Installation Guide

This guide will walk you through the process of installing and setting up your own instance of InterChat.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• A server running Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended)
• Root or sudo access
• A Discord application with a bot token
• A MongoDB Atlas account and cluster
• Basic knowledge of command line and server administration

Installation Steps

# Update package lists
sudo apt update

# Install dependencies
sudo apt install -y git curl build-essential

# Install Node.js
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Install Bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
source ~/.bashrc  # or restart your terminal

# Install NVM
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.3/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc  # or restart your terminal

# Install Node.js
nvm install 18
nvm use 18

# Install Bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
source ~/.bashrc  # or restart your terminal

mongodb+srv://username:[email protected]/interchat?retryWrites=true&w=majority

# Install Redis
sudo apt install -y redis-server

# Start and enable Redis
sudo systemctl start redis-server
sudo systemctl enable redis-server

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/discord-interchat/InterChat.git
cd InterChat

# Install dependencies
npm install

vim .env # or use any other text editor

# Generate Prisma client
npx prisma generate

# Build the application
npm run build
npm run locale-types

# Sync commands and emojis
npm run sync:commands --private --public
npm run sync:emojis

# Start in development mode
npm dev

# Install PM2 for process management
npm install -g pm2

# Start in production mode
npm run start:prod

# Ensure it starts on boot
pm2 startup
pm2 save

Verifying Installation

To verify that InterChat is running correctly:

1. Check the logs for any errors:

   # If using PM2
   pm2 logs interchat

2. Invite your bot to a Discord server and test basic commands like /stats.

3. Try creating a hub with /hub create and connecting a channel with /connect.

Updating InterChat

To update your InterChat instance to the latest version:

# Pull the latest changes
git pull

# Install dependencies
npm install
npm run locale-types

# Build the application
npm run build

# Sync commands and emojis
npm run sync:commands --private --public
npm run sync:emojis

# Restart the application
pm2 restart interchat

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Database connection errors:

   • Check your MongoDB Atlas connection string in the .env file
   • Ensure your IP address is whitelisted in the MongoDB Atlas Network Access settings
   • Verify that your MongoDB Atlas user has the correct permissions

2. Redis connection errors:

   • Ensure Redis is running: sudo systemctl status redis-server
   • Check your Redis configuration in the .env file

3. Discord API errors:

   • Verify your bot token is correct
   • Ensure your bot has the necessary permissions
   • Check that you've enabled the required Gateway Intents in the Discord Developer Portal

4. Build errors:

   • Ensure you have the correct version of Node.js
   • Try deleting node_modules, build, tsconfig.tsbuildinfo and reinstalling dependencies

For more help, join our support server or check the GitHub issues.