- Linux-based operating system or virtual machine ([Ubuntu 22.04 LTS](https://ubuntu.com/download/server) or [Fedora 36](https://getfedora.org/) are recommended)
If you want to run the bot on Windows, [Windows Subsystem for Linux](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10) is recommended. This guide is somewhat Linux-centric, so for now you're mostly on your own if you decide not to use WSL.
If you have any further questions regarding setup, feel free to ask in the #support channel on the [esmBot Support server](https://esmbot.net/support).
You can run the bot using Docker for a somewhat simpler setup experience. [Click here to go to the Docker setup guide.](https://docs.esmbot.net/docker)
On older Debian/Ubuntu versions, you may need to install some of these packages (notably libcgif-dev and meson) through alternative methods.
=== "Fedora/RHEL"
These instructions apply to Fedora 36/RHEL 9 or later.
Some of these packages require that you add the RPM Fusion and/or EPEL repositories. You can find instructions on how to add them [here](https://rpmfusion.org/Configuration).
[libvips](https://github.com/libvips/libvips) is the core of esmBot's image processing commands. Version 8.13.0 or higher is recommended because it contains fixes to GIF handling and support for the freeze command; however, this version isn't packaged for most distros yet. To fix this, you'll need to build libvips from source.
You'll need a more recent version than what's provided in most Debian/Ubuntu-based distros. You can add a repository that contains a supported version by running this command:
esmBot officially supports two database systems: SQLite and PostgreSQL. While SQLite is smaller and requires no initial setup, PostgreSQL has better performance (especially in large environments).
If you would like to use the PostgreSQL database, view the setup instructions [here](https://docs.esmbot.net/postgresql) and come back here when you're finished.
Lavalink is the audio server used by esmBot for soundboard commands and music playback. If you do not plan on using these features, you can safely skip this step.
There are websites out there providing lists of public Lavalink instances that can be used with the bot. However, these are not recommended due to performance/security concerns and missing features, and it is highly recommended to set one up yourself instead using the steps below.
Lavalink requires a Java (11 or later) installation. You can use [SDKMAN](https://sdkman.io) to install Eclipse Temurin, a popular Java distribution:
You'll need to run Lavalink alongside the bot in order to use it. There are a few methods to do this, such as the `screen` command, creating a new systemd service, or simply just opening a new terminal session alongside your current one.
This will launch a text editor with the file ready to go. Create a Discord application [here](https://discord.com/developers/applications) and select the Bot tab on the left, then create a bot user. Once you've done this, copy the token it gives you and put it in the `TOKEN` variable.
If the bot starts successfully, you're done! You can invite the bot to your server by generating an invite link under OAuth -> URL Generator in the Discord application dashboard.
!!! note
You will need to select the `bot` and `applications.commands` scopes.
The following permissions are needed in most cases for the bot to work properly:
PostgreSQL isn't running, you should be able to start it with `sudo systemctl start postgresql`. If you don't intend to use PostgreSQL, you should take another look at your `DB` variable in the .env file.
??? faq "Gifs from Tenor result in a "no decode delegate for this image format" or "improper image header" error"
Tenor GIFs are actually stored as MP4s, which libvips can't decode most of the time. You'll need to get a Tenor API key from [here](https://developers.google.com/tenor/guides/quickstart) and put it in the `TENOR` variable in .env.
If you have any further questions regarding self-hosting, feel free to ask in the #support channel on the [esmBot Support server](https://esmbot.net/support).