path: root/docs/configuration.md

# 📝 Configuration
Haven't set up the bot yet? Check out [Setting up the bot](setup.md) first!

## Table of contents
- [Configuration file](#configuration-file) (start here)
- [Adding new options](#adding-new-options)
- [Required options](#required-options)
- [Other options](#other-options)
- [config.ini vs config.json](#configini-vs-configjson)
- [Other formats](#other-formats)
- [Environment variables](#environment-variables)

## Configuration file
All bot options are saved in a configuration file in the bot's folder.
This is created during the [setup](setup.md) and is generally either `config.ini` or, if you've been using the bot for
longer, `config.json`.

The instructions on this page are for `config.ini` but can be adapted to `config.json` as well.
See [config.ini vs config.json](#configini-vs-configjson) for more details.
Note that the format of `.ini` and `.json` are different -- you can't simply rename a `.json` to `.ini` or
vice versa.

## Adding new options
To add a new option to your `config.ini`, open the file in a text editor such as notepad.
Each option is put on a new line, and follows the format `option = value`. For example, `mainGuildId = 1234`.

**You need to restart the bot for configuration changes to take effect!**

You can add comments in the config file by prefixing the line with `#`. Example:
```ini
# This is a comment
option = value
```

### Toggle options
Some options like `allowMove` are "**Toggle options**": they control whether certain features are enabled (on) or not (off).
* To enable a toggle option, set its value to `on`, `true`, or `1`
* To disable a toggle option, set its value to `off`, `false`, or `0`
* E.g. `allowMove = on` or `allowMove = off`

### "Accepts multiple values"
Some options are marked as "**Accepts multiple values**". To give these options multiple values,
write the option as `option[] = value` and repeat for every value. For example:

```ini
inboxServerPermission[] = kickMembers
inboxServerPermission[] = manageMessages
```

You can also give these options a single value in the usual way, i.e. `inboxServerPermission = kickMembers`

### Multiple lines of text
For some options, such as `greetingMessage`, you might want to add text that spans multiple lines.
To do that, use the same format as with "Accepts multiple values" above:

```ini
greetingMessage[] = Welcome to the server!
greetingMessage[] = This is the second line of the greeting.
greetingMessage[] = 
greetingMessage[] = Fourth line! With an empty line in the middle.
```

## Required options

#### token
The bot user's token from [Discord Developer Portal](https://discordapp.com/developers/).

#### mainGuildId
Your server's ID, wrapped in quotes.

#### mailGuildId
For a two-server setup, the inbox server's ID.  
For a single-server setup, same as [mainGuildId](#mainguildid).

#### logChannelId
ID of a channel on the inbox server where logs are posted after a modmail thread is closed

## Other options

#### accountAgeDeniedMessage
**Default:** `Your Discord account is not old enough to contact modmail.`  
See `requiredAccountAge` below

#### allowMove
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, allows you to move threads between categories using `!move <category>`

#### allowUserClose
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, users can use the close command to close threads by themselves from their DMs with the bot

#### alwaysReply
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, all messages in modmail threads will be sent to the user without having to use `!r`.  
To send internal messages in the thread when this option is enabled, prefix them with `!note` (using your `prefix`),
e.g. `!note This is an internal message`.

#### alwaysReplyAnon
**Default:** `off`  
If `alwaysReply` is enabled, this option controls whether the auto-reply is anonymous

#### attachmentStorage
**Default:** `local`  
Controls how attachments in modmail threads are stored. Possible values:
* **local** - Files are saved locally on the machine running the bot
* **discord** - Files are saved as attachments on a special channel on the inbox server. Requires `attachmentStorageChannelId` to be set.

#### attachmentStorageChannelId
**Default:** *None*  
When using attachmentStorage is set to "discord", the id of the channel on the inbox server where attachments are saved

#### botMentionResponse
**Default:** *None*  
If set, the bot auto-replies to bot mentions (pings) with this message. Use `{userMention}` in the text to ping the user back.

#### categoryAutomation.newThread
**Default:** *None*  
ID of the category where new threads are opened. Also functions as a fallback for `categoryAutomation.newThreadFromGuild`.

