Pick based on how much control you want. Both give you the exact same bot and commands — the only real difference is who holds the keys.
Click one button and you're set up in minutes. No technical setup beyond connecting your console.
Register your own free Discord bot and run the same software yourself, right next to your game server.
This is the honest, complete list — not a summary. If you self-host, skip straight to the second column: it's short.
| If you use our hosted bot | If you self-host |
|---|---|
| Your console's private address, and a security key so the bot can reach it — kept locked with encryption | Nothing. It never leaves your own computer. |
| Which of your Discord roles can use which commands | Nothing. It's a setting you control yourself. |
| Basic settings like your announcement channel and reminder schedule | Nothing. Same as above. |
| Only if you turn it on: a public counter of players online, spice fields, and sietches, shown on this website | Not available yet for self-hosted setups — nothing is shared either way. |
What's never stored, either way: anything said in Discord, your game database, your Steam account, or your server's Docker setup. There's no member list, no chat logs, and no player passwords — the bot simply doesn't have access to any of it.
The bot runs somewhere else — not on your computer — so it has no other way to find your console or prove it's allowed to ask it questions. That key is the one real credential this whole system holds, and it's encrypted so a single problem on our end can't expose everyone's at once.
No. It's a guided command-line setup (or a single Docker command if you're comfortable with that) — no programming involved. See the self-host install guide for exact, copy-pasteable steps.
Yes, either direction, any time. There's no lock-in and no migration to undo — you're just choosing where the same software runs.
If you want it working in the next five minutes and don't mind us holding your console's key, use the hosted bot. If you'd rather nothing about your server ever leaves your own infrastructure — or you already run your own bots and tools — self-host. Both are fully supported.
See the Architecture page — the exact data model, the request flow, and why a Discord Application is required either way.