mARCo Discord Bot

We now run two different bots at ARC @ UCF, each serving its own purpose. The first is mARCo, our general-purpose bot that handles club utilities, commands, and learning resources for members. The second is the ARC Alerts / Weather Bot, powered by the Weather Bot, which focuses on delivering all-hazards alerts and weather information for UCF and the wider county. Both bots are designed with clarity, reliability, and documentation in mind — and just like mARCo, the weather bot is an amazing tool worth checking out if you haven’t already. Together, they give the club a solid combination: one for day-to-day and educational needs, and one dedicated to safety and real-time alerts.

For more technical explanations and deeper implementation details, please refer to the docs/

1) Get the code

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd <your-repo-folder>

2) Set up the bot info

Copy the example settings and fill in your Discord bot token.

cp .env.example .env

Open .env in a text editor and set:

• DISCORD_TOKEN= your Discord bot token
• GUILD_ID= your server ID for faster command sync

Tip: Create a bot and get the token in the Discord Developer Portal.

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(Recommended) Use a virtual environment — Linux

Keep things clean by installing packages only for this project.

# Create a virtual environment in a folder named .venv
python3 -m venv .venv

# Activate it (run this in every new terminal before working on the bot)
source .venv/bin/activate

# (Optional) Check that you're using the venv Python
which python

To exit the virtual environment later:

deactivate

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3) Install requirements

Make sure you have Python 3.10+ installed.

python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

4) Start the bot

python -m marco_bot

If it starts without errors, the bot is online.

5) Test it on your server

In any channel where the bot can read and send messages:

• Type /ping → the bot should reply pong

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Stop the bot

Press CTRL + C in the terminal where it’s running.

You’re all set!

Invite the bot to your server and use it.