#### categoryAutomation.newThreadFromGuild.GUILDID
**Default:** *None*  
When running the bot on multiple main servers, this allows you to specify new thread categories for users from each guild. Example:
```ini
# When the user is from the server ID 94882524378968064, their modmail thread will be placed in the category ID 360863035130249235
categoryAutomation.newThreadFromGuild.94882524378968064 = 360863035130249235
# When the user is from the server ID 541484311354933258, their modmail thread will be placed in the category ID 542780020972716042
categoryAutomation.newThreadFromGuild.541484311354933258 = 542780020972716042
```

#### closeMessage
**Default:** *None*  
If set, the bot sends this message to the user when the modmail thread is closed.

#### commandAliases
**Default:** *None*  
Custom aliases/shortcuts for commands. Example:
```ini
# !mv is an alias/shortcut for !move
commandAliases.mv = move
# !x is an alias/shortcut for !close
commandAliases.x = close
```

#### enableGreeting
**Default:** `off`  
When enabled, the bot will send a greeting DM to users that join the main server.

#### greetingAttachment
**Default:** *None*  
Path to an image or other attachment to send as a greeting. Requires `enableGreeting` to be enabled.

#### greetingMessage
**Default:** *None*  
Message to send as a greeting. Requires `enableGreeting` to be enabled. Example:
```ini
greetingMessage[] = Welcome to the server!
greetingMessage[] = Remember to read the rules.
```

#### guildGreetings
**Default:** *None*  
When running the bot on multiple main servers, this allows you to set different greetings for each server. Example:
```ini
guildGreetings.94882524378968064.message = Welcome to server ID 94882524378968064!
guildGreetings.94882524378968064.attachment = greeting.png

guildGreetings.541484311354933258.message[] = Welcome to server ID 541484311354933258!
guildGreetings.541484311354933258.message[] = Second line of the greeting.
```

#### ignoreAccidentalThreads
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, the bot attempts to ignore common "accidental" messages that would start a new thread, such as "ok", "thanks", etc.

#### inboxServerPermission
**Default:** *None*  
**Accepts multiple values.** Permission name, user id, or role id required to use bot commands on the inbox server.
See ["Permissions" on this page](https://abal.moe/Eris/docs/reference) for supported permission names (e.g. `kickMembers`).

#### timeOnServerDeniedMessage
**Default:** `You haven't been a member of the server for long enough to contact modmail.`  
If `requiredTimeOnServer` is set, users that are too new will be sent this message if they try to message modmail.

#### mentionRole
**Default:** `here`  
**Accepts multiple values.** Role that is mentioned when new threads are created or the bot is mentioned.
Accepted values are "here", "everyone", or a role id.
Requires `pingOnBotMention` to be enabled.
Set to an empty value (`mentionRole=`) to disable these pings entirely.

#### mentionUserInThreadHeader
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, mentions the user messaging modmail in the modmail thread's header.

#### newThreadCategoryId
**Default:** *None*  
**Deprecated.** Same as `categoryAutomation.newThread`.

#### pingOnBotMention
**Default:** `on`  
If enabled, the bot will mention staff (see `mentionRole` option) on the inbox server when the bot is mentioned on the main server.

#### plugins
**Default:** *None*  
**Accepts multiple values.** External plugins to load on startup. See [Plugins](plugins.md) for more information.

#### port
**Default:** `8890`  
Port to use for attachments (when `attachmentStorage` is set to `local`) and logs.  
Make sure to do the necessary [port forwarding](https://portforward.com/) and add any needed firewall exceptions so the port is accessible from the internet.

#### prefix
**Default:** `!`  
Prefix for bot commands

#### relaySmallAttachmentsAsAttachments
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, small attachments from users are sent as real attachments rather than links in modmail threads.
The limit for "small" is 2MB by default; you can change this with the `smallAttachmentLimit` option.

#### requiredAccountAge
**Default:** *None*  
Required account age for contacting modmail (in hours). If the account is not old enough, a new thread will not be created and the bot will reply with `accountAgeDeniedMessage` (if set) instead.

