> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.membercounter.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.membercounter.app/readme.md).

# Member Counter Documentation

Member Counter is a Discord bot which lets you display counts and other dynamic information in various places, such as voice channel name or text channel topic.

Member Counter rewrites a channel name or a channel topic every few minutes. You write a **template**: ordinary text with one or more **counters** in it.

A counter can be the member count, the number of people online, roles, Nitro boosters, a clock in another timezone, a countdown, a Twitch follower count, a Reddit subscriber count, or the result of your own HTTP request. You can nest counters, do arithmetic on them and format the digits.

<figure><img src="https://1582170640-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lu2S5r7lKtu4IK5ucu9%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-858f69311a58c2cb0c392bea4cf30edf3323ee96%2Fdiscord-counter-channels-example.png?alt=media" alt="A Discord channel list showing a Server Stats category with counter channels"><figcaption><p>Counters running in a Discord server</p></figcaption></figure>

[Add Member Counter to your server](https://membercounter.app/invite) to try it, or join [our support server](https://membercounter.app/support) if these pages do not answer your question.

## Two ways to set up counters

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="With a slash command" %}
Run `/setup server` in Discord. The bot creates a `📊 Server Stats 📊` category with five ready-made counter channels. Nothing else to configure.

[Quick setup](/getting-started/quick-setup.md)
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="In the dashboard" %}
Open the [dashboard](https://membercounter.app/dashboard), pick your server and click a channel. Mix text, emoji and any counter, preview the result and save it.

[Creating your first counter](/getting-started/create-from-scratch.md)
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

`/setup` writes ordinary templates, so you can open anything it created in the dashboard and change it.

## The different bots

**Member Counter** is the free public bot. It updates channels every 10 minutes and cannot run the Twitch and YouTube counters or the finer Members filters. **Member Counter Premium** is the legacy premium bot, reserved for servers that hold a legacy server upgrade. It updates every 5 minutes and adds the Twitch and YouTube counters, but it has no privileged intents either.

For 5 minute updates and the full counter list without a legacy upgrade, run the bot under your own token, either [hosted by us as a custom bot](/custom-bot/custom-bot.md) or [on your own machine](/self-hosting/self-hosting.md).

Every counter page states which bots it works on, and [How counters update](/using-the-dashboard/how-counters-update.md) explains the refresh timing.

## Where to go next

* [Adding the bot to your server](/getting-started/adding-bot-to-the-server.md)
* [Dashboard overview](/using-the-dashboard/using-the-bot.md)
* [Counters reference](/counters-reference/counters-list.md)
* [Commands](/commands/bot-commands.md)
* [How to contribute](/contributing/how-to-contribute.md)