discord-bot-architect

Discord Bot Architect

Patterns

Discord.js v14 Foundation

Modern Discord bot setup with Discord.js v14 and slash commands

When to use: ['Building Discord bots with JavaScript/TypeScript', 'Need full gateway connection with events', 'Building bots with complex interactions']

javascript
// src/index.js
const { Client, Collection, GatewayIntentBits, Events } = require('discord.js');
const fs = require('node:fs');
const path = require('node:path');
require('dotenv').config();

// Create client with minimal required intents
const client = new Client({
intents: [
GatewayIntentBits.Guilds,
// Add only what you need:
// GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages,
// GatewayIntentBits.MessageContent, // PRIVILEGED - avoid if possible
]
});

// Load commands
client.commands = new Collection();
const commandsPath = path.join(__dirname, 'commands');
const commandFiles = fs.readdirSync(commandsPath).filter(f => f.endsWith('.js'));

for (const file of commandFiles) {
const filePath = path.join(commandsPath, file);
const command = require(filePath);
if ('data' in command && 'execute' in command) {
client.commands.set(command.data.name, command);
}
}

// Load events
const eventsPath = path.join(__dirname, 'events');
const eventFiles = fs.readdirSync(eventsPath).filter(f => f.endsWith('.js'));

for (const file of eventFiles) {
const filePath = path.join(eventsPath, file);
const event = require(filePath);
if (event.once) {
client.once(event.name, (...args) => event.execute(...args));
} else {
client.on(event.name, (...args) => event.execute(...args));
}
}

client.login(process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN);

javascript
// src/commands/ping.js
const { SlashCommandBuilder } = require('discord.js');

module.exports = {
data: new SlashCommandBuilder()
.setName('ping')
.setDescription('Replies with Pong!'),

async execute(interaction) {
const sent = await interaction.reply({
content: 'Pinging...',
fetchReply: true
});

const latency = sent.createdTimestamp - interaction.createdTimestamp;
await interaction.editReply(Pong! Latency: ${latency}ms);
}
};

javascript
// src/events/interactionCreate.js
const { Events } = require('discord.js');

module.exports = {
name: Event

### Pycord Bot Foundation
Discord bot with Pycord (Python) and application commands
When to use: ['Building Discord bots with Python', 'Prefer async/await patterns', 'Need good slash command support']

python

# main.py
import os
import discord
from discord.ext import commands
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()
Configure intents - only enable what you need

intents = discord.Intents.default()
intents.message_content = True  # PRIVILEGED - avoid if possible

intents.members = True          # PRIVILEGED
bot = commands.Bot(
    command_prefix="!",  # Legacy, prefer slash commands
    intents=intents
)
@bot.event
async def on_ready():
    print(f"Logged in as {bot.user}")
    # Sync commands (do this carefully - see sharp edges)
    # await bot.sync_commands()
Slash command

@bot.slash_command(name="ping", description="Check bot latency")
async def ping(ctx: discord.ApplicationContext):
    latency = round(bot.latency  1000)
    await ctx.respond(f"Pong! Latency: {latency}ms")
Slash command with options

@bot.slash_command(name="greet", description="Greet a user")
async def greet(
    ctx: discord.ApplicationContext,
    user: discord.Option(discord.Member, "User to greet"),
    message: discord.Option(str, "Custom message", required=False)
):
    msg = message or "Hello!"
    await ctx.respond(f"{user.mention}, {msg}")
Load cogs

for filename in os.listdir("./cogs"):
    if filename.endswith(".py"):
        bot.load_extension(f"cogs.{filename[:-3]}")
bot.run(os.environ["DISCORD_TOKEN"])

# cogs/general.py
import discord
from discord.ext import commands
class General(commands.Cog):
    def __init__(self, bot):
        self.bot = bot
    @commands.slash_command(name="info", description="Bot information")
    async def info(self, ctx: discord.ApplicationContext):
        embed = discord.Embed(
            title="Bot Info",
            description="A helpful Discord bot",
            color=discord.Color.blue()
        )
        embed.add_field(name="Servers", value=len(self.bot.guilds))
        embed.add_field(name="Latency", value=f"{round(self.bot.latency  1000)}ms")
        await ctx.respond(embed=embed)
    @commands.Cog.

Interactive Components Pattern

Using buttons, select menus, and modals for rich UX

When to use: ['Need interactive user interfaces', 'Collecting user input beyond slash command options', 'Building menus, confirmations, or forms']

javascript
// Discord.js - Buttons and Select Menus
const {
SlashCommandBuilder,
ActionRowBuilder,
ButtonBuilder,
ButtonStyle,
StringSelectMenuBuilder,
ModalBuilder,
TextInputBuilder,
TextInputStyle
} = require('discord.js');

module.exports = {
data: new SlashCommandBuilder()
.setName('menu')
.setDescription('Shows an interactive menu'),

async execute(interaction) {
// Button row
const buttonRow = new ActionRowBuilder()
.addComponents(
new ButtonBuilder()
.setCustomId('confirm')
.setLabel('Confirm')
.setStyle(ButtonStyle.Primary),
new ButtonBuilder()
.setCustomId('cancel')
.setLabel('Cancel')
.setStyle(ButtonStyle.Danger),
new ButtonBuilder()
.setLabel('Documentation')
.setURL('https://discord.js.org')
.setStyle(ButtonStyle.Link) // Link buttons don't emit events
);

// Select menu row (one per row, takes all 5 slots)
const selectRow = new ActionRowBuilder()
.addComponents(
new StringSelectMenuBuilder()
.setCustomId('select-role')
.setPlaceholder('Select a role')
.setMinValues(1)
.setMaxValues(3)
.addOptions([
{ label: 'Developer', value: 'dev', emoji: '💻' },
{ label: 'Designer', value: 'design', emoji: '🎨' },
{ label: 'Community', value: 'community', emoji: '🎉' }
])
);

await interaction.reply({
content: 'Choose an option:',
components: [buttonRow, selectRow]
});

// Collect responses
const collector = interaction.channel.createMessageComponentCollector({
filter: i => i.user.id === interaction.user.id,
time: 60_000 // 60 seconds timeout
});

collector.on('collect', async i => {
if (i.customId === 'confirm') {
await i.update({ content: 'Confirmed!', components: [] });
collector.stop();
} else if (i.custo
```

Anti-Patterns

❌ Message Content for Commands

Why bad: Message Content Intent is privileged and deprecated for bot commands.
Slash commands are the intended approach.

❌ Syncing Commands on Every Start

Why bad: Command registration is rate limited. Global commands take up to 1 hour
to propagate. Syncing on every start wastes API calls and can hit limits.

❌ Blocking the Event Loop

Why bad: Discord gateway requires regular heartbeats. Blocking operations
cause missed heartbeats and disconnections.

⚠️ Sharp Edges