Ascend Bot

A Discord bot that turns Striver's A2Z DSA Sheet (474 problems) into a competitive, gamified group study tracker. Track progress, earn XP, climb tiers, maintain streaks, and flex on your friends.

Features

474-Problem Sheet (Striver's A2Z)

• Full Striver's A2Z DSA Sheet with all 474 problems pre-loaded
• Easy (152) · Medium (186) · Hard (136) across 19 topics
• Browse interactively by topic, difficulty, or unsolved only
• Every problem name is TUF + LeetCode compatible

XP + Tier Gamification

Tier Progression:

Streak Tracking

• Tracks consecutive days of solving at least one problem
• Public announcements at 7, 14, 30, 60, and 100 day milestones

Public Announcements

Auto-posted in a dedicated channel when someone:

• Clears a full topic → "Ravi just cleared Arrays! +100 XP"
• Hits a streak milestone → "Ravi is on a 7-day streak! +75 XP"
• ️ Upgrades tier → "Ravi just hit Gold tier! "

Fuzzy Problem Matching

Type problem names however you want — the bot figures it out:

• "two sum" → two-sum
• "twosum" → two-sum
• "Two Sum" → two-sum
• "kadanes algorithm" → kadanes-algorithm
• Ambiguous matches get a confirmation prompt before logging

Commands

Public Commands (everyone sees)

Private Commands (only you see)

Topics (19 Categories)

Tech Stack

• Language: Python 3.11+
• Discord Library: discord.py v2.x (slash commands)
• Database: SQLite via aiosqlite (async, zero config)
• Fuzzy Matching: difflib.get_close_matches (stdlib — no extra deps)
• Environment: python-dotenv

Project Structure

discord_dsa/
├── bot.py                  # Entry point
├── config.py               # Constants, XP/tier config
├── database.py             # SQLite schema + queries
├── models.py               # Dataclasses
├── cogs/
│   ├── solve.py            # /solved, /whosolved
│   ├── sheet.py            # /sheet (interactive menu)
│   ├── progress.py         # /progress, /streak
│   ├── leaderboard.py      # /leaderboard, /showleaderboard
│   ├── topic.py            # /topic <name>
│   └── announcements.py    # Auto milestone posts
├── utils/
│   ├── fuzzy.py            # Problem name matching
│   ├── xp.py               # XP engine
│   ├── embeds.py           # Discord embed builders
│   └── pagination.py       # Paginated views
├── data/
│   └── tuf_problems.json   # 474 problems (pre-extracted)
├── .env                    # Your secrets
├── .gitignore
└── requirements.txt

Local Setup (Development)

1. Create Discord Bot

1. Go to Discord Developer Portal
2. New Application → name it (e.g., "DSA Grind Bot")
3. Go to Bot tab → click Reset Token → Copy the token
4. Enable these Privileged Gateway Intents:
   • MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT
   • SERVER MEMBERS INTENT
5. Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator:
   • Scopes: bot, applications.commands
   • Bot Permissions: Send Messages, Embed Links, Use Slash Commands, Read Message History
6. Copy the generated URL → paste in browser → invite bot to your server
7. Get your Server ID: Enable Developer Mode (Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode), then right-click your server → Copy Server ID
8. Get Announcements Channel ID: Right-click the channel → Copy Channel ID

2. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your values:

BOT_TOKEN=your_discord_bot_token_here
GUILD_ID=your_server_id
ANNOUNCE_CHANNEL_ID=your_channel_id

3. Install & Run

pip install -r requirements.txt
python bot.py

️ Free Hosting Guide (24/7 Uptime)

Option 1: Oracle Cloud Free Tier RECOMMENDED

Why: Truly free forever (not a trial), gives you a full VM with great uptime. Most reliable free option.

What you get free: 2 AMD VMs (1 GB RAM each) or 1 ARM VM (4 cores, 24 GB RAM) — always free, no credit card charges ever.

Setup Steps:

# 1. Sign up at https://cloud.oracle.com (free tier)
# 2. Create a Compute Instance:
#    - Shape: VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro (Always Free)
#    - OS: Ubuntu 22.04 (or latest)
#    - Download your SSH key during creation

# 3. SSH into your VM
ssh -i ~/your-key.key ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

# 4. Install Python
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv git

# 5. Clone your repo
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/discord_dsa.git
cd discord_dsa

# 6. Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 7. Create .env file
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # paste your bot token, guild ID, channel ID

# 8. Run with systemd (auto-restarts on crash + starts on boot)
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dsa-bot.service

Paste this into the systemd service file:

[Unit]
Description=DSA Grind Discord Bot
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu/discord_dsa
ExecStart=/home/ubuntu/discord_dsa/venv/bin/python bot.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
EnvironmentFile=/home/ubuntu/discord_dsa/.env

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

# 9. Enable and start
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable dsa-bot
sudo systemctl start dsa-bot

# 10. Check status
sudo systemctl status dsa-bot

# View logs
journalctl -u dsa-bot -f

Result: Bot runs 24/7, auto-restarts on crash, auto-starts on reboot. 100% free forever.

