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

Issue	Severity	Solution
Issue	critical	## Acknowledge immediately, process later
Issue	critical	## Step 1: Enable in Developer Portal
Issue	high	## Use a separate deploy script (not on startup)
Issue	critical	## Never hardcode tokens
Issue	high	## Generate correct invite URL
Issue	medium	## Development: Use guild commands
Issue	medium	## Never block the event loop
Issue	medium	## Show modal immediately