How to Make a Discord Bot in JavaScript (discord.js), Step by Step

1. Create the bot on Discord

1. Create the application

   Go to discord.com/developers/applications, click “New Application” and give it a name. That's your bot.

2. Get the token

   In the “Bot” tab, click “Reset Token” and copy the token. It's the bot's password: whoever has it controls the bot, so don't share it or push it to GitHub.

3. Invite it to your server

   In “OAuth2” → “URL Generator”, tick “bot” and “applications.commands”, pick the permissions (to start with, “Send Messages”) and open the link it gives you to add the bot to your Discord server. To see what each permission lets the bot do, build the link with the bot permissions calculator.

2. The code

Three files in one folder. package.json lists the libraries; .env holds the token (no quotes); and index.js is the bot. Prefer Python? It's the same bot in the discord.py guide. With types? In TypeScript.

{
  "name": "my-bot",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "dependencies": {
    "discord.js": "^14.16.0",
    "dotenv": "^16.4.0"
  }
}

DISCORD_TOKEN=paste-your-token-here

require("dotenv").config(); // reads the token from the .env file
const { Client, Events, GatewayIntentBits, SlashCommandBuilder } = require("discord.js");

const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds] });

const commands = [
  new SlashCommandBuilder().setName("hello").setDescription("Says hello"),
  new SlashCommandBuilder().setName("dice").setDescription("Rolls a 6-sided die"),
];

client.once(Events.ClientReady, async (c) => {
  await c.application.commands.set(commands.map((x) => x.toJSON())); // publishes /hello and /dice
  console.log(`Logged in as ${c.user.tag}`);
});

client.on(Events.InteractionCreate, async (i) => {
  if (!i.isChatInputCommand()) return;
  if (i.commandName === "hello") await i.reply(`Hello, ${i.user}!`);
  if (i.commandName === "dice") await i.reply(`🎲 You rolled a ${1 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 6)}`);
});

client.login(process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN);

3. Try it on your computer

With Node.js 20 or newer: open a terminal in the folder, install the libraries with “npm install” and start it with “node index.js”. When it says “Logged in as…”, type /hello on your server. Slash commands can take a few minutes to show up the first time.

4. Keep it online all the time (for free)

As long as the program is running on your computer, the bot works; turn the computer off and it disconnects. To keep it online all the time it has to be hosted on a server.

On NapNodes: create the free bot (it starts out on Node.js, so there's no language to change), upload the three files in “Files” (or set your GitHub repository, without the .env) and click “Start”. The libraries in package.json install themselves at startup and index.js is the startup file that comes set. The whole process is in the Discord bot hosting guide.

The NapNodes free bot has 256 MB, plenty for a bot like this one, and you only have to renew it with one click every week. If it grows, or you'd rather not have to remember, the Mini plan has 512 MB and stays online with nothing to renew (Discord bot pricing).

Frequently asked questions