How to make a Discord bot: a beginner's guide

You don't need to master it. A few evenings on the basics (variables, if statements, functions, running a file from the terminal) is enough to follow along and, more importantly, to fix things when they break. For Python, the official Python tutorial covers it. For JavaScript, learn the language before the library: the discord.js guide assumes you already know it.

Python: you want Python 3.14.

• Windows: on python.org, click Download Python install manager (the main button, not the standalone installer link under it) and run it. The first command in step 5 then installs 3.14.
• Mac: use the macOS installer from python.org, then open Applications, the Python 3.14 folder, and double-click Install Certificates.command. Skip that and the bot can't connect to Discord, even though everything else installs fine.
• Linux: python.org only has source code for Linux, so install your distribution's python3.14 package (plus python3.14-venv on Debian or Ubuntu).

Stick with 3.14 even after 3.15 comes out: one of discord.py's dependencies doesn't have ready-made builds for 3.15 yet, so installing can fail on Windows.

JavaScript: install the version marked LTS (long-term support) on nodejs.org: Node 24 today, Node 26 from late October 2026. Either works. Older guides that say Node 16 or 18 point at versions that no longer get security fixes.

Open the Discord Developer Portal and create a new application. Its name is your bot's name. Every application comes with a bot account built in.

Open the Bot page and click Reset Token. Discord only shows the token once, so copy it straight away and keep it somewhere private, like a password manager, until you paste it into a file in step 5. If you lose it, click Reset Token again. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it controls your bot.

On the Installation page, leave the install link set to Discord Provided Link. Under Default Install Settings for Guild Install, add the bot scope (the permission that adds your bot to a server) and the Send Messages permission, then click Save Changes. (The applications.commands scope that slash commands use is included with bot; adding it as well does no harm.)

Copy the install link, open it in your browser and choose your server. You need the Manage Server permission there, which you have if it's your server. Want only your friends' server to be able to add it? Make it private.

Open a terminal. On Windows, use Command Prompt: press Start, type cmd and press Enter. It opens in your user folder, so the commands below create C:\Users\YourName\my-bot. On a Mac, open the Terminal app.

Make files in a code editor. You will create a few files in the my-bot folder. Use a code editor such as VS Code (free): File, Open Folder, pick my-bot, then make each new file there. If you use Notepad, set Save as type to All files before saving .env, or Windows quietly saves it as .env.txt.

Pick the half that matches your language.

Python

py install 3.14
mkdir my-bot
cd my-bot
py -V:3.14 -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\python -m pip install -U discord.py python-dotenv

If the first line says the install command is unavailable, an older Python launcher has taken over the py command. Run py -V:3.14 --version: if it prints Python 3.14, skip the first line and run the rest. Otherwise, open Installed apps, uninstall Python Launcher, and start again from the first line.

mkdir my-bot
cd my-bot
python3.14 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -U discord.py python-dotenv

The .venv folder holds this bot's own copy of discord.py so it can't clash with anything else on your computer. You never need to "activate" it: the commands call its Python directly.

In the my-bot folder, create a file named exactly .env with your token from step 3 (lost it? click Reset Token and use the new one):

DISCORD_TOKEN=paste-your-token-here

Then save this as bot.py. Don't name it discord.py: Python would load your file instead of the library.

import os

import discord
from discord import app_commands
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()  # reads DISCORD_TOKEN (and DISCORD_GUILD_ID, if set) from .env

# Optional: your server's ID makes /hello show up instantly while testing.
TEST_GUILD_ID = os.getenv("DISCORD_GUILD_ID")


class MyBot(discord.Client):
    def __init__(self):
        # Default intents: slash commands need no privileged intents.
        super().__init__(intents=discord.Intents.default())
        # The tree holds your slash commands.
        self.tree = app_commands.CommandTree(self)

    async def setup_hook(self):
        # Runs once at startup: tell Discord which commands exist.
        if TEST_GUILD_ID:
            guild = discord.Object(id=int(TEST_GUILD_ID))
            self.tree.copy_global_to(guild=guild)
            await self.tree.sync(guild=guild)  # just your server, instant
            # Remove the every-server copy from earlier runs,
            # so /hello isn't listed twice.
            self.tree.clear_commands(guild=None)
            await self.tree.sync()
        else:
            await self.tree.sync()  # every server the bot is in


bot = MyBot()


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


@bot.event
async def on_ready():
    print(f"Logged in as {bot.user}")


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

Run it from the my-bot folder:

.venv\Scripts\python bot.py

.venv/bin/python bot.py

JavaScript

mkdir my-bot
cd my-bot
npm init -y
npm install discord.js

On Windows, run these in Command Prompt, not PowerShell: PowerShell blocks npm by default with a "running scripts is disabled" error. If you see it, type npm.cmd in place of npm.

In the my-bot folder, create a file named exactly .env with your token from step 3:

DISCORD_TOKEN=paste-your-token-here

Save this as index.js:

// index.js: a minimal discord.js bot with one slash command, /hello
const { Client, Events, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');

// The Guilds intent is all a slash-command bot needs.
const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds] });

// The commands Discord shows when someone types "/".
const commands = [
  { name: 'hello', description: 'Say hello' },
];

// Optional: your server's ID makes /hello show up instantly while testing.
const testGuildId = process.env.DISCORD_GUILD_ID;

// Runs once, when the bot has logged in.
client.once(Events.ClientReady, async (readyClient) => {
  console.log(`Logged in as ${readyClient.user.tag}`);

  // Tell Discord which commands exist. set() replaces the whole list,
  // so running it on every start updates /hello instead of duplicating it.
  try {
    if (testGuildId) {
      // Just your server, instant.
      await readyClient.application.commands.set(commands, testGuildId);
      // Remove the every-server copy from earlier runs,
      // so /hello isn't listed twice.
      await readyClient.application.commands.set([]);
    } else {
      // Every server the bot is in.
      await readyClient.application.commands.set(commands);
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Could not register commands:', error);
  }
});

// Runs every time someone uses one of the bot's commands.
client.on(Events.InteractionCreate, async (interaction) => {
  if (!interaction.isChatInputCommand()) return;

  if (interaction.commandName === 'hello') {
    await interaction.reply(`Hello, ${interaction.user.displayName}!`);
  }
});

// Log in with the token from your .env file.
client.login(process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN);

Run it from the my-bot folder. Node reads .env itself, no extra package needed:

node --env-file=.env index.js

The terminal should print Logged in as ... and the bot should appear online in your server. Type /hello.

If the command isn't there yet, restart Discord (Ctrl+R on Windows, Cmd+R on a Mac); a command for every server can take a moment to appear. To make commands show up instantly while you test, turn on Developer Mode (User Settings, then Advanced), right-click your server icon, choose Copy Server ID, and add it to .env as a second line: DISCORD_GUILD_ID=that-id. Both samples then register commands for just your server and remove the every-server copy from your first run.

Your bot only reads its code and .env when it starts, so after any change, stop it with Ctrl+C in its terminal and run it again. If you open a new terminal later, type cd my-bot first, then the run command from step 5.

From here, add a second command, then learn buttons and pop-up forms. The discord.py docs and the discord.js guide are the best next stops.