diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fda32fd..dbe4556 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -44,11 +44,30 @@ This Discord bot engages in voice conversations with users. It joins a voice cha
     ```
 
 ## Running the Bot
-Once the dependencies are installed and the configuration is set, you can run the bot using:
-```bash
-python discord_bot.py
-```
-Ensure your terminal is in the same directory as `discord_bot.py`.
+
+There are two main ways to run the bot:
+
+**1. Using the startup script (recommended for Linux/macOS):**
+
+   Make the script executable (only needs to be done once):
+   ```bash
+   chmod +x run_bot.sh
+   ```
+   Then run the script:
+   ```bash
+   ./run_bot.sh
+   ```
+   Alternatively, you can run it directly with bash:
+   ```bash
+   bash run_bot.sh
+   ```
+
+**2. Directly with Python:**
+
+   You can also run the bot directly using Python (ensure you are in the project's root directory and use `python3` as specified in the `run_bot.sh` script):
+   ```bash
+   python3 discord_bot.py
+   ```
 
 ## Usage / Commands
 -   **`!join`**: The bot will join the voice channel you are currently in and initiate "conversation mode." It will listen for your speech for 10 seconds, process it, get a response from Character AI, speak it back, and then listen to you again.
diff --git a/discord_bot.py b/discord_bot.py
index 1a0733b..15dfd09 100644
--- a/discord_bot.py
+++ b/discord_bot.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import os
+os.system("pip install discord.py")
+os.system("pip install SpeechRecognition")
 import discord
 from discord.ext import commands
 import asyncio
@@ -11,7 +14,7 @@
 CAI_TOKEN = "8041baf6512c863ffe65eea49a071e4f0287f149"  # Your Character AI client token
 CAI_CHARACTER_ID = "vOPdHXLGkA_7tamhZGhijCC29nk8W1xphYbm81qfSH4" # The ID of the Character AI character you want to interact with
 CAI_VOICE_ID = "453c0918-82d5-40ab-b42c-517a322ee5e5" # The specific voice ID for the Character AI character's speech
-BOT_TOKEN = input("BOT TOKEN: ") 
+BOT_TOKEN = input("BOT TOKEN:")
 # --- Global Variables ---
 cai_client = None # Global client for PyCharacterAI, initialized in on_ready()
 conversation_mode_status = {} # Dictionary to manage conversation mode state per guild
@@ -235,11 +238,14 @@ async def start_recording(
         # Start listening for audio.
         # `voice_client.listen()` takes the sink and an `after` callback.
         # The `after` callback (`finished_recording_callback`) is triggered when `voice_client.stop_listening()` is called.
-        # We pass `guild`, `user_to_record`, and `text_channel_for_responses` as `*cb_args` (callback arguments)
-        # so that `finished_recording_callback` receives the necessary context for its operations.
-        voice_client.listen(sink_instance, 
-                            after=lambda sink_obj, *cb_args: bot.loop.create_task(finished_recording_callback(sink_obj, *cb_args)), 
-                            guild, user_to_record, text_channel_for_responses)
+        # We pass `guild`, `user_to_record`, and `text_channel_for_responses` as positional arguments to listen(),
+        # which then passes them to the `after` callback.
+        voice_client.listen(sink_instance,
+                            guild,
+                            user_to_record,
+                            text_channel_for_responses,
+                            after=lambda sink_param, guild_param, user_param, channel_param: bot.loop.create_task(finished_recording_callback(sink_param, guild_param, user_param, channel_param))
+                           )
         
         await text_channel_for_responses.send(f"Listening to {user_to_record.mention} for 10 seconds...")
         await asyncio.sleep(10) # Record audio for a fixed duration of 10 seconds.
@@ -403,9 +409,13 @@ async def record(ctx: commands.Context):
     sink_instance = discord.sinks.WaveSink() # Create a new sink for this recording session.
     try:
         # Pass guild, author, and channel to the callback via listen's *args for context.
-        ctx.voice_client.listen(sink_instance, 
-                                after=lambda sink, *args: bot.loop.create_task(finished_recording_callback(sink, *args)),
-                                ctx.guild, ctx.author, ctx.channel)
+        # Corrected: Positional arguments must come before keyword arguments.
+        ctx.voice_client.listen(sink_instance,
+                               ctx.guild,
+                               ctx.author,
+                               ctx.channel,
+                               after=lambda sink_param, guild_param, user_param, channel_param: bot.loop.create_task(finished_recording_callback(sink_param, guild_param, user_param, channel_param))
+                              )
         await asyncio.sleep(10) # Record for 10 seconds.
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"Error starting manual recording listener: {e}")
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 8813026..e8fa802 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 discord.py
 SpeechRecognition
-websockets==15.0.1
 # PyCharacterAI is a local module, not from PyPI, but its dependencies like curl-cffi might be needed if installing from scratch.
 # Pocketsphinx was installed as a dependency of SpeechRecognition for offline STT capabilities.
 # SoundDevice was installed as a dependency of Pocketsphinx.
diff --git a/run_bot.sh b/run_bot.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9aa5c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/run_bot.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+echo "Starting the Discord Character AI Bot..."
+
+# It's good practice to ensure the bot runs from the script's directory
+# in case it relies on relative paths for configs or assets in the future.
+# SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"
+# cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"
+
+# Assuming discord_bot.py is in the same directory as run_bot.sh
+python3 discord_bot.py
+
+echo "Discord Character AI Bot has stopped."