ZygnalBot Deployment Guide - Host Your Discord Bot on Railway, GCP, Heroku & Azure

Railway Setup

Visit railway.app to get started:

Create an account or log in
Click "New Project" button
Select "Deploy from GitHub repo"

Note: Railway offers a free tier with $5 of usage per month.

GitHub Repository

Create a new private repository
Upload all your project files
Include your .env file with configurations
Make sure all dependencies are included

$ git push origin main

Link Repository

Click "Connect Repository" in Railway
Select your GitHub repo from the list
Authorize Railway access to your GitHub
Wait for initial deployment to complete

Configure Deployment

Go to Settings in your Railway project
Find the Deploy section
Set the start command to run your bot:

$ python Main_bot_3.py

GCP Setup

Visit cloud.google.com to get started:

Create a Google Cloud account
Set up billing (required, but has free tier)
Create a new project from the dashboard

Note: GCP offers a generous free tier and $300 in credits for new users.

Cloud Run Setup

Navigate to Cloud Run in the GCP console
Click "Create Service"
Choose "Continuously deploy from source repository"
Connect to your GitHub repository

Configure Dockerfile

Create a Dockerfile in your repository:

# Dockerfile
FROM python:3.9-slim

WORKDIR /app

COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

COPY . .

CMD ["python", "Main_bot_3.py"]

Environment Variables

In Cloud Run service settings, add your environment variables
Include your Discord bot token and other required variables
Set memory allocation to at least 512MB
Set CPU allocation based on your bot's needs

$ gcloud run deploy --image gcr.io/PROJECT_ID/IMAGE_NAME

Heroku Setup

Visit heroku.com to get started:

Create a Heroku account
Install the Heroku CLI on your computer
Create a new app from the dashboard

Note: Heroku's free tier has been discontinued. Basic plans start at $5/month.

Required Files

Add these files to your repository:

requirements.txt - List all Python dependencies
runtime.txt - Specify Python version
Procfile - Define the startup command

# Procfile
worker: python Main_bot_3.py

Deploy to Heroku

Use Git to deploy your bot:

$ heroku login
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Deploy to Heroku"
$ git push heroku main

Configure Environment

Go to Settings tab in your Heroku app
Click "Reveal Config Vars"
Add your bot token and other environment variables
Scale your worker dyno to run the bot

$ heroku ps:scale worker=1

Azure Setup

Visit azure.microsoft.com to get started:

Create a Microsoft Azure account
Navigate to Azure Portal
Create a new resource group

Note: Azure offers a free tier with $200 credit for 30 days.

App Service Setup

Create a new App Service
Select Python as the runtime stack
Choose your resource group
Select a pricing tier (Free tier is sufficient for testing)

Deployment Center

Go to Deployment Center in your App Service
Select GitHub as the source
Connect to your GitHub repository
Configure the build provider (Kudu)

Configuration

Go to Configuration in your App Service
Add application settings for your environment variables
Set the startup command in General Settings

# startup.txt
python Main_bot_3.py

Version Updates

When updating your bot to a new version, follow these steps:

First, export your current configuration:

!exportconfig

Request the latest version via ticket in the support server or on The Website
Replace your current .py files with the updated versions | If changes in the requirements.txt also replace this!
Push changes to your GitHub repository
Your cloud provider will automatically detect changes and redeploy

After deployment completes, import your settings:

!importconfig <json file>

This ensures all your custom settings, roles, and configurations are preserved during updates.

Troubleshooting

Check deployment logs if your bot fails to start
Ensure your .env file contains all required variables
Verify that your bot token is valid
Make sure all dependencies are properly installed
Check if your cloud provider has any resource limitations

For additional help, join the ZygnalBot support server.

Choosing the Right Platform

Each cloud platform has its own advantages:

Railway: Simplest setup, good free tier, ideal for beginners
Google Cloud: Most generous free tier, highly reliable, good for scaling
Heroku: Easy to use, but requires paid plan now
Azure: Good integration with Microsoft services, free tier available

For most Discord bots, Railway or Google Cloud's free tiers will be sufficient.

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