Default-DiscordBot

Introduction and Purpose

A clonable repository that can be used as a starting point for new discord bot projects. This repo contains my own instructions, and might not work for you. Follow the instructions under "Getting started" below to get started.

Getting started

• Setup Github repository and working environment.

  • Start by forking this repository.

  • Rename and change the description of the new repository.

  • Clone the repository into a suitable local folder with git (for example with Github Desktop).

  • Remove the "#" from the .gitignore file. (This will prevent changes in your .env file from being uploaded. That would be VERY bad).

  • Create a virtual environment: If in Visual Studio Code, go to the terminal, and from your project directory, type

    python -m venv project_name_venv
    

    Then activate the virtual environment by typing

    project_name_venv\Scripts\activate
    

  Your venv should now be created inside your project folder. It should also be activated in the VSCode terminal. For more help, see this helpful python tutorial. Do NOT forget to put the name of your venv inside the .gitignore file, to prevent uploading it to github.

  • Create a new requirements.txt file (or update it if you already have one) by typing

    pip freeze > requirements.txt
    

  • You can install the listed requirements in your requirements.txt file by typing

    pip install -r requirements.txt
    

  • You can install packages into your venv by typing the following. See correct installation name at PPI.

    pip install package_name
    

• Create a Discord Application.

  • Go to the discord developer portal, select Applications -> create a New application.
  • Choose a project name and provide a short description of your project. Note: This project name can be different from the bots username.
  • Go to Settings -> Bot and create a Bot user.
  • Configure the bot settings. Specifically: Toggle Public, and enable the Presence- Server members- and Message Content - Intents.
  • Go to the OAuth2 URL Generator, select scopes (specifically bot), select bot permissions (for example Send Messages, Read Messages/View Channels). Copy and paste the generated URL in a browser Tab.

• Launch the bot.

  • Grab your bot token (in Settings -> Bot), and put it into your .env file. Formatting should be:

    KEY1 = 12345
    

  • Enable the client.run() command at the bottom of main.py.

  • Try running the bot.

• Host the bot on Heroku (Heroku will not offer free Dynos starting November 28, 2022)

  • Go to Heroku.com, create a new app, give it a name and region.
  • Go to Settings -> Add buildpack -> choose python.
  • Go to Deploy and follow the instructions to Deploy using Heroku Git (assuming you already have the Heroku CLI downloaded). Start by "connecting" your previously existing repository (see bottom of the instructions).
  • Go to Resources -> Dynos and activate the "worker" dyno.

Additional Nice Things

• Upload an App Icon and Bot Icon in the discord developer portal.
• Change your bots