Full Setup Guide

This guide covers every step of setting up DuffyBot, from inviting the bot to fine-tuning AI behavior. If you just want the basics, see the Quick Start Guide.

1. Invite DuffyBot to Your Server

Visit the DuffyBot homepage and click "Add to Discord". You will be redirected to Discord's authorization screen.

Select the server you want to add DuffyBot to from the dropdown, then click "Authorize". The bot needs these permissions to work:

  • Manage Channels - to create and delete ticket channels
  • Send Messages - to respond in ticket channels
  • Manage Messages - to pin messages and manage ticket content
  • Read Message History - to index knowledge base channels
  • Embed Links - to send rich embed messages
  • Attach Files - to send transcript files
  • Use External Emojis - for formatting
Warning: If you deny any permissions during setup, DuffyBot may not work correctly. You can fix permissions later in Server Settings, then Roles, then find the DuffyBot role.

2. Log In to the Dashboard

Go to the DuffyBot Dashboard and sign in with your Discord account. You will see a list of servers where you have Administrator permission and DuffyBot is installed.

Click on a server to open its dashboard. If the bot has not been configured yet, you will see the setup wizard.

3. Set Up the Ticket Channel

The ticket channel is where DuffyBot posts the "Open Ticket" button. Users click this button to create a private support ticket.

  1. In the dashboard, go to Settings > Tickets
  2. Select a channel from the dropdown. This should be a channel all members can see (like #support or #help)
  3. Click Save
Tip: Create a dedicated channel like #open-a-ticket for this. Keep it clean by setting Discord permissions so only the bot can send messages there.

4. Configure Staff Roles

Staff roles determine who can see and manage tickets. Any user with one of these roles will:

  • See all ticket channels
  • Be able to respond in tickets
  • Use staff commands like /ticket takeover and /ticket close
  • Be mentioned when the AI escalates a ticket
  1. Go to Settings > Staff
  2. Click "Add Role" and select one or more Discord roles
  3. Click Save
Info: You can add multiple staff roles. For example, a "Support" role for general staff and a "Manager" role for senior staff.

5. Add Knowledge Base Content

The knowledge base is what DuffyBot uses to answer questions. Without it, the AI has nothing to reference and will escalate everything to human staff.

Option A: Index Discord Channels

If you have existing channels with helpful content (FAQ channels, announcement channels, guides), you can index them:

  1. Go to Knowledge Base > Channels
  2. Select channels to index
  3. DuffyBot will scrape all messages from those channels

The bot automatically watches indexed channels for new messages. When someone posts in an indexed channel, that content gets added to the knowledge base.

Option B: Scrape a Website

If you have a support website, help center, or documentation site:

  1. Go to Knowledge Base > Website
  2. Enter your website URL
  3. DuffyBot will crawl the site and extract relevant content
Tip: For best results, point DuffyBot at your FAQ page or help center, not your entire website. The more focused the content, the better the AI answers.

Option C: Import a GitHub Repository

If your project has documentation on GitHub:

  1. Go to Knowledge Base > GitHub
  2. Enter the repository URL
  3. DuffyBot will fetch and index the content (READMEs, docs, wikis)

Option D: Write Manual Entries

You can also write knowledge base entries by hand for content that does not exist elsewhere:

  1. Go to Knowledge Base > Manual
  2. Click "Add Entry" and write your content
  3. Save the entry
Info: You can use any combination of these sources. Most servers use Discord channels plus one or two other sources.

6. Post the Ticket Panel

The ticket panel is the embed message with the "Open Ticket" button that users interact with.

  1. Go to Embeds in the dashboard
  2. Customize the ticket panel appearance (title, description, color, buttons)
  3. Click "Post to Channel" to send it to your ticket channel

You can add multiple buttons to the panel, each representing a different ticket category (e.g., "Billing", "Technical Support", "General Question").

7. Configure AI Behavior

Fine-tune how DuffyBot responds to users:

  • Conversation Style: Choose between professional, friendly, or casual tone
  • Response Length: Control how detailed AI responses are
  • Confidence Threshold: Set how confident the AI needs to be before responding (lower threshold means more AI answers, higher means more escalations to humans)
  • Business Name: Set your business or community name so the AI references it correctly

These settings are in Settings > Behavior.

8. Set Up Transcripts (Optional)

Transcripts save a record of every ticket conversation after it is closed.

  1. Go to Settings > Transcripts
  2. Select a channel where transcripts should be posted
  3. Optionally enable DM transcripts so users receive a copy when their ticket is closed

You're All Set

DuffyBot is now configured and ready to handle support tickets. Users can click the "Open Ticket" button to create tickets, and the AI will respond based on your knowledge base content.

Next steps:

Quick StartKnowledge Base