Update configuration and README for improved setup and security; disable default API and emoji sync, and enhance Discord permission checks in API routes.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

bot/api/db_manager.py

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
+# ║                                                                  ║
+# ║   ░█▀▀░█▀█░█▀▄░█▀▀░█░█   ░█▀▄░█▀▀░█░█░█▀▀                     ║
+# ║   ░█░░░█░█░█░█░█▀▀░▄▀▄   ░█░█░█▀▀░▀▄▀░▀▀█                     ║
+# ║   ░▀▀▀░▀▀▀░▀▀░░▀▀▀░▀░▀   ░▀▀░░▀▀▀░░▀░░▀▀▀                     ║
+# ║                                                                  ║
+# ║            © 2026 CodeX Devs — All Rights Reserved              ║
+# ║                                                                  ║
+# ║   discord  ──  https://discord.gg/codexdev                      ║
+# ║   youtube  ──  https://youtube.com/@CodeXDevs                   ║
+# ║   github   ──  https://github.com/RayExo                        ║
+# ║                                                                  ║
+# ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
+
+import aiosqlite
+import asyncio
+from typing import Dict
+
+class DatabaseManager:
+    """
+    A simple manager for persistent SQLite connections to avoid 
+    opening/closing files on every API request.
+    """
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._connections: Dict[str, aiosqlite.Connection] = {}
+        self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+
+    async def get_connection(self, db_path: str) -> aiosqlite.Connection:
+        """
+        Retrieves an existing connection or creates a new one for the given path.
+        """
+        async with self._lock:
+            if db_path not in self._connections:
+                # We use check_same_thread=False because aiosqlite handles 
+                # thread safety by running queries in a dedicated thread.
+                conn = await aiosqlite.connect(db_path, check_same_thread=False)
+                conn.row_factory = aiosqlite.Row
+                self._connections[db_path] = conn
+            return self._connections[db_path]
+
+    async def close_all(self):
+        """
+        Closes all open connections. Called on API shutdown.
+        """
+        async with self._lock:
+            for path, conn in self._connections.items():
+                try:
+                    await conn.close()
+                except:
+                    pass
+            self._connections.clear()
+
+# Singleton instance
+db_manager = DatabaseManager()