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Getting started
Four steps take you from an empty server to members claiming keys. It should take about five minutes, most of which is waiting for your key file to upload.
1. Invite the bot
Open the invite link and pick your server. You need the Manage Server permission there to add a bot.
KeyBot asks for three permissions and nothing more:
- Send Messages, to reply to commands and post warnings.
- Embed Links, because almost every reply is an embed.
- Attach Files, so it can hand you an export file.
Slash commands appear in your server shortly after the bot joins. If they do not show up straight away, give Discord a few minutes and then reload your client.
2. Create your first pool
A pool is a named batch of keys for one game. Everything else, who may claim, how many, and whether claiming is open at all, is a setting on the pool.
Create one from the dashboard, which is where pool management now lives. You will be asked for:
| Field | What to put |
|---|---|
| Name | A short label, unique within your server. This is what members pick from the /claim autocomplete, so keep it easy to type. |
| Game | The display name of the game. Members see this, and their claimed keys are grouped by it. |
| Key type | Steam or Custom. Steam keys are delivered with a one-click Steam redemption link. Custom keys are delivered as plain text. |
| Private | Leave a pool private while you are setting it up. Private pools reject /claim; moderator grants still work. |
| Keys per user | How many keys one member may claim from this pool, between 0 and 300. Most drops use 1. Setting it to 0 stops self-claiming entirely. |
3. Import your keys
Put your keys in a plain text file, one key per line, and upload it to the pool. A .txt file is the format that needs no interpretation, so it is the one to use unless you have a reason not to.
AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC DDDDD-EEEEE-FFFFF GGGGG-HHHHH-JJJJJ
.csv and .json also work. KeyBot skips any key the pool already holds, so re-uploading an overlapping file is safe. See Importing keys for the exact rules.
4. Let members claim
- Make the pool public
A private pool refuses every claim, so this is the switch that opens your drop.
- Add required roles, if you want a gate
A member must hold every role you list before they can claim. Leave the list empty to let anyone in the server claim.
- Tell people to run /claim
They type /claim, pick the pool by name from the autocomplete, and KeyBot replies with their key. The reply is ephemeral, so only they can see it.
Two things worth setting up now
- A warning channel. KeyBot posts there when a pool falls to ten percent remaining and again when it empties. Without one, a drop can quietly run dry.
- A log channel. Key imports and bulk grants are recorded there, which gives you a paper trail of who loaded what.