---
summary: "Discord bot support status, capabilities, and configuration"
read_when:
  - Working on Discord channel features
title: "Discord"
---

# Discord (Bot API)

Status: ready for DMs and guild channels via the official Discord gateway.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Pairing" icon="link" href="/channels/pairing">
    Discord DMs default to pairing mode.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Slash commands" icon="terminal" href="/tools/slash-commands">
    Native command behavior and command catalog.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Channel troubleshooting" icon="wrench" href="/channels/troubleshooting">
    Cross-channel diagnostics and repair flow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Quick setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a Discord bot and enable intents">
    Create an application in the Discord Developer Portal, add a bot, then enable:

    - **Message Content Intent**
    - **Server Members Intent** (required for role allowlists and role-based routing; recommended for name-to-ID allowlist matching)

  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure token">

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      enabled: true,
      token: "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    },
  },
}
```

    Env fallback for the default account:

```bash
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...
```

  </Step>

  <Step title="Invite the bot and start gateway">
    Invite the bot to your server with message permissions.

```bash
openclaw gateway
```

  </Step>

  <Step title="Approve first DM pairing">

```bash
openclaw pairing list discord
openclaw pairing approve discord <CODE>
```

    Pairing codes expire after 1 hour.

  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
Token resolution is account-aware. Config token values win over env fallback. `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` is only used for the default account.
</Note>

## Runtime model

- Gateway owns the Discord connection.
- Reply routing is deterministic: Discord inbound replies back to Discord.
- By default (`session.dmScope=main`), direct chats share the agent main session (`agent:main:main`).
- Guild channels are isolated session keys (`agent:<agentId>:discord:channel:<channelId>`).
- Group DMs are ignored by default (`channels.discord.dm.groupEnabled=false`).
- Native slash commands run in isolated command sessions (`agent:<agentId>:discord:slash:<userId>`), while still carrying `CommandTargetSessionKey` to the routed conversation session.

## Access control and routing

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="DM policy">
    `channels.discord.dm.policy` controls DM access:

    - `pairing` (default)
    - `allowlist`
    - `open` (requires `channels.discord.dm.allowFrom` to include `"*"`)
    - `disabled`

    If DM policy is not open, unknown users are blocked (or prompted for pairing in `pairing` mode).

    DM target format for delivery:

    - `user:<id>`
    - `<@id>` mention

    Bare numeric IDs are ambiguous and rejected unless an explicit user/channel target kind is provided.

  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Guild policy">
    Guild handling is controlled by `channels.discord.groupPolicy`:

    - `open`
    - `allowlist`
    - `disabled`

    Secure baseline when `channels.discord` exists is `allowlist`.

    `allowlist` behavior:

    - guild must match `channels.discord.guilds` (`id` preferred, slug accepted)
    - optional sender allowlists: `users` (IDs or names) and `roles` (role IDs only); if either is configured, senders are allowed when they match `users` OR `roles`
    - if a guild has `channels` configured, non-listed channels are denied
    - if a guild has no `channels` block, all channels in that allowlisted guild are allowed

    Example:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      groupPolicy: "allowlist",
      guilds: {
        "123456789012345678": {
          requireMention: true,
          users: ["987654321098765432"],
          roles: ["123456789012345678"],
          channels: {
            general: { allow: true },
            help: { allow: true, requireMention: true },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    If you only set `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` and do not create a `channels.discord` block, runtime fallback is `groupPolicy="open"` (with a warning in logs).

  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Mentions and group DMs">
    Guild messages are mention-gated by default.

    Mention detection includes:

    - explicit bot mention
    - configured mention patterns (`agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns`, fallback `messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns`)
    - implicit reply-to-bot behavior in supported cases

    `requireMention` is configured per guild/channel (`channels.discord.guilds...`).

    Group DMs:

    - default: ignored (`dm.groupEnabled=false`)
    - optional allowlist via `dm.groupChannels` (channel IDs or slugs)

  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Role-based agent routing

Use `bindings[].match.roles` to route Discord guild members to different agents by role ID. Role-based bindings accept role IDs only and are evaluated after peer or parent-peer bindings and before guild-only bindings. If a binding also sets other match fields (for example `peer` + `guildId` + `roles`), all configured fields must match.

