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@ChessBoard234 – How can I add Stockfish and run 24/7?

Need help with my bot @ChessBoard234 – Stockfish, seeks & 24/7 hosting

Hi everyone!

I'm the creator of @ChessBoard234, a Lichess bot I've been building with a lot of passion.
My main computer is broken right now, so I'm developing everything on an Android phone using Pydroid 3 (a Python IDE). Despite the limitations, my bot already does quite a bit:

  • Accepts challenges and plays 7 variants (Standard, Chess960, Atomic, Crazyhouse, Racing Kings, Antichess, 3‐Check).
  • Joins team tournaments automatically.
  • Has custom chat commands, greets opponents, says goodbye, and even talks in the spectator room.
  • Uses Cloud Eval for openings and a built‐in engine (Sunfish) as a fallback.

However, I have a dream: I want @ChessBoard234 to play with the strength of Stockfish (3500 ELO), to challenge other bots automatically (seeks), and to run 24/7 without depending on my phone.

I've hit several technical walls and would love to hear your ideas or advice:

1. Stockfish on Android
My bot runs inside Pydroid 3 (Python on Android). I tried downloading pre‐compiled Stockfish binaries for ARM64, but I always get “Exec format error” or they simply don't start. Termux is not an option for me (Play Store restrictions).
Does anyone know a Stockfish binary (or any UCI engine) that actually works on Android without needing to compile it yourself?

2. Seeks without the board:play scope
My API token has bot:play, but not board:play, and apparently Lichess doesn't let me add that scope from the web interface. I've tried using the challenge API (/api/challenge/{username}) to challenge other bots, but sometimes I get 400 errors.
Is there a way to emulate a seek, or to get the board:play permission for a bot?

3. Free 24/7 hosting
At the moment @ChessBoard234 is only online when my phone is on. Do you know any free service (Replit, PythonAnywhere, Fly.io, etc.) that can host a Python script and keep a Lichess bot alive permanently? I'm worried about execution time limits and disconnections.

4. A nice discovery!
While researching, I found that the public Lichess analysis API (https://lichess.org/api/analysis?fen=...) returns Stockfish's best move without any token. I'm using it as a workaround and the playing level has improved a lot. Thank you Lichess for that tool! However, I'd love to integrate a local Stockfish to reduce latency and not depend on the network all the time.

Any suggestion, link, tutorial, or even just some encouragement would be amazing. I know I'm a newbie, but I'm really excited about this project. Thank you for reading! ️

***Need help with my bot @ChessBoard234 – Stockfish, seeks & 24/7 hosting*** Hi everyone! I'm the creator of **@ChessBoard234**, a Lichess bot I've been building with a lot of passion. My main computer is broken right now, so I'm developing everything on an Android phone using **Pydroid 3** (a Python IDE). Despite the limitations, my bot already does quite a bit: * Accepts challenges and plays **7 variants** (Standard, Chess960, Atomic, Crazyhouse, Racing Kings, Antichess, 3‐Check). * Joins team tournaments automatically. * Has custom chat commands, greets opponents, says goodbye, and even talks in the spectator room. * Uses Cloud Eval for openings and a built‐in engine (Sunfish) as a fallback. However, I have a dream: I want @ChessBoard234 to play with the strength of **Stockfish** (3500 ELO), to **challenge other bots automatically** (seeks), and to run **24/7** without depending on my phone. I've hit several technical walls and would love to hear your ideas or advice: --- ***1. Stockfish on Android*** My bot runs inside Pydroid 3 (Python on Android). I tried downloading pre‐compiled Stockfish binaries for ARM64, but I always get “Exec format error” or they simply don't start. Termux is not an option for me (Play Store restrictions). **Does anyone know a Stockfish binary (or any UCI engine) that actually works on Android without needing to compile it yourself?** --- ***2. Seeks without the `board:play` scope*** My API token has `bot:play`, but not `board:play`, and apparently Lichess doesn't let me add that scope from the web interface. I've tried using the challenge API (`/api/challenge/{username}`) to challenge other bots, but sometimes I get 400 errors. **Is there a way to emulate a seek, or to get the `board:play` permission for a bot?** --- ***3. Free 24/7 hosting*** At the moment @ChessBoard234 is only online when my phone is on. **Do you know any free service (Replit, PythonAnywhere, Fly.io, etc.) that can host a Python script and keep a Lichess bot alive permanently?** I'm worried about execution time limits and disconnections. --- ***4. A nice discovery!*** While researching, I found that the **public Lichess analysis API** (`https://lichess.org/api/analysis?fen=...`) returns Stockfish's best move without any token. I'm using it as a workaround and the playing level has improved a lot. **Thank you Lichess for that tool!** However, I'd love to integrate a local Stockfish to reduce latency and not depend on the network all the time. --- Any suggestion, link, tutorial, or even just some encouragement would be amazing. I know I'm a newbie, but I'm really excited about this project. Thank you for reading! ️

My API token has bot:play, but not board:play

You can create a new API token and add it anyways, @GatoChess89

> My API token has bot:play, but not board:play You can create a new API token and add it anyways, @GatoChess89

@GCVM said ^

My API token has bot:play, but not board:play

You can create a new API token and add it anyways, @GatoChess89

But that's not possible; Lichess won't let me select that option.

@GCVM said [^](/forum/redirect/post/y6PrtzRH) > > My API token has bot:play, but not board:play > > You can create a new API token and add it anyways, @GatoChess89 But that's not possible; Lichess won't let me select that option.

I need help, bot owners

I need help, bot owners

@GatoChess89 you won't be able to get a 3500+ elo bot on an android device for that you will need a 'top notch' computer so I recommend sticking with around 2800 elo to not overload your android. For your bot to run 24/7 either you need an online cloud hoster or servers (p.s with these your bot could be 3500+). If you give me your android model and specs I could help you :-)

@GatoChess89 you won't be able to get a 3500+ elo bot on an android device for that you will need a 'top notch' computer so I recommend sticking with around 2800 elo to not overload your android. For your bot to run 24/7 either you need an online cloud hoster or servers (p.s with these your bot could be 3500+). If you give me your android model and specs I could help you :-)

@RoyalJockey said ^

@GatoChess89 you won't be able to get a 3500+ elo bot on an android device for that you will need a 'top notch' computer so I recommend sticking with around 2800 elo to not overload your android. For your bot to run 24/7 either you need an online cloud hoster or servers (p.s with these your bot could be 3500+). If you give me your android model and specs I could help you :-)

How kind of you, thank you, my model is Galaxy A05 (SM-A055M)

@RoyalJockey said [^](/forum/redirect/post/xkwNVvhH) > @GatoChess89 you won't be able to get a 3500+ elo bot on an android device for that you will need a 'top notch' computer so I recommend sticking with around 2800 elo to not overload your android. For your bot to run 24/7 either you need an online cloud hoster or servers (p.s with these your bot could be 3500+). If you give me your android model and specs I could help you :-) How kind of you, thank you, my model is Galaxy A05 (SM-A055M)