An OSRS mining bot refers to the use of a third-party software program (called a ‘bot’) in the Old School RuneScape (OSRS) online game to perform repetitive tasks in the game (in this case mining) automatically so that a player that uses it can gain advantage over other players who are playing normally.

Bots are implemented through macros that automate user input into the game. Simple macros, for example, can be used to move a cursor to a certain point on the screen and click on it. More advanced macros, however, can be implemented to interact with the game’s client software directly to mimic all possible player inputs. As bots have evolved they have become ever more sophisticated to the point that some are using advanced AI techniques, such as machine learning, when interacting with the game making them highly effective.

OSRS mining bot are used to help players by automating mining tasks and are often found in the East Varrock mining rune and at Aubury’s Rune shop where they sell the results for cash in the real world. Players have also found bots in the Mining Guild and Crafting Guild that are mining gold as well as in the Living Rock Caverns where they are mining coal as well as gold. There have even been some reports of bots mining runite or in the Wilderness and the resource dungeon in the Mining Guild.

Using bots is against the RunseScape rules, specifically Rule 7, of the game. It may result in action being taken against the player’s account by the game’s administrators and can result in a temporary or permanent ban. Jagex, the creator the game, can also modify a player’s score and achievements by, for example, rolling back their skill levels or the amount of coins they own. While Jagex has applied a number of software updates to end the use of bots in the game, which were largely successful, it received a mixed review from players who had significant concerns about their implementation and many of the changes were removed in subsequent updates.

The game continues to have options to report users that other players suspect are bots. The ‘Macroing or use of Bots’ option in the Honour menu can be used to do this within the game. The features that indicate that a player is potentially a bot include odd or garbled character names, the character always having the default look with no, or very little customization, and that they are ranked only in the Mining high scores and have low, or no, Combat scores.