Minecraft Update Bot 🎮

Automatically detects new Minecraft releases and posts them to a subreddit.

Features

• ✅ Checks Minecraft launcher manifest for new releases
• ✅ Posts to Reddit whenever a new version is detected
• ✅ Tracks posted versions to avoid duplicates
• ✅ Runs continuously with configurable check interval
• ✅ Supports multiple release types (releases, snapshots, etc.)
• ✅ Bedrock Edition support - Detects Windows Bedrock releases
• ✅ Docker & Docker Compose ready
• ✅ Customizable post templates via subreddit wiki
• ✅ Different post formats for different release types
• ✅ Auto-update notifications - Gets alerted when new bot versions are available

Quick Start - Docker (Recommended)

# Copy and edit environment file
copy .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Reddit credentials

# Start the bot
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

See DOCKER.md for detailed Docker setup instructions.

Customizing Posts with Wiki Configuration

The bot loads post templates from your subreddit's wiki page minecraft_update_bot. This allows you to:

• Create different post formats for releases vs. snapshots
• Customize titles and bodies without restarting
• Support legacy version types with custom messages

Quick Setup:

1. Create a wiki page named minecraft_update_bot on your subreddit
2. Add YAML configuration with your templates (see example below)
3. Bot auto-loads every 30 minutes

Simple Example:

release:
  title: "Minecraft {version} Released!"
  body: |
    # Minecraft {version}
    Available now! Get it at [minecraft.net](https://minecraft.net)
    **Released:** {release_date}

snapshot:
  title: "Minecraft {version} Snapshot"
  body: |
    # New Snapshot Available
    Test {version} before the official release!

👉 See WIKI_CONFIG.md for complete setup and examples.

Bedrock Edition Support

The bot can track Minecraft Bedrock Edition (Windows) releases in addition to Java Edition.

To enable Bedrock tracking:

1. With Docker: Add to your .env file:

   CHECK_BEDROCK=true
   

2. Manual: Set environment variable before running:

   set CHECK_BEDROCK=true
   python main.py
   

3. Configure Bedrock posts in your wiki page (optional):

   bedrock-windows:
     title: "Minecraft Bedrock {version} Available (Windows)"
     body: |
       # Bedrock Edition {version}
       Download from the Microsoft Store
       **Released:** {release_date}
   

The bot will now check for both Java and Bedrock releases every cycle, posting about each separately.

Manual Setup

1. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Create Reddit Application

1. Go to https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps
2. Click "Create an app" or "Create another app"
3. Fill in the form:
   • Name: MinecraftUpdateBot
   • App type: Script
   • Redirect URI: http://localhost:8080
4. Copy the credentials

3. Configure the Bot

Edit config.py and fill in your credentials:

REDDIT_CLIENT_ID = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"  # From app page
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"  # From app page
REDDIT_USERNAME = "YOUR_USERNAME"  # Your Reddit username
REDDIT_PASSWORD = "YOUR_PASSWORD"  # Your Reddit password
SUBREDDIT = "YOUR_SUBREDDIT"  # Subreddit to post to

Or use environment variables (Docker-friendly):

set REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
set REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
set REDDIT_USERNAME=your_username
set REDDIT_PASSWORD=your_password
set SUBREDDIT=your_subreddit
python main.py

4. Customize (Optional)

In config.py:

• RELEASE_TYPES: Change ["release"] to include snapshots or other types
  • Options: "release", "snapshot", "old_beta", "old_alpha"
• CHECK_INTERVAL: How often to check for updates (in seconds)
  • Default: 3600 (1 hour)
• POST_TEMPLATE: Customize the post format

Examples:

# Check for both releases and snapshots
RELEASE_TYPES = ["release", "snapshot"]

# Check every 30 minutes
CHECK_INTERVAL = 1800

# Check every 10 minutes (for testing)
CHECK_INTERVAL = 600

5. Run the Bot

python main.py

You should see output like:

[BOT] Starting Minecraft Update Bot...
[BOT] ✓ Successfully connected to Reddit
[BOT] Started update checker (checking every 3600 seconds)
[BOT] ✓ Bot is running

Automatic Update Notifications

The bot includes an update checker that periodically polls for new versions and notifies your subreddit's modteam via modmail when updates are available.

How it works:

• Checks https://updts.slfhstd.uk every hour for new versions
• Sends modmail to your subreddit's modteam if an update is found
• Limits notifications to once per 24 hours to avoid spam
• No configuration needed - it runs automatically!

What you'll see:

[UPDATE_CHECKER] Started for MinecraftUpdateBot v1.0
[UPDATE_CHECKER] Update found: 1.0 -> 1.1
[UPDATE_CHECKER] Sent update notification to r/your_subreddit

The modteam will receive a message with the new version number and changelog link.

How It Works

1. Initialization: Bot connects to Reddit and loads posted versions from DB/posted_versions.json
2. Check Loop: Every CHECK_INTERVAL seconds, it:
   • Fetches the latest Minecraft versions from Mojang's launcher manifest
   • Checks if any are new (not in DB/posted_versions.json)
   • Posts to subreddit if new versions found
   • Saves the posted version IDs
3. Background: Runs in background thread, checking continuously

Database

Posted versions are stored in DB/posted_versions.json:

{
  "posted": [
    "1.20.1",
    "1.21",
    "1.21.1"
  ]
}

To reset (post all new versions again), delete or clear this file.

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

• Check your credentials in config.py or environment variables
• Verify your Reddit app is configured correctly
• Make sure your Reddit account can post to the subreddit

"No New Releases"

• The bot only posts once per version
• Check DB/posted_versions.json to see what's been posted
• Delete a version from the file to repost it

Test with Snapshots

Change RELEASE_TYPES = ["snapshot"] and CHECK_INTERVAL = 60 to test quickly.

Files

• main.py - Main bot script
• config.py - Configuration
• minecraft_checker.py - Fetches version data from Mojang
• test_setup.py - Validates your setup
• Dockerfile - Docker image definition
• docker-compose.yml - Docker Compose configuration
• DB/ - Database folder (created automatically)
• requirements.txt - Python dependencies

License

MIT