🤖 DiscordBot Template

A fully-featured, production-ready Discord bot starter kit — no fluff, just functions.

Stop stitching together tutorials. This template gives you 68+ working commands out of the box — full moderation suite, utility tools, fun commands, a giveaway system, and clean mod-logging — all in one readable file you can extend in minutes.

Quick Start · Commands · 24/7 Hosting · Configuration

📦 What You Get

This is not a bare-bones "ping pong" starter. Drop this into your server and your mods can immediately kick, ban, mute, warn, purge, lock channels, run giveaways, and more — without touching any configuration beyond your token.

30 general commands — polls, reminders, tags, calculators, dice rolls, 8-ball, coin flips, Morse code, and more
30 moderation commands — full kick/ban/mute/warn pipeline with persistent per-user logs, softban, tempban, massban, slowmode, channel lock/hide, voice controls, and auto mod-log
8 fun/utility commands — giveaways with auto-draw, sniping, leaderboards, command usage stats
3 owner-only commands — shutdown, DM a user, set bot status
Automatic events — join/leave messages, AFK detection, command error handling, snipe tracking
Zero database required — everything runs in memory; swap in SQLite or Postgres when you're ready to scale

🧾 Product Description

DiscordBot Template is an open-source Discord bot starter written in Python, designed for server owners who want a fully functional bot on day one without building from scratch. It ships with a complete moderation toolkit, quality-of-life utilities, and a clean, well-commented codebase that any Python developer can extend. Whether you're running a gaming community, a study server, or a business hub, this template gives your moderators real tools and your members a better experience — immediately.

✅ Requirements

Requirement	Version
Python	3.10 or higher
discord.py	2.x
Operating System	Windows, macOS, or Linux

🏗 Creating Your Bot on Discord

Follow these steps exactly to create a bot account in Discord's developer portal.

Step 1 — Open the Developer Portal

Go to https://discord.com/developers/applications and log in with your Discord account.

Step 2 — Create a New Application

Click New Application in the top-right corner. Give it a name (this becomes the bot's display name), then click Create.

Step 3 — Add a Bot User

In the left sidebar, click Bot. Then click Add Bot → Yes, do it!

You will now see your bot's username and a Token section. This token is your bot's password — keep it private and never share it.

Step 4 — Copy Your Token

Click Reset Token, confirm, then copy the token that appears. You will paste this into the code shortly.

⚠️ If your token is ever exposed publicly (e.g. pushed to GitHub), immediately click Reset Token to invalidate the old one.

Step 5 — Enable Privileged Intents

Still on the Bot page, scroll down to Privileged Gateway Intents and enable all three:

✅ Presence Intent
✅ Server Members Intent
✅ Message Content Intent

Click Save Changes.

🔐 Giving the Bot Permissions

Step 1 — Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator

In the left sidebar, click OAuth2, then URL Generator.

Step 2 — Select Scopes

Under Scopes, check:

✅ bot
✅ applications.commands

Step 3 — Select Bot Permissions

Under Bot Permissions, check everything you want. For full functionality, select:

Permission	Why
Administrator	Grants all permissions at once (easiest for testing)
— OR select individually:
Kick Members	`!kick` command
Ban Members	`!ban`, `!unban`, `!tempban`, `!massban`, `!softban`
Manage Roles	`!mute`, `!unmute`, `!role`, `!unrole`
Manage Channels	`!slowmode`, `!lock`, `!unlock`, `!hidechannel`, `!showchannel`, `!clonevchan`
Manage Messages	`!purge`, `!warn`, `!say`, `!prune`
Manage Nicknames	`!nickname`
Move Members	`!move`
Mute Members	`!servermute`, `!serverunmute`
Deafen Members	`!deafen`, `!undeafen`
Send Messages	Respond to commands
Read Message History	`!snipe`, `!purge`
Embed Links	Embed-formatted replies
Add Reactions	`!poll`, `!giveaway`

Step 4 — Invite the Bot

Scroll down. Copy the generated URL and paste it into your browser. Select the server you want to add it to, then click Authorize.

💻 Installation

Step 1 — Clone or download the code

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/discordbot-template.git
cd discordbot-template

Or just download discord_bot.py directly.

Step 2 — Install Python

Download Python 3.10+ from https://www.python.org/downloads/.

During installation on Windows, check "Add Python to PATH".

Verify your install:

python --version
# Expected: Python 3.10.x or higher

Step 3 — Install discord.py

pip install discord.py

For voice support (not required by this bot):

pip install "discord.py[voice]"

Step 4 — Verify the install

python -c "import discord; print(discord.__version__)"
# Expected: 2.x.x

⚙️ Configuration

Open discord_bot.py in any text editor. Near the top you will find the config block:

# ─── CONFIG ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
BOT_TOKEN         = "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_HERE"   # Paste your token here
PREFIX            = "!"                      # Change the command prefix if you want
MOD_LOG_CHANNEL_ID = 0                       # Replace with your mod-log channel's ID
OWNER_ID           = 0                       # Replace with your own Discord user ID

BOT_TOKEN — Paste the token you copied from the Developer Portal.

