mongodb+srv://username:[email protected]/database?retryWrites=true&w=majority

Database Setup

After setting up your MongoDB Atlas cluster:

# Generate Prisma client
bunx prisma generate

Redis Configuration

Redis is used for caching and real-time features. The REDIS_URL should follow this format:

redis://username:password@hostname:port

For local Redis instances without authentication, use:

redis://localhost:6379

Advanced Configuration

Metrics and Monitoring

InterChat supports Prometheus metrics:

To use with Grafana Cloud:

GRAFANA_CLOUD_URL=your_grafana_cloud_url
GRAFANA_CLOUD_USERNAME=your_username
GRAFANA_CLOUD_API_KEY=your_api_key

Error Tracking

For production environments, it's recommended to use Sentry for error tracking:

SENTRY_DSN=your_sentry_dsn
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=production

Custom Emojis

InterChat uses custom emojis for various features. To set up custom emojis:

1. Run npm run sync:emojis to sync the emojis with your bot

Localization

InterChat supports multiple languages. Localization files are stored in the locales/ directory.

To add a new language:

Visit our Crowdin project to contribute translations. (Recommended)

Or manually, if you're familiar with YAML:

1. Copy locales/en.yml to locales/your_language_code.yml
2. Translate the strings in the new file
3. Run npm run locale-types to update the type definitions

Command Synchronization

After making changes to commands or updating the bot, sync the commands with Discord:

npm run sync:commands --private --public

This ensures that slash commands are properly registered with Discord.

Security Considerations

When self-hosting InterChat, consider these security best practices:

1. Run the bot with minimal permissions
2. Enable firewall rules to restrict access to your server
3. Regularly update dependencies with npm install
4. Back up your database regularly