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+## Bot Setup
+
+### Prerequisites
+* Latest version of Docker ([download](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker))
+* Latest version of Docker Compose ([download](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install))
+* Git ([download](https://git-scm.com/downloads))
+* An [e621ng](https://github.com/e621ng/e621ng) instance ready to start
+* A [discord bot application](https://discord.com/developers/applications)
+
+ If you are on Windows Docker Compose is already included, you do not need to install it yourself.
+ If you are on Linux/MacOS you can probably use your package manager.
+
+### Discord application setup
+1. Create a new application
+2. Under the "Installation" sidebar
+   - For "Installation Contexts" select "Guild Install"
+   - Set the "Install Link" dropdown to "None"
+3. Under the "OAuth2" sidebar
+   - Add a redirect to `http://localhost:8000/callback`, or where ever your discord bot joiner will be listening
+4. Under the "Bot" sidebar
+   - It is recommended to disable "Public Bot"
+   - Enable "Server Members Intent"
+   - Enable "Message Content Intent"
+5. Join the bot to the desired server using the following invite link, but replace the client id with your application's id: https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id=YOUR_APPLICATION_ID_HERE&scope=bot&permissions=395271335063
+
+### Configuration
+1. Copy the `.env.sample` file and rename it to `.env`
+2. Enter your bot's token (found on the `Bot` page of the application setup)
+3. Enter your application's client secret (found on the `OAuth2` page of the application setup)
+4. Enter your bot's client id (application id, found on the `General Information` page of the application setup)
+5. Enter your discord guild (server) id
+6. Enter your discord joiner link secret (found in e621ng's `docker-compose.yml` file, or other environment file, it's passed as `DANBOORU_DISCORD_SECRET`. It defaults to `super_secret_for_url_discord`)
+7. e621/e926 base url can be the same in development environments, but should be your e621ng's domain. Do not add trailing slashes
+8. Enter the redis url of your e621ng instance. You may need to expose the port from docker manually in development enviornments. This can be done by adding a `ports` mapping to the `redis` service in e621ng's `docker-compose.yml` file. You should map `6379:6379`
+9. Enter your desired port number. It is recommended to leave this at `8000`, if you select anything different you will need to map the correct port in `docker-compose.yml`
+
+### Installing dependencies
+Run `npm i` to install all node dependencies. This is required to start the bot.
+
+### Starting the bot
+
+e621ng must be up for the bot to start properly and open the connection to the redis database.
+
+#### In development
+You can use `npm run dev` to run the typescript without compiling. This will watch for changes and restart when they happen.
+
+If desired, you can also build the typescript using `npm run build` and then subsequently run it using `npm run start`
+
+#### In docker
+1. Run `docker compose build` to build the image
+2. Run `docker compose up` to start the bot. Changes to any files, including `.env` will require a rebuild
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