Access and the whitelist
Why Righteous isn't open to every server, what a server without access sees, and how to get access for yours.
Righteous isn't open to every server. A server has to be granted access before the bot will stay in it, and the list of servers that have been granted access is the whitelist. This catches people out at exactly the wrong moment, so this page covers what you see, what it means, and what to do about it.
Tell whether your server has access
The plain test is that the bot is in your server and its commands answer. If
,help or /help replies, you have access.
Syntax
/help
If a command answers Server not whitelisted, you don't. Some commands add a link to the support server alongside it. The bot is sitting in the channel, but it won't configure anything or store anything for that server.
If the bot is silent instead (no reply and no error), that's a different problem. Check its View Channel and Send Messages on the channel you're testing in, and try a second channel before drawing any conclusion.
What a server without access sees
Invite the bot to a server that hasn't been granted access and the usual outcome is that it joins, then leaves again shortly afterwards. That isn't a crash and it isn't your invite link being wrong. It's the intended answer to an invite from a server with no access.
The server owner gets a direct message when it happens. It says the bot hasn't been paid for and points at the support server. If that owner has direct messages from server members turned off, the message silently never arrives, which is the usual reason this feels unexplained. Ask the owner before assuming something broke.
The four things that can happen on a join
Leaving is the common outcome, not the only one. Righteous decides once, as it joins, and there are four answers:
| Outcome | What you see |
|---|---|
| It has access | The bot stays and everything works |
| A promotion applies | The bot grants access itself and stays. Nothing was bought: an open-door rule matched this server |
| It has no access | The bot leaves within seconds, and the server owner is DMed |
| It couldn't tell | The bot stays, and does nothing further. A lookup failed rather than came back negative, and leaving on a failure would throw out servers that had paid |
That last one is why "it joined and stayed" is not by itself proof of access. If the bot is present but commands answer Server not whitelisted, that is the state you're in: nothing is broken, and nothing will resolve on its own. Take it to the support server.
Re-inviting rarely changes the answer
Nothing about the invite link, the permissions you approve, or the order you do things in affects access, so re-sending the invite normally gets the same result. Get access first, then invite. The one case where a second attempt genuinely differs is the one above, a decision that failed rather than came back negative.
Access can lapse
The three shapes access comes in
Access isn't always permanent.
| Kind of access | What happens to it |
|---|---|
| A one-time purchase | Doesn't expire |
| A recurring purchase | Lasts as long as the subscription does |
| A trial, or any time-limited grant | Ends on its date unless it's extended |
The two warnings, and where they go
Before time-limited access runs out, the server owner gets a DM about it. It names the server, says how long is left, and asks you to renew or make the access permanent to keep the bot there. Depending on what you hold, it calls the thing that's ending your trial, your subscription, or your paid access.
When it does run out, the server owner gets a second DM and the bot leaves. That message says what ended, that the bot is going, and that the server can be whitelisted again at any time to bring it back.
Both DMs are notifications with nothing to click. Renewing happens in the support server, described below.
Two things worth doing before a trial ends
Keep the server owner's DMs open, since both warnings go there and nowhere else. And if you're the one paying, check that the card on file is current.
Get access for your server
Purchases happen in Discord, not on this site. A payment has to be tied to a Discord account for anyone to know what to unlock, which is why the flow lives where your account already is.
Buy it in the support server
Join the support server
discord.gg/MubvsbMbZQ (opens in a new tab). Buying only works there. Everywhere else the card shows only a My premium button, and an old card clicked in another server says so.
Run the donate command
,donate posts a card with a row of buttons under it. Buy
the bot is the one that gets Righteous into a server. The buttons beside it are the premium
tiers, which are a different purchase.
Name the server you're buying for
A box asks for a Server ID or invite. Paste an invite link to that server, or turn on Developer Mode in Discord's settings, right-click the server and choose Copy Server ID. Get this right: it's the server the access attaches to, and the bot usually isn't in it yet, so nothing can fill it in for you.
Pay, then invite
Once the payment goes through, that server has access and the bot will stay in it. Then follow Inviting the bot.
Redeem a code instead
Syntax
,redeem <code>
Example
,redeem RGHT-XXXX-XXXX
If somebody gave you a code, ,redeem is the whole flow. Run it
in Discord and the code applies itself: it deletes your message afterwards, so the code isn't left
sitting in the channel. Codes come in more than one kind: some grant a premium tier, and some grant a
server access, which is the one that gets the bot into a server without a purchase. A code that
grants server access is bound to a specific server when it is created, so run it and read what it
says rather than guessing which kind you hold. Most codes are single-use, and some are time-limited
in exactly the way a trial is.
Prices are on the premium page. If you'd rather talk to a person before paying, ask in the support server first. Access can be arranged there, and a purchase isn't the only way a server gets it.
Access is not premium
These are two separate purchases, and the names sound close enough to cost people money.
- Access puts the bot in your server and keeps it there. It unlocks no features at all.
- Premium unlocks features. There are three tiers and they aren't a ladder: one is free with a server boost, one is bought by a member and follows that member between servers, and one covers a whole server. The premium page has the comparison.
Buying premium doesn't get the bot into a server, and buying access doesn't unlock a single premium command. A server needs access before premium is worth anything to it.
Premium tiers is the long version of this distinction, and it is the page to read before paying for anything.
Coming back after a lapse
Your configuration doesn't go anywhere. If a server loses access and gets it back later, re-invite the bot and your settings are still there: the mute and jail roles, the log channels, the welcome messages, the panels you set up. There's nothing to restore and nothing to re-enter.
The roles and channels themselves are untouched too. The bot leaving doesn't delete anything it created.
Common issues
A command says "Server not whitelisted" but the bot is right there. The bot being in a server and the server having access are separate facts. Commands need the second one.
The bot left and nobody got a DM. That DM goes to the server owner and nobody else, and only if their direct messages are open. Ask the owner directly rather than re-inviting.
You paid and the bot still won't stay. Check the server you named at checkout. Access attaches to one specific server, and a mistyped ID or an invite to the wrong server attaches it somewhere else. Take it to the support server before paying again.
You bought premium and the bot won't join. Those are different purchases. See Access is not premium above.