Discord Developer Cheat Sheet

A quick reference guide for creating, managing, and troubleshooting Discord bots and applications.

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Bot Basics

1. Creating a Discord Application

• Go to the Discord Developer Portal.
• Click New Application > Name your application > Save.

2. Generating a Bot Token

• Navigate to Bot > Click Add Bot.
• Copy the token. Keep it secure.

3. Setting Bot Permissions

• Go to OAuth2 > URL Generator.
• Select bot scope and assign required permissions.
• Use the generated URL to invite the bot.

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Key Libraries

1. Discord.js (JavaScript)

• Install: npm install discord.js
• Example Initialization:

  const { Client, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');
  const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds, GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages] });

  client.once('ready', () => console.log('Bot is online!'));

  client.login('YOUR_TOKEN');

2. Discord.py (Python)

• Install: pip install discord.py
• Example Initialization:

  import discord

  client = discord.Client()

  @client.event
  async def on_ready():
      print('Bot is online!')

  client.run('YOUR_TOKEN')

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Useful API Endpoints

1. List Guilds

• GET /users/@me/guilds
• Returns a list of guilds the bot is in.

2. Send Message

• POST /channels/{channel.id}/messages
• JSON Payload:

  {
    "content": "Hello, World!"
  }

3. React to Message

• PUT /channels/{channel.id}/messages/{message.id}/reactions/{emoji}/@me

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Common Bot Features

1. Command Handling

• Discord.js Example:

  client.on('messageCreate', (message) => {
      if (message.content === '!ping') {
          message.reply('Pong!');
      }
  });

2. Embed Messages

• Discord.js Example:

  const { MessageEmbed } = require('discord.js');

  const embed = new MessageEmbed()
      .setTitle('Hello!')
      .setDescription('This is an embed.')
      .setColor('#0099ff');

  message.channel.send({ embeds: [embed] });

3. Role Assignment

• Discord.js Example:

  const role = message.guild.roles.cache.find(r => r.name === 'Member');
  const member = message.mentions.members.first();
  member.roles.add(role);

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Tips and Best Practices

1. Secure Your Tokens:

   • Use environment variables to store sensitive information.
   • Example: process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN

2. Test Locally Before Deploying:

   • Use tools like nodemon for live testing.

3. Rate Limits:

   • Discord enforces rate limits. Avoid spamming API calls.

4. Logging:

   • Add logs to monitor bot activity and errors.

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Troubleshooting

1. Bot Not Responding

• Ensure the bot is online and has the necessary permissions.
• Check token validity.

2. Permission Errors

• Revisit OAuth2 permission settings.
• Ensure the bot has role-based permissions in the server.

3. Rate Limit Errors

• Add delays between API calls.
• Respect Discord’s rate limits to avoid bans.

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This cheat sheet serves as a starting point for Discord development. Explore the Discord API Documentation for advanced features!