Hi, I'm Murali — I build Pepper
I'm an AI Engineer who builds Discord bots on the side. Pepper is free and open source, I don't make any money from it, and contributions are always welcome.
The one person behind Pepper
By day I work as an AI Engineer. Discord bots are what I build for the fun of it — first ticket bots for individual servers, then Salt, a public ticket bot I've since retired, and now Pepper.
Pepper is open source and isn't run for profit. If you want to fix a bug or add a feature, the code is on GitHub and pull requests are welcome.
Day job
AI Engineer
Favourite languages
Python & TypeScript
Profit from bots
None
Source code
Open source
What I've built
Bots and side projects
Pepper is the one most people know. These are the others, all open source.
Pepper
Discord music bot
The bot this site is for — free, streaming through audio nodes I host, and the one I reach for myself now and then.
Salt
Ticket bot · retired
A multi-server ticket bot I've since stopped running. It's one of the most complex bots I've ever built, and the code is still up.
Ticket bots
Single-server bots
Several ticket support bots, mostly designed for individual servers rather than for anyone to invite.
Smart Terminal
AI command-line tool
AI-powered terminal commands for macOS, Linux and Windows, published as a Python package.
Coup
Multiplayer card game
The bluffing card game Coup, rebuilt to play online with friends in the browser.
FAQ
Questions people ask me
About me
What do you do for a living?
I'm an AI Engineer.
What is your favourite programming language?
Python and TypeScript.
Do you make a profit from your Discord bots?
No, I don't. Pepper is free to use.
Is the code for your bots open source?
Yes — Pepper is on GitHub, and the code for my older bots, Salt included, is still up there too. If you're interested in contributing, you're more than welcome.
Have you built any other Discord bots?
Several ticket support bots, mostly designed for individual servers, and Salt, a public ticket bot I've since stopped. Pepper is the only public bot I run now, and I have no plans to make another.
Do you use your bots yourself?
Occasionally — I do use Pepper.
Which was your favourite, Pepper or Salt?
I really liked Salt and spent a lot of time developing it — it's one of the most complex bots I've ever built. I've since stopped running it, so Pepper is the one that's still going.
About Pepper
Does Pepper use AI?
Only in smart autoplay. Pepper gathers similar songs and scores them with its own formulas, then an AI picks the ones that best fit the mood of your session. The AI sees song titles, artists and genre tags — never usernames, IDs or messages. If the AI is slow or unavailable, Pepper falls back to its own scoring.
Does Pepper use Lavalink?
Yes. Pepper streams through Lavalink, for better performance.
What data do you collect, and what do you do with it?
Only what the bot needs to work: things like your Discord user ID, username and server ID, plus the songs and radio stations played in a server and by each user, which power /chart, playlists and the public stats. None of it is sold. If you'd like your data removed, open a ticket in the support server with your reason and I'll consider it. The privacy policy lists everything in full.
Chip in towards the servers
Pepper is free to use, but not free to run — the audio nodes it streams through and the lyrics service behind it are servers I host. If Pepper has earned its place in your server, a donation helps keep it there. It's entirely optional and unlocks nothing.
Want to help build Pepper?
Pepper is open source. Contributions are welcome — or come and say hi in the support server.