hildibrand/GUIDE.md

# Hildibrand Administrator and User Guide

##### Note from the developer/designer

Hi there, I'm Wyatt/Arnkell. Thank you for reading this guide and using my Discord bot, Hildibrand. I hope you enjoy your time with it.

This guide is intended for both Discord servers adminisrators and Discord bot developers.

If you have any trouble with operation of this bot, please do not hesitate to reach out on Discord (wymiller) or email: wyatt@wyattjmiller.com

--- 

## Introduction

Hildebrand is a Discord trivia buzzer bot. It creates a shared buzzer in a text
channel, plays a buzzer sound in voice, identifies the first participant to
buzz, and can mute the other participants so the winner can answer.

## Before you begin

Give the bot the following permissions in every text and voice channel where it
will be used:

| Permission | Why it is needed |
| --- | --- |
| View Channel | See the channel in which a session is started |
| Send Messages | Post the buzzer and command results |
| Connect | Join the host's voice channel |
| Speak | Play the buzzer sound |
| Mute Members | Mute and unmute trivia participants |

Members also need permission to use application commands in the chosen text
channel.

Place the Hildebrand bot role above the roles of the participants it must mute.
Discord does not allow a bot to mute a member whose highest role is equal to or
higher than the bot's highest role. Server owners cannot be muted by a bot.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Do not grant Hildebrand the full Administrator permission. The channel and
> voice permissions listed above are sufficient.

## Quick start for a trivia host

1. Join the voice channel where the trivia game will take place.
2. In the text channel where you want the buzzer to appear, run `/start`.
3. Wait for Hildebrand to join voice and post **The buzzer is ready!**.
4. Ask players to join the same voice channel and use the **BUZZ!** button in
   the bot's message.
5. After a player answers, select **Reset** to begin the next question.
6. At the end of the game, run `/stop`.

The member who runs `/start` becomes the **session host**. Only that member can
reset, lock, unlock, or stop the session. Discord server administrators do not
automatically override the session host and cannot do so. In other words,
no one has the power to overrule the session host.

## What happens when someone buzzes

To buzz, a player must be in the voice channel in which the session was
started. The first accepted button press does all of the following:

1. Locks the buzzer so later presses cannot win.
2. Names the winning player in the buzzer message.
3. Plays the buzzer sound in the voice channel.
4. Server-mutes the other human participants currently in that channel.

Hildebrand does not mute the session host or winning player itself. Bots are
not muted. Any pre-existing server mute still applies, however: Hildebrand
leaves it alone and will not later remove that moderator-applied mute.

Players receive a private Discord response that only they can see if they try
to use a stale or locked buzzer, or if they are not in the session's voice
channel.

## Controls and commands

The controls in the buzzer message and their slash-command equivalents have
the same effect. A button's confirmation or error response is visible only to
the member who selected it.

| Control | Command | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Reset** | `/reset` | Clears the previous winner, opens the buzzer, and unmutes members muted by Hildebrand. Use this between questions. |
| **Lock** | `/lock` | Closes the buzzer and mutes everyone currently in the voice channel except the host and the current winner, if there is one. |
| **Unlock** | `/unlock` | Opens the buzzer and unmutes members muted by Hildebrand, but keeps the previous winner's name in the message. |
| — | `/stop` | Unmutes members muted by Hildebrand, disconnects the bot from voice, ends the session, and disables the old controls. |

`/start` creates a session in the voice channel occupied by the person who runs
the command. The buzzer message is posted in the text channel where the command
was run.

> [!NOTE]
> Use **Reset** for a new question because it clears the recorded winner. Use
> **Unlock** when you want to reopen the same question without clearing the name
> of the player who previously buzzed.

> [!NOTE]
> The host can select **Lock** before anyone buzzes, for example while reading a
> question. Select **Unlock** or **Reset** when players should be allowed to buzz.

## Ending a session safely

Always run `/stop` before the bot is shut down or restarted. This lets
Hildebrand unmute the members it muted and disconnect cleanly.

If Hildebrand reports that it could not unmute one or more participants, fix
its **Mute Members** permission or role position and run `/stop` again. The
session is not stopped until its tracked members have been unmuted.

Session state exists only in the running bot's memory. If the bot crashes or is
restarted during a locked round, an administrator may need to manually remove
server mutes in Discord. After a restart, old buzzer buttons are no longer
active; start a new session with `/start`.

## Operational limits

- A running Hildebrand instance supports only **one active session in total**,
  even if the bot has been added to multiple Discord servers.
- A session remains tied to the voice channel selected at `/start`. Moving the
  host or the bot does not move the session.
- Hildebrand mutes the people present when a player buzzes or the host selects
  **Lock**. It does not continuously mute people who join the channel later.
- Control of an active session cannot be transferred to another member. The
  original host must stop it, or the bot operator must restart the bot and an
  administrator must clean up any remaining server mutes.

## Troubleshooting

### Slash commands do not appear

- Confirm that the bot was installed with the `applications.commands` scope.
- Confirm that the member can use application commands in the text channel.
- Confirm that the bot is online. If it has just been installed or restarted,
  allow Discord time to display its globally registered commands.

### `/start` says you must be in a voice channel

Join the intended voice channel before running `/start`. The bot selects the
session channel from the host's current voice connection.

### The bot cannot join or play the sound

Check **View Channel**, **Connect**, and **Speak** for the bot in that voice
channel. Channel-specific permission overrides can deny access even when the
bot's server role allows it.

### The bot cannot post or update the buzzer

Check **View Channel** and **Send Messages** for the bot in the text channel.
Do not delete the active buzzer message while a session is running.

### Some players are not muted or unmuted

Check all of the following:

- The bot has **Mute Members** in the voice channel.
- The Hildebrand role is above each affected player's highest role.
- The affected account is not the server owner.
- The player is in the session's original voice channel.

Hildebrand intentionally does not unmute a member who was already server-muted
before Hildebrand tried to mute them.

### A player cannot buzz

The player must be in the session's voice channel. Also check whether the
buzzer is locked, the displayed message belongs to an old session, or another
player has already buzzed.

### A command says another session is active

Only one session can run on a bot instance. Ask the current session host to run
`/stop`. If no usable session exists after a bot failure, contact the bot
operator to restart the instance and manually clear any remaining server mutes.

### A host is no longer available

There is no host-transfer command. Ask the original host to run `/stop`. If
that is impossible, the bot operator must restart Hildebrand; afterward, a
Discord administrator should manually unmute anyone left server-muted and a
new host can run `/start`.

## Recommended administrator checklist

Before an event:

- Confirm that the bot is online and slash commands are visible.
- Confirm the bot's text and voice channel permissions.
- Move the bot role above participant roles, without granting Administrator.
- Test `/start`, one buzz, `/reset`, and `/stop` with a volunteer.

After an event:

- Confirm that the host ran `/stop`.
- Confirm that the bot left voice.
- Confirm that no participant remains server-muted unexpectedly.