> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://anniemei.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bot service

> Configure and run the main Annie Mei Discord bot service.

This page covers the main `annie-mei` service in the repository root.

## What the bot service does

The bot service:

* connects to Discord and registers slash commands
* handles `/ping`, `/help`, `/anime`, `/manga`, `/search`, `/recommend`, `/character`, `/songs`, `/register`, `/unregister`, `/whoami`, and `/settings`
* connects to PostgreSQL with an async connection pool
* runs bot-owned SQLx migrations for Annie Mei settings tables
* connects to Redis for API response caching
* builds the AniList OAuth start link that sends members to the auth service

The bot no longer exposes an HTTP listener; stack liveness and readiness are served by the auth service.

## Required dependencies

Before you run the bot service, make sure you have:

* a Discord bot token
* PostgreSQL
* Redis
* Spotify API credentials
* MyAnimeList API client ID
* auth service configuration values, including `AUTH_SERVICE_BASE_URL`
* (optional) a Gemini or OpenAI-compatible API key for `/search`

<Note>
  The bot currently loads OAuth configuration during startup. That means `AUTH_SERVICE_BASE_URL` and `OAUTH_CONTEXT_SIGNING_SECRET` are part of the normal bot setup, not optional extras.
</Note>

## Configure the bot environment

Create `.env` in the repository root and set the bot service variables:

```bash theme={}
# Discord
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_discord_bot_token

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost/annie_mei

# Cache
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# External APIs
SPOTIFY_CLIENT_ID=your_spotify_client_id
SPOTIFY_CLIENT_SECRET=your_spotify_client_secret
MAL_CLIENT_ID=your_mal_client_id

# Monitoring
SENTRY_DSN=your_sentry_dsn
ENV=development
SENTRY_TRACES_SAMPLE_RATE=0.0

# Shared privacy and OAuth values
USERID_HASH_SALT=generate_a_random_secret_value
AUTH_SERVICE_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8000
OAUTH_CONTEXT_SIGNING_SECRET=generate_a_random_secret_value

# Optional
OAUTH_CONTEXT_TTL_SECONDS=300
RUST_LOG=info,serenity=warn
```

Use [Environment Variables](/deployment/environment-variables) for the full bot and auth reference.

<Warning>
  Set `DATABASE_URL` to the same PostgreSQL database used by the auth service. The bot reads OAuth credential rows that the auth service writes.
</Warning>

## Run the bot service locally

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the database">
    ```bash theme={}
    createdb annie_mei
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start Redis">
    Make sure your local Redis instance is reachable at the value in `REDIS_URL`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start the bot">
    ```bash theme={}
    cargo run
    ```

    On startup, the bot will connect to PostgreSQL, run its settings migrations, load OAuth configuration, and register slash commands.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Verify in Discord

Try these slash commands after the bot is online:

```text theme={}
/ping
/anime search:Attack on Titan
/settings
/register
```

If `/register` returns a link button but the browser flow fails, finish the [Auth service](/self-hosting/auth-service) setup and make sure both services share the same `OAUTH_CONTEXT_SIGNING_SECRET`.

## Related pages

* [Self-hosting architecture](/self-hosting/architecture)
* [Auth service](/self-hosting/auth-service)
* [Environment Variables](/deployment/environment-variables)