```json5
{
  bindings: [
    {
      agentId: "opus",
      match: {
        channel: "discord",
        guildId: "123456789012345678",
        roles: ["111111111111111111"],
      },
    },
    {
      agentId: "sonnet",
      match: {
        channel: "discord",
        guildId: "123456789012345678",
      },
    },
  ],
}
```

## Developer Portal setup

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Create app and bot">

    1. Discord Developer Portal -> **Applications** -> **New Application**
    2. **Bot** -> **Add Bot**
    3. Copy bot token

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Privileged intents">
    In **Bot -> Privileged Gateway Intents**, enable:

    - Message Content Intent
    - Server Members Intent (recommended)

    Presence intent is optional and only required if you want to receive presence updates. Setting bot presence (`setPresence`) does not require enabling presence updates for members.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="OAuth scopes and baseline permissions">
    OAuth URL generator:

    - scopes: `bot`, `applications.commands`

    Typical baseline permissions:

    - View Channels
    - Send Messages
    - Read Message History
    - Embed Links
    - Attach Files
    - Add Reactions (optional)

    Avoid `Administrator` unless explicitly needed.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Copy IDs">
    Enable Discord Developer Mode, then copy:

    - server ID
    - channel ID
    - user ID

    Prefer numeric IDs in OpenClaw config for reliable audits and probes.

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Native commands and command auth

- `commands.native` defaults to `"auto"` and is enabled for Discord.
- Per-channel override: `channels.discord.commands.native`.
- `commands.native=false` explicitly clears previously registered Discord native commands.
- Native command auth uses the same Discord allowlists/policies as normal message handling.
- Commands may still be visible in Discord UI for users who are not authorized; execution still enforces OpenClaw auth and returns "not authorized".

See [Slash commands](/tools/slash-commands) for command catalog and behavior.

## Feature details

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Reply tags and native replies">
    Discord supports reply tags in agent output:

    - `[[reply_to_current]]`
    - `[[reply_to:<id>]]`

    Controlled by `channels.discord.replyToMode`:

    - `off` (default)
    - `first`
    - `all`

    Note: `off` disables implicit reply threading. Explicit `[[reply_to_*]]` tags are still honored.

    Message IDs are surfaced in context/history so agents can target specific messages.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="History, context, and thread behavior">
    Guild history context:

    - `channels.discord.historyLimit` default `20`
    - fallback: `messages.groupChat.historyLimit`
    - `0` disables

    DM history controls:

    - `channels.discord.dmHistoryLimit`
    - `channels.discord.dms["<user_id>"].historyLimit`

    Thread behavior:

    - Discord threads are routed as channel sessions
    - parent thread metadata can be used for parent-session linkage
    - thread config inherits parent channel config unless a thread-specific entry exists

    Channel topics are injected as **untrusted** context (not as system prompt).

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reaction notifications">
    Per-guild reaction notification mode:

    - `off`
    - `own` (default)
    - `all`
    - `allowlist` (uses `guilds.<id>.users`)

    Reaction events are turned into system events and attached to the routed Discord session.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Config writes">
    Channel-initiated config writes are enabled by default.

    This affects `/config set|unset` flows (when command features are enabled).

    Disable:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      configWrites: false,
    },
  },
}
```

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Gateway proxy">
    Route Discord gateway WebSocket traffic through an HTTP(S) proxy with `channels.discord.proxy`.

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      proxy: "http://proxy.example:8080",
    },
  },
}
```

    Per-account override:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      accounts: {
        primary: {
          proxy: "http://proxy.example:8080",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="PluralKit support">
    Enable PluralKit resolution to map proxied messages to system member identity:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      pluralkit: {
        enabled: true,
        token: "pk_live_...", // optional; needed for private systems
      },
    },
  },
}
```

    Notes:

    - allowlists can use `pk:<memberId>`
    - member display names are matched by name/slug
    - lookups use original message ID and are time-window constrained
    - if lookup fails, proxied messages are treated as bot messages and dropped unless `allowBots=true`

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Presence configuration">
    Presence updates are applied only when you set a status or activity field.

    Status only example:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      status: "idle",
    },
  },
}
```

    Activity example (custom status is the default activity type):

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      activity: "Focus time",
      activityType: 4,
    },
  },
}
```

    Streaming example:

```json5
{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      activity: "Live coding",
      activityType: 1,
      activityUrl: "https://twitch.tv/openclaw",
    },
  },
}
```

    Activity type map:

    - 0: Playing
    - 1: Streaming (requires `activityUrl`)
    - 2: Listening
    - 3: Watching
    - 4: Custom (uses the activity text as the status state; emoji is optional)
    - 5: Competing

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Exec approvals in Discord">
    Discord supports button-based exec approvals in DMs and can optionally post approval prompts in the originating channel.

