How to Make a Discord Bot in Python (discord.py), 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. requirements.txt lists the libraries; .env holds the token (no quotes); and app.py is the bot. Prefer JavaScript? It's the same bot in the discord.js guide.

discord.py
python-dotenv

DISCORD_TOKEN=paste-your-token-here

import os
import random

import discord
from discord import app_commands
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()  # reads the token from the .env file

intents = discord.Intents.default()
client = discord.Client(intents=intents)
tree = app_commands.CommandTree(client)


@tree.command(name="hello", description="Says hello")
async def hello(interaction: discord.Interaction):
    await interaction.response.send_message(f"Hello, {interaction.user.mention}!")


@tree.command(name="dice", description="Rolls a 6-sided die")
async def dice(interaction: discord.Interaction):
    await interaction.response.send_message(f"🎲 You rolled a {random.randint(1, 6)}")


@client.event
async def on_ready():
    await tree.sync()  # publishes the /hello and /dice commands
    print(f"Logged in as {client.user}")


client.run(os.environ["DISCORD_TOKEN"])

3. Try it on your computer

With Python 3.10 or newer: open a terminal in the folder, install the libraries with “pip install -r requirements.txt” and start it with “python app.py”. 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, switch it to Python in “Settings” → “Language”, upload the three files in “Files” (or set your GitHub repository, without the .env) and click “Start”. The libraries in requirements.txt install themselves at startup and app.py 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