Discord Bots - DRM

[root]

Hello,

I'm trying to think of what the best way to do DRM in a Discord Bot would be (one that the user could download), giving them a file that downloads the main files for the bot that are encrypted and they are decrypted then ran?

So the user can't just copy & paste your index.js file?

There are pros/cons to this, how else could it be done?

Identification of the leaker is important, but stopping a leaked copy would be good as well.
Or to have the bot being SaaS, having to pay monthly, etc.

Looking for opinions from a developers stand point and from a customers, it would help so I don't end up developing a system that is bad for the customer, but I also need it to be good for me.

 

[Ally]

Or to have the bot being SaaS, having to pay monthly, etc.

Then don't let them self-host it. Simple as that.

If you're writing in a language like javascript the fact of the matter is no matter what you try to do, you will never stop someone from leaking your thing or deobfuscating the code.

You want to restrict the distribution of a discord bot? Don't sell the code and don't let the user host it themselves.

Sure, you could probably obfuscate it... but javascript. Would make sense in other languages like c# or java.

Otherwise, you're just gonna have to put up with the risk. Is part of the whole thing. Charge more maybe and let them redistribute? Who knows.

 

[Great_Array]

Don't offer self hosting, give them an option to configure the bot on their server thru commands. But if you really wanna let them self host you could write the bot in java or c++ (not recommended) or my favourite type of leak protection for everything is to hold a good chunk of your code on a server.

For example if you're building a discord bot that gives a user's discord information (id, username, account creation date etc.) instead of writing the code straight in the bot itself just make a website that the bot will access thru an HTTP request, feed the users name and then the website will get the user's information and write it out after which the bot will just read that information and send it to the command executor. So in short making a web api. To prevent people from using your website just make an authentication system on the webiste. So when someone buys your bot you whitelist their guild and give them a auth key of sorts that will let their bot access the website. Of course you can add a few more security measurements to prevent bypasses.

But all in all if you really want a self hosting bot that would be the best and most secure method of doing it. Hope this helps