Option 2: Railway.app (Easy Deploy)

Why: Dead-simple GitHub deploy, no SSH needed. Free tier gives 500 hours/month (enough for a small bot if managed).

️ Railway's free tier has limits. For 24/7 uptime, you may need their $5/month Hobby plan eventually. But to start it's great.

# 1. Push your code to GitHub
git init && git add . && git commit -m "initial"
git remote add origin https://github.com/you/discord_dsa.git
git push -u origin main

# 2. Go to https://railway.app → New Project → Deploy from GitHub
# 3. Add environment variables in Railway dashboard:
#    BOT_TOKEN, GUILD_ID, ANNOUNCE_CHANNEL_ID
# 4. Set Start Command: python bot.py
# 5. Deploy!

Option 3: Render.com (Free Background Worker)

Why: Free tier includes a background worker (not a web server), perfect for Discord bots.

️ Render free tier spins down after inactivity. For a Discord bot, use their Background Worker type which stays running.

# 1. Push to GitHub
# 2. Go to https://render.com → New → Background Worker
# 3. Connect your GitHub repo
# 4. Runtime: Python 3
# 5. Build Command: pip install -r requirements.txt
# 6. Start Command: python bot.py
# 7. Add environment variables in dashboard

Database Backup System

Your data (dsa_bot.db) is the single most important file. Here's how to protect it.

Automated Cloud Backup (to GitHub — Free)

Create a backup script on your server:

nano ~/backup_dsa.sh

#!/bin/bash
# backup_dsa.sh — Backs up the SQLite database to a private GitHub repo

BACKUP_DIR="/home/ubuntu/dsa_backups"
DB_PATH="/home/ubuntu/discord_dsa/dsa_bot.db"
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M)

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Copy database (safe copy while bot is running)
sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" ".backup '$BACKUP_DIR/dsa_bot_$DATE.db'"

# Also keep a "latest" copy
cp "$BACKUP_DIR/dsa_bot_$DATE.db" "$BACKUP_DIR/dsa_bot_latest.db"

# Push to private GitHub repo
cd "$BACKUP_DIR"
git add -A
git commit -m "Backup $DATE"
git push origin main

# Clean up old local backups (keep last 7)
ls -t "$BACKUP_DIR"/dsa_bot_2*.db | tail -n +8 | xargs rm -f 2>/dev/null

echo " Backup complete: $DATE"

chmod +x ~/backup_dsa.sh

Set up the private backup repo:

# 1. Create a PRIVATE repo on GitHub (e.g., "dsa-bot-backups")
# 2. Set it up locally:
mkdir -p ~/dsa_backups && cd ~/dsa_backups
git init
git remote add origin https://github.com/you/dsa-bot-backups.git
git branch -M main

# First push
touch .gitkeep && git add . && git commit -m "init" && git push -u origin main

Schedule daily automatic backups (cron):

crontab -e

Add this line (runs every day at 3 AM IST):

30 21 * * * /home/ubuntu/backup_dsa.sh >> /home/ubuntu/backup.log 2>&1

(21:30 UTC = 3:00 AM IST)

Scheduled Backup to Your Local Machine

Pull backups from the cloud to your local Windows machine:

Option A: Git Pull (Easiest)

Since backups are pushed to GitHub, just clone/pull on your local machine:

# One-time setup
git clone https://github.com/you/dsa-bot-backups.git C:\Users\Vaibhav\dsa_backups

# Whenever you want the latest backup
cd C:\Users\Vaibhav\dsa_backups
git pull

You can schedule this with Windows Task Scheduler:

1. Open Task Scheduler → Create Basic Task
2. Trigger: Daily (or Weekly)
3. Action: Start a Program
   • Program: git
   • Arguments: -C C:\Users\Vaibhav\dsa_backups pull
4. Done — your local machine auto-pulls the latest backup

Option B: SCP Direct Download (if using Oracle/VPS)

# Download latest backup directly from server
scp -i ~\.ssh\oracle_key ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:/home/ubuntu/discord_dsa/dsa_bot.db C:\Users\Vaibhav\dsa_backups\dsa_bot_%date%.db

Schedule this in Task Scheduler too for automatic pulls.

Backup Summary

3 copies of your data (server + GitHub + local) = you'll never lose progress.

Database

SQLite database (dsa_bot.db) created automatically on first run. Tables:

Manual Database Inspection

# On the server
sqlite3 dsa_bot.db

# Useful queries:
.tables
SELECT * FROM users ORDER BY xp DESC;
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM solves;
SELECT username, xp, tier, current_streak FROM users ORDER BY xp DESC LIMIT 10;

Bot Management Commands (on your server)

# Check if bot is running
sudo systemctl status dsa-bot

# Restart the bot
sudo systemctl restart dsa-bot

# View live logs
journalctl -u dsa-bot -f

# Stop the bot
sudo systemctl stop dsa-bot

# Update the bot (pull latest code)
cd ~/discord_dsa
git pull
sudo systemctl restart dsa-bot

Troubleshooting

Contributing

This is a private study group bot. Fork and adapt for your own group!

Credits

• Problem data from Striver's A2Z DSA Sheet by takeUforward
• Built with discord.py