Variable	Description	Example
`DISCORD_TOKEN`	Your Discord bot token from Developer Portal	`MTIzNDU2Nzg5...`
`ALLOWED_GUILD_ID`	The Discord server ID where the bot operates	`123456789012345678`
`PANEL_URL`	Your Pterodactyl panel URL (must include protocol)	`https://panel.example.com`
`CLIENT_API_KEY`	Pterodactyl client API key (starts with `ptlc_` or `pacc_`)	`ptlc_abcdef123456...`
`APPLICATION_API_KEY`	Pterodactyl application API key (starts with `ptla_` or `papp_`)	`ptla_ghijkl789012...`

Configuration File

The bot uses a config.ini file with this structure:

[Pterodactyl]
PanelURL = https://your.pterodactyl.panel
ClientAPIKey = ptlc_yourclientkey
ApplicationAPIKey = ptla_yourapplicationkey

[Discord]
Token = your.discord.bot.token
AllowedGuildID = 123456789012345678

Pterodactyl Section

Key	Required	Description	Validation
`PanelURL`	✅	Panel URL with protocol	Must start with `http://` or `https://`
`ClientAPIKey`	✅	Client API key for server operations	Must start with `ptlc_` (Pterodactyl) or `pacc_` (Pelican)
`ApplicationAPIKey`	✅	Application API key for admin operations	Must start with `ptla_` (Pterodactyl) or `papp_` (Pelican)

Discord Section

Key	Required	Description	Validation
`Token`	✅	Discord bot token	Non-empty string
`AllowedGuildID`	✅	Discord server ID	Positive integer

Generating Config from Environment Variables

To generate the config file from environment variables:

python generate_config.py

This reads the environment variables and writes a config.ini file. Useful for Docker deployments where you want to mount a config file generated at container startup.

Docker Entry Point

The entrypoint.sh script automatically generates config from env vars:

#!/bin/sh
python generate_config.py
exec python main.py

Configuration Validation

The bot performs comprehensive validation at startup:

1. Required Sections Check

[Pterodactyl] section must exist
[Discord] section must exist

2. Required Keys Check

All keys listed above must be present and non-empty.

3. Format Validation

Field	Validation Rule
`AllowedGuildID`	Must be a positive integer
`PanelURL`	Must start with `http://` or `https://`
`ClientAPIKey`	Must start with `ptlc_` or `pacc_`
`ApplicationAPIKey`	Must start with `ptla_` or `papp_`

4. Panel Type Detection

The bot auto-detects panel type from API key prefixes:

Pterodactyl: ptlc_ / ptla_ (standard)
Pelican Panel: pacc_ / papp_ (fork)

Access via Config.is_pelican_panel property.

Sample Configurations

Pterodactyl Panel (Standard)

[Pterodactyl]
PanelURL = https://panel.example.com
ClientAPIKey = ptlc_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456
ApplicationAPIKey = ptla_zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba987654

[Discord]
Token = MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4.YzA5YzE.YzA5YzEtYzA5YzE
AllowedGuildID = 123456789012345678

Pelican Panel

[Pterodactyl]
PanelURL = https://pelican.example.com
ClientAPIKey = pacc_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456
ApplicationAPIKey = papp_zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba987654

[Discord]
Token = MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4.YzA5YzE.YzA5YzEtYzA5YzE
AllowedGuildID = 123456789012345678

Docker Environment File (`.env`)

# Discord
DISCORD_TOKEN=MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4.YzA5YzE.YzA5YzEtYzA5YzE
ALLOWED_GUILD_ID=123456789012345678

# Pterodactyl Panel
PANEL_URL=https://panel.example.com
CLIENT_API_KEY=ptlc_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456
APPLICATION_API_KEY=ptla_zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba987654

Advanced Configuration

Embed Storage Path

Default: ./embed/embed_locations.json

Can be customized by modifying the Config class in config.py:

self.embed_storage_path: Path = Path("./embed/embed_locations.json")

Update Interval

Default: 10 seconds

Controlled by the background task decorator in bot.py:

@tasks.loop(seconds=10)  # UPDATE_INTERVAL = 10
async def update_status(self) -> None:

Required Role

Default: Game Server User

Hardcoded in Config class:

self.required_role: str = "Game Server User"

To change, modify the source code or create a custom config option.

Log Configuration

Controlled in logging_config.py:

File: logs/pterodisbot.log
Max Size: 5MB
Backups: 3 files
File Level: DEBUG
Console Level: INFO

Kubernetes Secrets

For Kubernetes deployments, create a secret with all required values:

kubectl create secret generic pterodisbot-config \
  --from-literal=DISCORD_TOKEN='your-discord-bot-token' \
  --from-literal=ALLOWED_GUILD_ID='your-discord-guild-id' \
  --from-literal=PANEL_URL='https://your.pterodactyl.panel' \
  --from-literal=CLIENT_API_KEY='ptlc_your-client-api-key' \
  --from-literal=APPLICATION_API_KEY='ptla_your-application-api-key' \
  -n pterodisbot

Then reference in deployment:

envFrom:
  - secretRef:
      name: pterodisbot-config

Troubleshooting Configuration

Common Validation Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
`Configuration file not found`	Missing `config.ini`	Create file or run `python generate_config.py`
`Missing [Pterodactyl] section`	Section header missing	Add `[Pterodactyl]` to config.ini
`PanelURL must start with http:// or https://`	Missing protocol	Add `https://` to panel URL
`ClientAPIKey should start with 'ptlc_'`	Wrong key prefix	Use correct client API key from panel
`AllowedGuildID must be a valid integer`	Non-numeric guild ID	Copy guild ID from Discord (right-click server → Copy ID)

Testing Configuration

Validate config without starting bot:

python -c "from config import load_config; load_config('config.ini'); print('Config valid!')"

View Current Configuration

python -c "
from config import load_config
config = load_config('config.ini')
print(f'Panel: {config.get_panel_display_name()}')
print(f'Panel URL: {config.pterodactyl_url}')
print(f'Guild ID: {config.allowed_guild_id}')
print(f'Required Role: {config.required_role}')
"

Security Best Practices

Never commit config.ini to version control - Add to .gitignore
Use environment variables in production - Especially for Docker/K8s
Rotate API keys periodically - Regenerate in panel if compromised
Use HTTPS for panel URL - Never use http:// in production
Restrict Discord bot permissions - Only grant required permissions
Limit "Game Server User" role - Only assign to trusted users

Architecture - System design
Installation - Deployment guides
Usage - Commands and workflows
Features - Feature details
Contributing - Development guidelines

Configuration

Overview

Environment Variables