PREFIX — The character users type before commands. Default is !. You can change it to ?, >, or anything you like.

MOD_LOG_CHANNEL_ID — The ID of the channel where moderation actions get logged. To get a channel ID: enable Developer Mode in Discord (Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode), then right-click the channel and click Copy Channel ID.

OWNER_ID — Your personal Discord user ID. Right-click your own name in Discord and click Copy User ID. This unlocks owner-only commands like !shutdown.

Using Environment Variables (Recommended for Security)

Instead of hardcoding your token, use an environment variable:

import os
BOT_TOKEN = os.environ.get("DISCORD_TOKEN", "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_HERE")

Then set the variable in your terminal before running:

# Linux / macOS
export DISCORD_TOKEN="your_actual_token_here"

# Windows Command Prompt
set DISCORD_TOKEN=your_actual_token_here

# Windows PowerShell
$env:DISCORD_TOKEN="your_actual_token_here"

▶️ Running the Bot

Once configured, run the bot with:

python discord_bot.py

If everything is set up correctly, you will see:

✅  Logged in as YourBot#1234 (ID: 123456789012345678)
    Serving 1 guilds | 50 members

The bot is now online. Go to your Discord server and type !ping to verify.

To stop the bot, press Ctrl + C in the terminal.

🌐 Running 24/7

Running python discord_bot.py in a terminal only keeps the bot alive while that terminal is open. For always-on uptime, choose one of the options below.

✅ Free Options

Option A — Railway (Easiest Free Tier)

Railway gives you a free container with enough hours for a small bot.

Create a free account at railway.app
Click New Project → Deploy from GitHub Repo
Connect your GitHub and select your repo
Go to Variables and add DISCORD_TOKEN = your token
Railway auto-detects Python and runs your bot

Make sure your repo includes a requirements.txt:

discord.py>=2.0.0

Option B — Render (Free Tier)

Create an account at render.com
Click New → Web Service → connect your GitHub repo
Set Build Command: pip install -r requirements.txt
Set Start Command: python discord_bot.py
Add environment variable DISCORD_TOKEN
Deploy

Note: Render's free tier spins down after inactivity. Use a service like UptimeRobot to ping it every 5 minutes.

Option C — Oracle Cloud Free Tier (Always Free VM)

Oracle gives a permanently free ARM VM with 4 CPUs and 24 GB RAM — more than enough for a bot.

Sign up at cloud.oracle.com (requires a credit card for verification, but the Always Free tier is never charged)
Create an Always Free VM instance (Ampere A1 shape)
SSH into the VM and follow the Linux instructions below

Option D — Your Own PC (Free, but PC must stay on)

Use a process manager to keep it running in the background:

# Linux/macOS — use screen
screen -S discordbot
python discord_bot.py
# Press Ctrl+A then D to detach
# Reattach with: screen -r discordbot

💳 Paid Options

Option A — VPS (Best Value, ~$4–$6/month)

A Virtual Private Server gives you full control and reliable uptime.

Recommended providers:

DigitalOcean — $4/mo Droplet
Vultr — $2.50/mo instance
Linode (Akamai) — $5/mo Nanode

Once you have a Linux VPS, SSH in and run:

# Install Python
sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y

# Upload your bot files (or git clone)
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/discordbot-template.git
cd discordbot-template
pip3 install discord.py

# Run with systemd (auto-restarts on crash/reboot)
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/discordbot.service

Paste this into the file (update paths as needed):

[Unit]
Description=Discord Bot
After=network.target

[Service]
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu/discordbot-template
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/ubuntu/discordbot-template/discord_bot.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
Environment=DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token_here

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then enable it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable discordbot
sudo systemctl start discordbot
sudo systemctl status discordbot  # Check it's running

Option B — Heroku (~$5/month)

Install the Heroku CLI
Create a Procfile in your project folder containing:
```
worker: python discord_bot.py
```

Deploy:

heroku login
heroku create your-bot-name
heroku config:set DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token_here
git push heroku main
heroku ps:scale worker=1

Option C — AWS / Google Cloud / Azure

All three major cloud providers offer compute instances. Google Cloud and AWS both have 12-month free trials with credit included. After the trial, a small instance runs ~$5–$10/month.

📖 Command Reference

All commands use the ! prefix by default. Anything in <angle brackets> is required; [square brackets] are optional.