#### requiredTimeOnServer
**Default:** *None*  
Required amount of time (in minutes) the user must be a member of the server before being able to contact modmail. If the user hasn't been a member of the server for the specified time, a new thread will not be created and the bot will reply with `timeOnServerDeniedMessage` (if set) instead.

#### responseMessage
**Default:** `Thank you for your message! Our mod team will reply to you here as soon as possible.`  
The bot's response to the user when they message the bot and open a new modmail thread

#### rolesInThreadHeader
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, the user's roles will be shown in the modmail thread header

#### smallAttachmentLimit
**Default:** `2097152`  
Size limit of `relaySmallAttachmentsAsAttachments` in bytes (default is 2MB)

#### snippetPrefix
**Default:** `!!`  
Prefix for snippets

#### snippetPrefixAnon
**Default:** `!!!`  
Prefix to use snippets anonymously

#### status
**Default:** `Message me for help`  
The bot's "Playing" text

#### syncPermissionsOnMove
**Default:** `on`  
If enabled, channel permissions for the thread are synchronized with the category when using `!move`. Requires `allowMove` to be enabled.

#### threadTimestamps
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, modmail threads will show accurate UTC timestamps for each message, in addition to Discord's own timestamps.
Logs show these always, regardless of this setting.

#### typingProxy
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, any time a user is typing to modmail in their DMs, the modmail thread will show the bot as "typing"

#### typingProxyReverse
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, any time a moderator is typing in a modmail thread, the user will see the bot "typing" in their DMs

#### updateNotifications
**Default:** `on`  
If enabled, the bot will automatically check for new bot updates periodically and notify about them at the top of new modmail threads

#### url
**Default:** *None*  
URL to use for attachment and log links. Defaults to `http://IP:PORT`.

#### useNicknames
**Default:** `off`  
If enabled, mod replies will use their nicknames (on the inbox server) instead of their usernames

## config.ini vs config.json
Earlier versions of the bot instructed you to create a `config.json` instead of a `config.ini`.
**This is still fully supported, and will be in the future as well.**
However, there are some differences between `config.ini` and `config.json`.

### Formatting
*See [the example on the Wikipedia page for JSON](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON#Example)
for a general overview of the JSON format.*

* In `config.json`, all text values and IDs need to be wrapped in quotes, e.g. `"mainGuildId": "94882524378968064"`
* In `config.json`, all numbers (other than IDs) are written without quotes, e.g. `"port": 3000`

### Toggle options
In `config.json`, valid values for toggle options are `true` and `false` (not quoted),
which correspond to `on` and `off` in `config.ini`.

### "Accepts multiple values"
Multiple values are specified in `config.json` using arrays:
```json
{
  "inboxPermission": [
    "kickMembers",
    "manageMessages"
  ]
}
```

### Multiple lines of text
Since `config.json` is parsed using [JSON5](https://json5.org/), multiple lines of text are supported
by escaping the newline with a backslash (`\ `):
```json5
{
  "greetingMessage": "Welcome to the server!\
This is the second line of the greeting."
}
```

## Other formats
Loading config values programmatically is also supported.
Create a `config.js` in the bot's folder and export the config object with `module.exports`.
All other configuration files take precedence, so make sure you don't have both.

## Environment variables
Config options can be passed via environment variables.

To get the name of the corresponding environment variable for an option, convert the option to SNAKE_CASE with periods
being replaced by two underscores and add `MM_` as a prefix. If adding multiple values for the same option, separate the
values with two pipe characters: `||`.

Examples:
* `mainGuildId` -> `MM_MAIN_GUILD_ID`
* `commandAliases.mv` -> `MM_COMMAND_ALIASES__MV`
* From:  
  ```ini
  inboxServerPermission[] = kickMembers
  inboxServerPermission[] = manageMessages
  ```  
  To:  
  `MM_INBOX_SERVER_PERMISSION=kickMembers||manageMessages`

The `port` option also accepts the environment variable `PORT` without a prefix, but `MM_PORT` takes precedence.