Section titled Creating the main fileCreating the main file
This page assumes you've already prepared the configuration files from the previous page.
We're using the config.json approach, however feel free to substitute your own!
Open your code editor and create a new file. We suggest that you save the file as index.js, but you may name it whatever you wish.
Here's the base code to get you started:
_15// Require the necessary discord.js classes_15import { Client, Events, GatewayIntentBits } from 'discord.js';_15import config from './config.json' assert { type: 'json' };_15_15// Create a new client instance_15const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds] });_15_15// When the client is ready, run this code (only once)_15// We use 'c' for the event parameter to keep it separate from the already defined 'client'_15client.once(Events.ClientReady, (c) => {_15 console.log(`Ready! Logged in as ${c.user.tag}`);_15});_15_15// Log in to Discord with your client's token_15client.login(config.token);
This is how you create a client instance for your Discord bot and log in to Discord. The GatewayIntentBits.Guilds intents option is necessary for the discord.js client to work as you expect it to, as it ensures that the caches for guilds, channels, and roles are populated and available for internal use.
The term "guild" is used by the Discord API and in discord.js to refer to a Discord server.
Intents also define which events Discord should send to your bot, and you may wish to enable more than just the minimum. You can read more about the other intents on the Intents topic.
Section titled Running your applicationRunning your application
Open your terminal and run node index.js to start the process. If you see "Ready!" after a few seconds, you're good to go! The next step is to start adding slash commands to develop your bot's functionality.
You can open your package.json file and edit the "main": "index.js" field to point to your main file. You can then run node . in your terminal to start the process!
After closing the process with Ctrl + C, you can press the up arrow on your keyboard to bring up the latest commands you've run. Pressing up and then enter after closing the process is a quick way to start it up again.