Discord Setup

Setup instructions for the Discord bot. See Discord Integration for feature overview.

1. Create a Discord Application

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Click New Application and give it a name
3. Go to the Bot tab
4. Click Reset Token and copy the token

Keep Token Secret

Never share your bot token publicly. Treat it like a password.

2. Configure Bot Permissions

Your bot needs these permissions:

Permission	Required For
Send Messages	Chat relay (game → Discord)
Read Message History	Chat relay context
Change Nickname	Displaying farm name as bot nickname

3. Invite the Bot to Your Server

1. Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator
2. Select scopes: bot
3. Select permissions: Send Messages, Read Message History, Change Nickname
4. Copy the generated URL and open it in your browser
5. Select your Discord server and authorize

4. Set Environment Variables

Add to your .env file:

DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here

If you have API_KEY set for API authentication, add it here too so the bot can access the server API:

DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here
API_KEY=your_api_key_here

This is enough for server status display (player count and invite code in bot presence).

Chat Relay Setup

To enable two-way chat between Discord and the game, additional setup is required.

1. Create a Text Channel

Create a dedicated text channel in your Discord server for the chat relay:

1. Right-click your server → Create Channel
2. Select Text as the channel type
3. Name it something like #stardew-chat
4. (Optional) Set channel permissions so only certain roles can send messages

Dedicated Channel Recommended

Use a dedicated channel for chat relay. All messages in this channel will be sent to the game, and all game chat will appear here.

2. Enable Message Content Intent

1. Go to Discord Developer Portal
2. Select your application → Bot
3. Under Privileged Gateway Intents, enable Message Content Intent
4. Save changes

Why This Is Needed

Discord requires explicit permission to read message content. Without this, the bot can't relay messages from Discord to the game.

3. Get Channel ID

1. In Discord, go to User Settings → Advanced
2. Enable Developer Mode
3. Right-click the chat relay channel → Copy ID

4. Configure Environment

Add the channel ID to your .env:

DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token
DISCORD_CHAT_CHANNEL_ID=123456789012345678

If you have API authentication enabled:

DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token
DISCORD_CHAT_CHANNEL_ID=123456789012345678
API_KEY=your_api_key

How Chat Relay Works

Once configured:

Direction	Format
Game → Discord	**PlayerName**: message
Discord → Game	(Web) DiscordName: message

Bot Nickname

The bot's nickname in Discord servers can be configured:

Configuration	Behavior
Not set	Uses farm name from game
DISCORD_BOT_NICKNAME=value	Uses fixed custom name

Example:

DISCORD_BOT_NICKNAME=Stardew Valley Server

Example Configuration

Complete Discord setup in .env:

# Discord Bot
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4OQ.XXXXXX.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DISCORD_CHAT_CHANNEL_ID=123456789012345678
DISCORD_BOT_NICKNAME=Junimo Farm

# API authentication (required if API_KEY is set on server)
API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Security Considerations

Rate Limiting

The chat relay does not currently implement rate limiting. Discord users could potentially spam the game chat. Consider using Discord's built-in slowmode on the relay channel if this is a concern.

Slowmode Setup

1. Right-click the relay channel in Discord
2. Click Edit Channel
3. Under Slowmode, set a delay (e.g., 5 seconds)

Troubleshooting

Bot Not Coming Online

1. Verify DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN is correct
2. Check server logs: docker compose logs -f
3. Ensure the bot was invited with correct permissions

Messages Not Relaying

1. Verify Message Content Intent is enabled
2. Check DISCORD_CHAT_CHANNEL_ID is correct
3. Ensure bot has permission to read/send in that channel

Wrong Bot Nickname

1. Check DISCORD_BOT_NICKNAME in .env
2. Restart the server: docker compose restart
3. Bot may need "Change Nickname" permission in Discord server

Bot Shows "Server Offline" But Server Is Running

1. If API_KEY is set on the server, ensure the same key is set for the Discord bot
2. Check the bot logs for authentication errors: docker compose logs discord-bot
3. Verify the bot can reach the server API (network/firewall issues)