Bots
On a centralised platform, a bot is an integration: it registers with the platform, receives a token, and is granted capabilities the platform decides to expose.
On Concord there is no platform to register with. A bot holds a key, joins through an invite like anyone else, and reads and writes on the channels it has keys for.
What that changes
Section titled “What that changes”A bot’s permissions are just a role. Grant it a role and it moderates with exactly the rank that role gives it — no more, and no special case. Because authority is checked by every client against the same roster, a bot cannot exceed its rank even if it tries, and its actions carry its signature in the same audit chain as everyone else’s.
A bot is as trusted as a member, and no less. It holds real keys. A bot in a private channel can read that channel, and a compromised bot leaks exactly what a compromised member would. Scope its access with private channels, and remove it the way you would remove a member: strip its roles, then rotate.
Nobody can cut off your bot. There is no API to be deprecated, rate-limited, or revoked. The flip side is that nobody maintains compatibility for you either — the frozen derivations are the compatibility guarantee.
Removal applies to bots too. A rekey rotates the keys out from under a bot exactly as it would a person. If you remove a bot’s role but never rotate, it keeps reading.
Bots that exist today
Section titled “Bots that exist today”Shanty
Section titled “Shanty”A 24/7 generative lo-fi radio bot for Concord live channels, with a Wavlake and Fountain jukebox. It is a good demonstration that a Concord channel is a place a service can live in, not merely a log to post into.
Python, AGPL-3.0, by Derek Ross. github.com/derekross/shanty
concord-automod
Section titled “concord-automod”A standalone auto-moderation bot for Concord communities — the clearest worked example of a bot acting under a granted role rather than a platform privilege.
Rust, MIT, by Derek Ross. The repository is archived, so treat it as a reference implementation to read rather than a maintained dependency. github.com/derekross/concord-automod
price-bot
Section titled “price-bot”Per-coin price, charts, and market stats, built on the vector_sdk crate. A
compact example of the SDK’s command handling.
Rust, MIT, by JSKitty. github.com/JSKitty/price-bot
Beyond bots
Section titled “Beyond bots”Not everything that joins a community is a chat bot. Private Events is a full application built over Concord — event details, sign-up boards, and encrypted group chat, packaged as an installable PWA — using the protocol as private, serverless application infrastructure rather than as a messenger.
TypeScript, AGPL-3.0, by Derek Ross. github.com/derekross/concord-private-events
Practical notes
Section titled “Practical notes”Key storage. A bot’s key is its identity and its membership. Losing it means re-inviting; leaking it means rotating the community.
Remote signing. Concord is deliberately friendly to remote signers. Rekey blob locators derive from public keys alone, and both rekey blobs and the staff key handoff are encrypted under a pairwise conversation key computable from either side. A bunker account can find and open its material with a single decrypt, never touching a raw private key.
Rotations. Precompute the next rekey address and subscribe to it, or your bot will silently stop working the first time somebody is banned. And remember: a missing chunk is never a removal — only a complete set that omits your locator is.
Rate limits. Chat planes are member-writable, so flooding is possible and is handled by moderation rather than by the protocol. Be a good citizen; a bot that floods is a bot that gets banned, and the ban works.