    Config path:

    - `channels.discord.execApprovals.enabled`
    - `channels.discord.execApprovals.approvers`
    - `channels.discord.execApprovals.target` (`dm` | `channel` | `both`, default: `dm`)
    - `agentFilter`, `sessionFilter`, `cleanupAfterResolve`

    When `target` is `channel` or `both`, the approval prompt is visible in the channel. Only configured approvers can use the buttons; other users receive an ephemeral denial. Approval prompts include the command text, so only enable channel delivery in trusted channels. If the channel ID cannot be derived from the session key, OpenClaw falls back to DM delivery.

    If approvals fail with unknown approval IDs, verify approver list and feature enablement.

    Related docs: [Exec approvals](/tools/exec-approvals)

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Tools and action gates

Discord message actions include messaging, channel admin, moderation, presence, and metadata actions.

Core examples:

- messaging: `sendMessage`, `readMessages`, `editMessage`, `deleteMessage`, `threadReply`
- reactions: `react`, `reactions`, `emojiList`
- moderation: `timeout`, `kick`, `ban`
- presence: `setPresence`

Action gates live under `channels.discord.actions.*`.

Default gate behavior:

| Action group                                                                                                                                                             | Default  |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------- |
| reactions, messages, threads, pins, polls, search, memberInfo, roleInfo, channelInfo, channels, voiceStatus, events, stickers, emojiUploads, stickerUploads, permissions | enabled  |
| roles                                                                                                                                                                    | disabled |
| moderation                                                                                                                                                               | disabled |
| presence                                                                                                                                                                 | disabled |

## Voice messages

Discord voice messages show a waveform preview and require OGG/Opus audio plus metadata. OpenClaw generates the waveform automatically, but it needs `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` available on the gateway host to inspect and convert audio files.

Requirements and constraints:

- Provide a **local file path** (URLs are rejected).
- Omit text content (Discord does not allow text + voice message in the same payload).
- Any audio format is accepted; OpenClaw converts to OGG/Opus when needed.

Example:

```bash
message(action="send", channel="discord", target="channel:123", path="/path/to/audio.mp3", asVoice=true)
```

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Used disallowed intents or bot sees no guild messages">

    - enable Message Content Intent
    - enable Server Members Intent when you depend on user/member resolution
    - restart gateway after changing intents

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Guild messages blocked unexpectedly">

    - verify `groupPolicy`
    - verify guild allowlist under `channels.discord.guilds`
    - if guild `channels` map exists, only listed channels are allowed
    - verify `requireMention` behavior and mention patterns

    Useful checks:

```bash
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw logs --follow
```

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Require mention false but still blocked">
    Common causes:

    - `groupPolicy="allowlist"` without matching guild/channel allowlist
    - `requireMention` configured in the wrong place (must be under `channels.discord.guilds` or channel entry)
    - sender blocked by guild/channel `users` allowlist

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Permissions audit mismatches">
    `channels status --probe` permission checks only work for numeric channel IDs.

    If you use slug keys, runtime matching can still work, but probe cannot fully verify permissions.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="DM and pairing issues">

    - DM disabled: `channels.discord.dm.enabled=false`
    - DM policy disabled: `channels.discord.dm.policy="disabled"`
    - awaiting pairing approval in `pairing` mode

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bot to bot loops">
    By default bot-authored messages are ignored.

    If you set `channels.discord.allowBots=true`, use strict mention and allowlist rules to avoid loop behavior.

  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Configuration reference pointers

Primary reference:

- [Configuration reference - Discord](/gateway/configuration-reference#discord)

High-signal Discord fields:

- startup/auth: `enabled`, `token`, `accounts.*`, `allowBots`
- policy: `groupPolicy`, `dm.*`, `guilds.*`, `guilds.*.channels.*`
- command: `commands.native`, `commands.useAccessGroups`, `configWrites`
- reply/history: `replyToMode`, `historyLimit`, `dmHistoryLimit`, `dms.*.historyLimit`
- delivery: `textChunkLimit`, `chunkMode`, `maxLinesPerMessage`
- media/retry: `mediaMaxMb`, `retry`
- actions: `actions.*`
- presence: `activity`, `status`, `activityType`, `activityUrl`
- features: `pluralkit`, `execApprovals`, `intents`, `agentComponents`, `heartbeat`, `responsePrefix`

## Safety and operations

- Treat bot tokens as secrets (`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` preferred in supervised environments).
- Grant least-privilege Discord permissions.
- If command deploy/state is stale, restart gateway and re-check with `openclaw channels status --probe`.

## Related

- [Pairing](/channels/pairing)
- [Channel routing](/channels/channel-routing)
- [Troubleshooting](/channels/troubleshooting)
- [Slash commands](/tools/slash-commands)
