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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 account through the [Discord Developer Portal](https://discordapp.com/developers/)
+2. Invite the created bot to your server
+3. Install Node.js 10, 11, or 12
+    - Node.js 13 is currently not supported
+4. Download the latest bot version from [the releases page](https://github.com/Dragory/modmailbot/releases) and extract it to a folder
+5. In the bot's folder, make a copy of the file `config.example.ini` and rename the copy to `config.ini`
+
+## 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. Open `config.ini` in a text editor and fill in the required values. `mainGuildId` and `mailGuildId` should both be set to your server's id.
+2. 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
+3. Make sure the bot has `Manage Channels`, `Manage Messages`, and `Attach Files` permissions in the category
+4. **[🏃 Start the bot!](starting-the-bot.md)**
+5. Want to change other bot options? See **[📝 Configuration](configuration.md)**
+6. Have any other questions? Check out the **[🙋 Frequently Asked Questions](faq.md)** or
+   **[join the support server!](../README.md#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. Create an inbox server on Discord
+2. Invite the bot to the inbox server.
+3. Open `config.ini` in a text editor and fill in the values
+4. Make sure the bot has the `Manage Channels`, `Manage Messages`, and `Attach Files` permissions on the **inbox** server
+5. **[🏃 Start the bot!](starting-the-bot.md)**
+5. Want to change other bot options? See **[📝 Configuration](configuration.md)**
+6. Have any other questions? Check out the **[🙋 Frequently Asked Questions](faq.md)** or
+   **[join the support server!](../README.md#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.*