So, you want to write a bot and you know some JavaScript, or maybe even node.js. You want to do cool things like a music bot, tag commands, random image searches, the whole shebang. Well you're at the right place!
{% hint style="info" %}
This is the long version with a whole lot of useless blabbering text, jokes and explanations.
TL;DR (short) versions: Windows, Linux
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This tutorial will get you through the first steps of creating a bot, configuring it, making it run, and adding a couple of commands to it.
The first step in creating a bot is to create your own Discord application. The bot will use the Discord API, which requires the creation of an account for authentication purposes. Don't worry though, it's super simple.
To create the application, head to the Discordapp.com Application Page. Assuming you're logged in (if not, do so now), you'll reach a page that looks like this:
Click on (you guessed it!) Create an application. This brings you to the following page, in which you should simply enter a name for the application (this will be the inital bot username). You don't really need a description or icon, but feel free to add one. Click Save Changes which will create the application itself.
The Client ID on this page will be your bot's user ID. Nothing else on this page is relevant, it is not used in your bot (however, you can enter a description
After creating the application, we need to create the Bot User. Go to the Bot section on the left, then click on Add Bot, then Yes, Do it.
There's a few things you can change here.
Usernameto change your bot's username on Discord (this can also be done through code).Iconto change the bot's avatar (can also be done with discord.js)TokenThis is your bot's token, which will be used when connecting to discord. See the section below for details.Public botThis toggles the ability for other users to add your bot to their server. You can turn this on during development.Require Oauth2 Code GrantDon't check this. Just, don't. It's not useful to you and will cause problems if you turn it on.
Ok so, this might be a bit early to do this but it doesn't really matter - even if you haven't written a single line of code for your bot, you can already "invite" it to a server. In order to add a bot, you need Manage Server permissions on that server. This is the only way to add a bot, it cannot use invite links or any other methods.
To generate the link, click on Oauth2 in the app page, and scroll down to Scopes. Check the BOT scope to generate a link.
Usually, bots are invited with specific permissions which are given to the bot's role on the server. This is optional, but you can set thos permissions in the Bot page, scrolling down to the Bot Permissions section. Check any permissions your bot requires. This modifies the invite link above, which you can then share.
Once you have the link, you can copy it to a browser window and visit it. When you do this, You get shown a window letting you choose the server where to add the bot, simply select the server and click Authorize.
{% hint style="info" %} You need to be logged in to Discord on the browser with your account to see a list of servers. You can only add a bot to servers where you have Manage Server permissions. {% endhint %}
{% hint style="danger" %} Alright so, big flashy warning, PAY ATTENTION. This next part is really, really important: Your bot's token is meant to be SECRET. It is the way by which your bot authenticates with the Discord server in the same way that you login to Discord with a username and password. Revealing your token is like putting your password on the internet, and anyone that gets this token can use your bot connection to do things. Like delete all the messages on your server and ban everyone. If your token ever reaches the internet, change it immediately. This includes putting it on pastebin/hastebin, having it in a public github repository, displaying a screenshot of it, anything. GOT IT? GOOD! {% endhint %}
With that warning out of the way, on to the next step. The Token, as I just mentioned, is the way in which the bot authenticates. To get it, go to the Bot section of the app page, then click Copy to copy it to the clipboard. You can also view your token here if you wish:
This might go beyond saying but I'll say it anyway: You can't just start shoving bot code in notepad.exe and expect it to work. In order to use discord.js you will need a couple of things installed. At the very least:
- Get Node.js version 7.6 or higher (earlier versions are not supported). Download for windows or if you're on a linux distro, via package manager.
- Get an actual code editor. Don't use notepad or notepad++, they are not sufficient. VS Code , Sublime Text 3 and Atom are often recommended.
{% hint style="info" %} An alternative: c9.io. I personally appreciate c9.io as it's a full VPS with a great editor (Ace) and installing node, discord.js and all dependencies, then running the bot, is easy. You can't host it there, but you can certainly develop there. This is not an endorsement. {% endhint %}
Once you have the required software, the next step is to prepare a space for your code. Please don't just put your files on your desktop it's... unsanitary. If you have more than one hard drive or partition, you could create a special place for your development project. Mine, for example, is D:\devel\ , and my bot is d:\devel\omnicbot\ . Once you've created a folder, open your CLI (command line interface) in that folder. Linux users, you know how. Windows users, here's a trick: SHIFT+RightClick in the folder, then choose the "secret" command Open command window here. Magic!
And now ready for the next step!
So you have your CLI ready to go, in an empty folder, and you just wanna start coding. Alright, hold on one last second: let's install discord.js. But first we'll initialize this folder with NPM, which will ensure that any installed module will be here, and nowhere else. Simply run npm init -y and then hit Enter. A new file is created called package.json, click here for more info about it.
And now we install Discord.js through NPM, the Node Package Manager:
npm install [email protected]
This will take a couple of heartbeats and display a lot of things on screen. Unless you have a big fat red message saying it didn't work, or package not found, or whatever, you're good to go. If you look at your folder, you'll notice that there's a new folder created here: node_modules . This contains all the installed packages for your project.
{% hint style="info" %} I honestly consider that if you don't understand the code you're about to see, coding a bot might not be for you. If you do not understand the following sample, please go to CodeAcademy and learn Javascript first. I beg of you: stop, drop, and roll. {% endhint %}
Okay finally, we're ready to start coding. \o/ Let's take a look at the most basic of examples, the ping-pong bot. Here's the code in its entirety:
const Discord = require("discord.js");
const client = new Discord.Client();
client.on("ready", () => {
console.log("I am ready!");
});
client.on("message", (message) => {
if (message.content.startsWith("ping")) {
message.channel.send("pong!");
}
});
client.login("SuperSecretBotTokenHere");{% hint style="info" %}
The variable client here is used an an example to represent the <Client> class. Some people call it bot, but you can technically call it whatever you want. I recommend sticking to client though!
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Okay let's just... actually get this guy to work, because this is literally a functional bot. So let's make it run!
- Copy that code and paste it in your editor.
- Replace the string in the
client.login()function with your token - Save the file as
mybot.js. - In the CLI (which should still be in your project folder) type the following command:
node mybot.js
If all went well (hopefully it did) your bot is now connected to your server, it's in your userlist, and ready to answer all your commands... Well, at least, one command: ping. In its current state, the bot will reply "pong!" to any message that starts with, exactly, ping. Let's demonstrate!
Success! You now have a bot running! As you probably realize by now I could probably blabber on from here, showing you a bunch of stuff. But the scope of this tutorial is completed, so I'll shut up now! Ciao!
Now that you have a basic, functional bot, it's time to start adding new features! Head on over to Your First Bot to continue on your journey with adding new commands and features!
Before you start getting support from Discord servers to help you with your bot, I strongly advise taking a look at the following, very useful, resources.
- Discord.js v11 Documentation : For the love of all that is (un)holy, read the documentation. Yes, it will be alien at first if you are not used to "developer documentation" but it contains a whole lot of information about each and every feature of the API. Combine this with the examples above to see the API in context.
- An Idiot's Guide is another great channel with more material. York's guides are great, and he continues to update them.
- Evie.Codes on Youtube: If you prefer video to words, Evie's youtube series (which is good, though no longer maintained with new videos!) gets you started with bots.
- An Idiot's Guide Official Server: The official server for An Idiot's Guide. Full of friendly helpful users!
- Discord.js Official Server: The official server has a number of competent people to help you, and the development team is there too!