Newt

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Deployment Guide ​

Deploy your Newt bot to cloud hosting for 24/7 uptime.

Prerequisites ​

  • Built bot from newt build
  • Discord bot token
  • Hosting account (Heroku, Railway, Render, etc.)

Heroku ​

1. Install Heroku CLI ​

bash
# Windows
npm install -g heroku

# Mac
brew tap heroku/brew && brew install heroku

# Linux
sudo snap install heroku --classic

2. Login to Heroku ​

bash
heroku login

3. Create Heroku App ​

bash
heroku create my-newt-bot

4. Set Environment Variables ​

bash
heroku config:set DISCORD_TOKEN=your-token-here

5. Deploy ​

bash
# Initialize git if needed
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial bot"

# Add Heroku remote
heroku git:remote -a my-newt-bot

# Deploy
git push heroku main

6. Scale Up ​

bash
heroku ps:scale web=1

Railway ​

1. Create Railway Account ​

Sign up at railway.app

2. Create New Project ​

  1. Click "New Project"
  2. Select "Deploy from GitHub repo"
  3. Connect your bot repository

3. Set Environment Variables ​

In Railway dashboard:

  • Add DISCORD_TOKEN = your bot token

4. Deploy ​

Railway auto-deploys on push. Your bot will be live at your-app.railway.app

Render ​

1. Create Render Account ​

Sign up at render.com

2. Create Web Service ​

  1. Click "New +"
  2. Select "Web Service"
  3. Connect your GitHub repository

3. Configure ​

  • Build Command: npm install
  • Start Command: npm start

4. Set Environment Variables ​

Add DISCORD_TOKEN in the environment variables section

5. Deploy ​

Click "Create Web Service" - Render auto-deploys

Docker ​

1. Create Dockerfile ​

dockerfile
FROM node:20-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install
COPY . .
CMD ["npm", "start"]

2. Build Image ​

bash
docker build -t my-newt-bot .

3. Run Container ​

bash
docker run -d \
  -e DISCORD_TOKEN=your-token \
  --name my-bot \
  my-newt-bot

4. Deploy to Docker Hub ​

bash
docker tag my-newt-bot username/my-newt-bot
docker push username/my-newt-bot

VPS (DigitalOcean, Linode, etc.) ​

1. Connect to Server ​

bash
ssh user@your-server-ip

2. Install Node.js ​

bash
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

3. Upload Bot Files ​

bash
scp -r my-bot user@your-server-ip:/home/user/

4. Install Dependencies ​

bash
cd /home/user/my-bot
npm install

5. Set Environment Variable ​

bash
echo 'export DISCORD_TOKEN="your-token"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

6. Run with PM2 (for uptime) ​

bash
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start npm --name "newt-bot" -- start
pm2 save
pm2 startup

GitHub Actions (CI/CD) ​

1. Create Workflow ​

Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

yaml
name: Deploy Bot
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Deploy to Heroku
        uses: akhileshns/heroku-deploy@v3.12.12
        with:
          heroku_api_key: ${{secrets.HEROKU_API_KEY}}
          heroku_app_name: "my-newt-bot"
          heroku_email: "your-email@example.com"

2. Add Secrets ​

In GitHub repository settings:

  • HEROKU_API_KEY
  • DISCORD_TOKEN

Choosing a Platform ​

PlatformBest ForCostDifficulty
HerokuBeginnersFree tier availableEasy
RailwayQuick deploymentFree tier availableVery Easy
RenderSimple appsFree tier availableEasy
VPSFull control$5-10/monthMedium
DockerPortabilityVariesMedium

Keeping Bots Running ​

Process Managers ​

PM2 (Node.js):

bash
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start npm --name "bot" -- start
pm2 startup
pm2 save

Systemd (Linux):

ini
[Unit]
Description=Newt Bot
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=your-user
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/bot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/npm start
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Monitoring ​

Check if your bot is running:

bash
# PM2
pm2 status

# Systemd
systemctl status newt-bot

# Docker
docker ps

Troubleshooting Deployment ​

Bot crashes immediately ​

  • Check logs: heroku logs --tail (Heroku)
  • Verify DISCORD_TOKEN is set
  • Check Node.js version compatibility

Bot goes offline ​

  • Use process manager (PM2, systemd)
  • Set up auto-restart
  • Check hosting platform uptime

Environment variables not working ​

  • Verify variable names match exactly
  • Check platform-specific syntax
  • Restart after adding variables

Next Steps ​