Build a Basic Discord Bot

In this guide, you'll learn how to build a simple bot using Python, Replit, and Discord Developer Portal.

🧰 Requirements

• A Replit account
• A Discord account
• Basic knowledge of Python syntax

🛠️ Setup Instructions

1. Create the Python environment

• Go to Replit
• Click Create Repl
• Choose Python template

2. Enable Developer Mode in Discord

• Open Discord → User Settings → Advanced
• Enable Developer Mode

3. Create a Discord Bot Application

• Go to Discord Developer Portal
• Click "New Application"
• Name your bot (e.g., HelloBot)
• Go to Bot tab → Click Add Bot
• Click Reset Token → Copy the token (You’ll paste this into code)

4. Invite Your Bot to a Server

• Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator
• Check bot and applications.commands
• Under Bot Permissions, check Administrator
• Copy the generated URL and open it in a browser to invite your bot

5. Enable Message Intent

• In the Bot tab, scroll to Privileged Gateway Intents
• Enable Message Content Intent

🤖 Code Walkthrough

Here’s the full code, explained step by step:

1. Import modules

import discord
import random

2. Add your token

TOKEN = "PASTE_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"

3. Set up intents and client

intents = discord.Intents.default()
intents.message_content = True
client = discord.Client(intents=intents)

4. Event: Bot is ready

@client.event
async def on_ready():
    print(f'We have logged in as {client.user}')

5. Event: Bot responds to messages

@client.event
async def on_message(message):
    if message.author == client.user:
        return

    content = message.content.lower()
    print(f"{message.author.name} said: '{message.content}'")

    if content.startswith("!hello"):
        await message.channel.send("Hello!")
    elif content.startswith("!roll"):
        number = random.randint(1, 6)
        await message.channel.send(f"🎲 You rolled a {number}!")
    elif content.startswith("bye"):
        await message.channel.send(f"👋 Goodbye {message.author.name}!")

6. Start the bot

client.run(TOKEN)

📦 Full Code

import discord
import random

TOKEN = "PASTE_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"

intents = discord.Intents.default()
intents.message_content = True

client = discord.Client(intents=intents)

@client.event
async def on_ready():
    print(f'We have logged in as {client.user}')

@client.event
async def on_message(message):
    if message.author == client.user:
        return

    content = message.content.lower()
    print(f"{message.author.name} said: '{message.content}'")

    if content.startswith("!hello"):
        await message.channel.send("Hello!")
    elif content.startswith("!roll"):
        number = random.randint(1, 6)
        await message.channel.send(f"🎲 You rolled a {number}!")
    elif content.startswith("bye"):
        await message.channel.send(f"👋 Goodbye {message.author.name}!")

client.run(TOKEN)

🧪 Try it Out

Type !hello, !roll, or bye in any server your bot is part of and see it reply!