PatchRaptor

ARK: Survival Ascended - Server Admin Discord Bot

About PatchRaptor

PatchRaptor is available free to the community, however if you find value in it and wish to show support you can always buy me a coffee 🙂

https://buymeacoffee.com/patchraptor

So What is it?

PatchRaptor is a Python-based toolkit for Windows (Server 2019–2022 & Win 10–11) designed to automate ARK clusters managed via SteamCMD. It allows you to create and customize your own Discord bot via the Developer Portal, configure it effortlessly using our built-in GUI, and manage your entire cluster directly from Discord. To get started, you’ll need to create and configure your own Discord bot. While we'd to offer a hosted bot solution it's just not possible at this stage. Simply launch the application, click 'Start', and your command center is ready.

Your input is incredibly helpful. If you find PatchRaptor useful or have suggestions, please reach out and thank you for being part of this journey

Key Features

1. Interactive Discord Interface

Designed for ease of use, even for non-technical moderators.

• Clickable Menu: The .menu command opens a dashboard (interactive for 15 minutes after .menu is triggered).
• Context-Aware Help: Clicking a button (e.g., "Server Updates") automatically shows you the available commands.
• Reduced Training: New admins don't need to read the manual; the bot guides them to the right commands.

2. Comprehensive Update System

PatchRaptor takes the stress out of patch days with a robust update engine.

• Auto-Update: Silently monitors Steam for updates every 10 minutes.
• Safe Process: Broadcasts warnings (15m/10m/5m/1m), performs a SaveWorld, shuts down safely, and updates via SteamCMD, before rebooting safely and sending a discord announcement via Webhook (if configured).
• Manual Control: Use .forceupdate for emergencies or .cancel to abort a countdown.
• Staggered Restarts: servers always restart one-by-one with a 30s delay to prevent host CPU overloads and event/update issues.

3. Advanced Scheduler

Automate your entire cluster's maintenance schedule with simple natural-language commands.

• Flexible Timing: Schedule tasks for specific days (e.g., mon fri) or daily (daily).
• Granular Control: Target specific maps for reboots or backup the entire cluster at once.
• Easy Control: View, edit and manage it all from Discord.
• Example: .schedule add backup all daily 06:00

4. Fail-Safe Backup & Restore

Your data is protected by a "Safety Net" architecture that prevents accidental data loss during restorations.

• Automated Backups: Regular .zip archives of your save folders are created automatically.
• Smart Restore Process: When you trigger a restore, the bot performs a safety sequence:
  1. Safety Backup: It immediately backs up your current live save folder (e.g., _before_restore_timestamp).
  2. Clean State: It safely clears the existing save directory.
  3. Restoration: It extracts the selected backup file. Result: If you restore the wrong backup, your original data is still safe in the generated _before_restore folder.
• Easy Retrieval: List and restore backups directly from Discord.

5. GUI Configurator

Setting up a bot shouldn't require battling with raw JSON syntax.

• Visual Interface: A dedicated Python app (Configurator.py) that lets you add servers and configure settings with standard form fields and checkboxes.
• No Syntax Errors: Automatically generates strictly valid JSON. Never worry about a missing comma or mismatched bracket crashing your bot again.
• Path Validation: Use file pickers to safely select your SteamCMD.exe and ShooterGameServer.exe paths, ensuring no typos in your directory structure.

6. Player Management & Community Tracking

Manage your community effectively while keeping players informed.

• Live Census: Tracks player activity in real-time, feeding live player counts and 7-day averages to the Web Panel (Privacy Focus: No player names are shown on the web, only numbers).
• Cluster Intelligence: Use .players for quick totals, or .players list for a detailed manifesto of every survivor (Name, SteamID, Map, Uptime).
• Global Moderation: One command (.ban <name>) enforces bans across your entire cluster instantly.
• Remote Action: Kick or Ban problem players directly from Discord, without needing to launch the game or expose specific RCON ports.

7. Web Panel(Optional)

A lightweight, read-only dashboard for your community controlled by .webpanel on.

• Local Mode: Runs privately on your machine by default. Perfect for local monitoring without setup.
• BYO Cloudflare: Ready to go public? Use the included setup_tunnel.bat to securely link your own domain (e.g. status.yoursite.com).
• Secure Authentication: Public access is HTTPS encrypted and locked behind a username/password you configure.
• Private IP Protection: The tunnel allows access without port-forwarding or exposing your home server's IP address.

Quick Start (Running from Source)

Prerequisites

• Windows OS (Server 2019/2022, Windows 10/11)
• Administrator Access (Required to manage server processes)
• Python 3.10+ (Ensure "Add to PATH" is checked during install)
• SteamCMD (Installed and ready)
• RCON Tool (Ideally gorcon/rcon-cli or similar)
• Startup Scripts: You must have existing .bat files to launch your ARK servers.

1. Installation

1. Download or Clone this repository.
2. Double-click install_requirements.bat.
   • Select Option 1 (Production) for standard usage.
   • Select Option 2 (Development) if you plan to run tests or build the EXE.

2. Configuration

Method A: Using the GUI (Recommended)

1. Run Configurator.py.
2. General Settings:
   • Bot Token: Paste your Discord Bot Token. (Enable "Message Content Intent" in Discord Dev Portal).
   • Paths: Set paths for SteamCMD, RCON, etc.
3. Servers:
   • Add your ARK servers. Point "Path to Start.bat" to your existing startup scripts.
4. Click "Save Config".

Method B: Manual Setup

1. Copy config.example.json to config.json.
2. Edit config.json with your text editor.

3. Launching PatchRaptor

• Run the Bot: Double-click PatchRaptor.py.
  • A GUI dashboard will open showing the bot's status and logs.
• Verify: Check your Discord channel. If the specific "Online" message appears, you are ready!

3 Web Panel (Optional)

PatchRaptor includes a secure, read-only web dashboard to view player counts and server status remotely.

1. Setup Config:
   • Copy webpanel_config.example.json to webpanel_config.json.
   • Edit the file to set your admin password.
2. Start the Panel: Run '.webpanel on' pr-live.py.
3. Access Locally: Open http://localhost:8080.
4. Public Access (Cloudflare Tunnel):
   • Run setup_tunnel.bat to initialize setup of the secure tunnel. (launches setup script to configure Cloudflare Tunnel)
   • Run start_tunnel.bat to bring the tunnel online.

Project Structure

• PatchRaptor.py - Main Application Entry Point (GUI).
• Configurator.py - Settings Manager.
• pr-live.py - Standalone Web Panel Server.
• patchraptor/ - Core Logic Package (Managers for RCON, Backup, Discord).

Support

Join our discord for help and to make initial bug reports! Thanks for using PatchRaptor! https://discord.gg/dS3xKYUK96

License

MIT License. Free to use, modify, and distribute.