> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Private Commands

> Friend a bridge bot in-game and /msg it commands like !online.

You can use the bridge from inside Hypixel, without opening Discord. Add a bridge bot as a friend, then send it
commands by private message:

```
/friend add <bot name>
/msg <bot name> !online
```

The bot answers by private message too.

> Private commands are switched on **per guild** by an admin. If the bot never accepts your friend request,
> ask staff whether it has been turned on.

## Becoming friends

The bot accepts your friend request straight away **if you are a member of any guild the bridge serves**. It
does not have to be the bot of your own guild: any bridge bot with private commands on will do.

If the bot can't check the guild rosters right then (for example, a bot is reconnecting), it leaves your request
pending rather than accepting it. Hypixel lets the request expire after a few minutes, and you can just send it
again.

When you **leave or are kicked from** a bridged guild, the bots remove you as a friend. That keeps their friend
lists from filling up, since Hypixel caps how many friends one account can have. If you moved to another
bridged guild, send a new request.

## Commands

Every command starts with `!`. Type `!help` for the list, or `!help <command>` for one command.

| Command | Does |
| - | - |
| `!help [command]` | List the commands, or explain one |
| `!online [tag] [page]` | Who is online in every guild. With a tag, the full list for that guild |
| `!members` | How many members each guild has, and how many are online |
| `!guilds` | The guilds the bridge serves, and whether each bot is connected |
| `!me` | Your guild, and whether your account is linked to Discord |
| `!ping` | Check that the bot is listening, and its ping to Hypixel |
| `!about` | The bridge version and how long it has been running |

Short forms work too: `!o` for `!online`, `!count` for `!members`, `!version` for `!about`.

`!online` on its own gives one line per guild, like `[SB] 12: Notch, jeb_, ... +4`. For everyone, ask for one
guild by its tag: `!online sb`. Long lists come in pages, so use `!online sb 2` for the next one.

## Limits

* **One command every few seconds.** Commands sent faster than that are ignored. Some commands, such as
  `!online`, have a longer cooldown, and the bot tells you how long to wait.
* **Replies are short.** A reply is at most five messages, because every message the bot sends counts toward
  Hypixel's spam limit, and the bot shares that limit with guild chat.
* **Members only.** If you leave the bridged guilds, the bot stops answering and removes you as a friend.
* **Blacklisted members are refused.** If your Minecraft account is [linked](https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/tribridge/account-linking.md) to a
  Discord account on the [blacklist](https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/tribridge/blacklist.md), the bot says so and does nothing else.
* There is no in-game way to look up other people's account links. That stays a bot-admin command
  (`/whois`) on Discord.

## For admins

Switch it on per guild:

```
/guilds edit guild:sb privatecommands:True
```

It's off by default, including for guilds registered before this feature existed. `/guilds list` marks guilds
that have it on with 💬. Turn it on for as many guilds as you like. Each bot accepts members of **every**
bridged guild, so one is enough for everybody.

* **Membership is checked every time.** It's checked when the friend request arrives and again on every
  command, against the live `/guild list` of every connected guild (cached for five minutes). If the check
  can't be completed, the request or command is refused. An accepted friend stays until removed, so failing
  open here would be permanent.
* **Every accepted and ignored request is logged** to the guild's log channel. An ignored request is logged at
  most once an hour per player.
* **The friend list is capped by Hypixel.** Leavers are removed automatically, but a large guild can still fill
  a bot's list. Spread members across several bots by turning the flag on for more than one guild.
* Replies go through the same rate-limited chat queue as relayed guild chat, so a burst of commands can slow
  the bridge for a moment. Replies still waiting after 30 seconds are dropped.

## Next

* [Commands](https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/tribridge/commands.md)
* [Hypixel guilds](https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/tribridge/hypixel-guilds.md)
* [Account linking](https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/tribridge/account-linking.md)


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