ChatGPT-Discord-Bot/docs/ENV_SETUP_GUIDE.md

Environment Variables Setup Guide

📋 Quick Setup

1. Copy the example file:

   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Edit .env and fill in your actual values

3. Restart the bot

🔑 Required Variables

These must be configured for the bot to work:

1. DISCORD_TOKEN

• What: Your Discord bot token
• Where: https://discord.com/developers/applications
• Steps:
  1. Go to Discord Developer Portal
  2. Select your application
  3. Go to "Bot" section
  4. Click "Reset Token" and copy it
• Example: DISCORD_TOKEN=MT3u19203u0dua0d9s

2. OPENAI_API_KEY

• What: API key for AI models
• Where:
  • GitHub Models (free): https://github.com/settings/tokens
  • OpenAI (paid): https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
• Steps:
  • For GitHub Models: Create a Personal Access Token with model access
  • For OpenAI: Create an API key
• Example: OPENAI_API_KEY=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (GitHub) or sk-xxxxxxxxxxxx (OpenAI)

3. OPENAI_BASE_URL

• What: API endpoint for AI models
• Options:
  • https://models.github.ai/inference - GitHub Models (free)
  • https://api.openai.com/v1 - OpenAI (paid)
• Example: OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://models.github.ai/inference

4. MONGODB_URI

• What: Database connection string
• Where: https://cloud.mongodb.com/
• Steps:
  1. Create a free MongoDB Atlas cluster
  2. Click "Connect" → "Connect your application"
  3. Copy the connection string
  4. Replace <password> with your database password
• Example: MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://username:password@cluster.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority

5. ADMIN_ID

• What: Your Discord user ID
• Steps:
  1. Enable Discord Developer Mode (User Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode)
  2. Right-click your username
  3. Click "Copy ID"
• Example: ADMIN_ID=1231312312313

🎨 Optional Variables

These enhance functionality but aren't required:

RUNWARE_API_KEY (Image Generation)

• What: API key for generating images
• Where: https://runware.ai
• Feature: Enables /generate command
• Leave empty: Image generation will be disabled

GOOGLE_API_KEY + GOOGLE_CX (Web Search)

• What: Google Custom Search credentials
• Where:
  • API Key: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials
  • CX: https://programmablesearchengine.google.com/
• Feature: Enables /search command
• Leave empty: Search will be disabled

LOGGING_WEBHOOK_URL (Logging)

• What: Discord webhook for bot logs
• Where: Discord channel settings → Integrations → Webhooks
• Feature: Sends bot logs to Discord channel
• Leave empty: Logs only to console/file

ENABLE_WEBHOOK_LOGGING

• What: Enable/disable webhook logging
• Options: true or false
• Default: true

TIMEZONE

• What: Timezone for timestamps
• Options: Any IANA timezone (e.g., America/New_York, Europe/London, Asia/Tokyo)
• Default: UTC
• List: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones

FILE_EXPIRATION_HOURS

• What: How long files are kept before auto-deletion
• Options:
  • 24 - 1 day
  • 48 - 2 days (default)
  • 72 - 3 days
  • 168 - 1 week
  • -1 - Never expire (permanent)
• Default: 48

📝 Example Configurations

Minimal Setup (Free)

# Required only
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token
OPENAI_API_KEY=ghp_your_github_token
OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://models.github.ai/inference
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/
ADMIN_ID=your_discord_id

# Optional - use defaults
FILE_EXPIRATION_HOURS=48
ENABLE_WEBHOOK_LOGGING=false
TIMEZONE=UTC

Full Setup (All Features)

# Required
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key
OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://models.github.ai/inference
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/
ADMIN_ID=your_discord_id

# Optional - all features enabled
RUNWARE_API_KEY=your_runware_key
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_google_key
GOOGLE_CX=your_cx_id
LOGGING_WEBHOOK_URL=your_webhook_url
ENABLE_WEBHOOK_LOGGING=true
TIMEZONE=Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
FILE_EXPIRATION_HOURS=-1

🔒 Security Best Practices

1. Never commit .env to Git

   • .env is in .gitignore by default
   • Only commit .env.example

2. Keep tokens secure

   • Don't share your .env file
   • Don't post tokens in public channels
   • Regenerate tokens if exposed

3. Use environment-specific files

   • .env.development for dev
   • .env.production for prod
   • Never mix them up

4. Restrict MongoDB access

   • Use strong passwords
   • Whitelist only necessary IPs
   • Enable authentication

🐛 Troubleshooting

Bot won't start

• ✅ Check all required variables are set
• ✅ Verify MongoDB connection string
• ✅ Test with mongosh "your-mongodb-uri"
• ✅ Check Discord token is valid

Commands don't work

• ✅ Bot needs proper Discord permissions
• ✅ Commands must be synced (automatic on startup)
• ✅ Wait 5-10 minutes after bot restart for sync

Image generation fails

• ✅ Verify RUNWARE_API_KEY is set
• ✅ Check Runware account has credits
• ✅ See error logs for details

Search doesn't work

• ✅ Both GOOGLE_API_KEY and GOOGLE_CX must be set
• ✅ Enable Custom Search API in Google Cloud Console
• ✅ Verify API quota not exceeded

Files not expiring

• ✅ Check FILE_EXPIRATION_HOURS value
• ✅ -1 means never expire (by design)
• ✅ Cleanup task runs every 6 hours

📚 Related Documentation

• File Management: docs/FILE_MANAGEMENT_GUIDE.md
• Quick Reference: docs/QUICK_REFERENCE_FILE_MANAGEMENT.md
• Commands: Use /help in Discord

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Need help? Check the logs or create an issue on GitHub!