🔧 General Commands

Command	Usage	Description
`help`	`!help [category]`	Show the help menu or details for a category
`ping`	`!ping`	Check bot latency
`info`	`!info`	Show bot information
`avatar`	`!avatar [@user]`	Display a user's avatar
`serverinfo`	`!serverinfo`	Display server details
`uptime`	`!uptime`	How long the bot has been running
`invite`	`!invite`	Get the bot's invite link
`stats`	`!stats`	Runtime stats (guilds, users, latency)
`roll`	`!roll [NdS]`	Roll dice — e.g. `!roll 2d20` (default: 1d6)
`flip`	`!flip`	Flip a coin
`8ball`	`!8ball <question>`	Ask the magic 8-ball
`say`	`!say <text>`	Make the bot say something (deletes your message)
`embed`	`!embed "Title" <description>`	Send a custom embed
`announce`	`!announce <#channel> <message>`	Send an announcement to a channel
`poll`	`!poll "Question" opt1 opt2 ...`	Create a reaction poll (up to 10 options)
`afk`	`!afk [reason]`	Set your AFK status; auto-clears when you chat
`time`	`!time`	Show the current UTC time
`remind`	`!remind <N> <s/m/h> <message>`	Set a personal reminder
`tag`	`!tag <name> [content]`	Save or retrieve a tag
`tags`	`!tags`	List all saved tags
`deltag`	`!deltag <name>`	Delete a tag
`calc`	`!calc <expression>`	Evaluate a math expression
`choose`	`!choose <opt1> <opt2> ...`	Randomly pick from options
`reverse`	`!reverse <text>`	Reverse a string
`wordcount`	`!wordcount <text>`	Count words and characters
`morse`	`!morse <text>`	Convert text to Morse code
`ascii`	`!ascii <text>`	Show ASCII values of characters
`usercount`	`!usercount`	Show human/bot/total member count
`time`	`!time`	Current UTC time

🛡 Moderation Commands

All moderation commands require the corresponding Discord permission. Actions are automatically logged to your mod-log channel.

Command	Usage	Required Permission	Description
`kick`	`!kick <@user> [reason]`	Kick Members	Kick a member from the server
`ban`	`!ban <@user> [reason]`	Ban Members	Permanently ban a member
`unban`	`!unban <user_id> [reason]`	Ban Members	Unban a user by their ID
`softban`	`!softban <@user> [reason]`	Ban Members	Ban + unban to delete 7 days of messages
`tempban`	`!tempban <@user> <N> <h/d> [reason]`	Ban Members	Temporarily ban for N hours or days
`massban`	`!massban <id1> <id2> ...`	Ban Members	Ban multiple users by ID at once
`mute`	`!mute <@user> [reason]`	Manage Roles	Mute a member (creates "Muted" role if missing)
`unmute`	`!unmute <@user>`	Manage Roles	Remove the mute from a member
`warn`	`!warn <@user> [reason]`	Manage Messages	Issue a warning (tracked per user)
`warnings`	`!warnings <@user>`	Manage Messages	View all warnings for a member
`clearwarn`	`!clearwarn <@user>`	Manage Messages	Clear all warnings for a member
`note`	`!note <@user> <text>`	Manage Messages	Add a private staff note to a member
`notes`	`!notes <@user>`	Manage Messages	View all staff notes for a member
`purge`	`!purge <amount>`	Manage Messages	Bulk-delete messages from a channel
`prune`	`!prune <@user> [amount]`	Manage Messages	Delete a specific user's recent messages
`slowmode`	`!slowmode <seconds>`	Manage Channels	Set channel slowmode (0 to disable)
`lock`	`!lock [#channel]`	Manage Channels	Prevent members from sending messages
`unlock`	`!unlock [#channel]`	Manage Channels	Restore message permissions
`hidechannel`	`!hidechannel [#channel]`	Manage Channels	Hide a channel from all members
`showchannel`	`!showchannel [#channel]`	Manage Channels	Make a hidden channel visible again
`clonevchan`	`!clonevchan <#voicechannel>`	Manage Channels	Clone a voice channel
`nickname`	`!nickname <@user> [new nick]`	Manage Nicknames	Change or reset a member's nickname
`role`	`!role <@user> <role name>`	Manage Roles	Give a role to a member
`unrole`	`!unrole <@user> <role name>`	Manage Roles	Remove a role from a member
`move`	`!move <@user> <#voicechannel>`	Move Members	Move a member to a voice channel
`deafen`	`!deafen <@user>`	Deafen Members	Server-deafen a member
`undeafen`	`!undeafen <@user>`	Deafen Members	Remove server-deafen
`servermute`	`!servermute <@user>`	Mute Members	Server-mute a member in voice
`serverunmute`	`!serverunmute <@user>`	Mute Members	Remove server-mute

🎉 Fun / Utility Commands

Command	Usage	Description
`whois`	`!whois [@user]`	Detailed profile: ID, roles, join date, status, warnings
`joined`	`!joined [@user]`	When a member joined the server
`botinfo`	`!botinfo`	Full bot stats including guild count, latency, command count
`userstats`	`!userstats [@user]`	Quick summary: warnings, notes, AFK, mute status
`cmdstats`	`!cmdstats`	Top 10 most-used commands
`leaderboard`	`!leaderboard`	Top 10 most-warned members
`snipe`	`!snipe`	Show the last deleted message in this channel
`giveaway`	`!giveaway <N> <m/h/d> <prize>`	Start a timed giveaway with auto-draw
`reroll`	`!reroll <message_id>`	Pick a new winner for a completed giveaway
`usercount`	`!usercount`	Human / bot / total count for the server

👑 Owner-Only Commands

These commands only work for the user whose ID is set as OWNER_ID in the config.

Command	Usage	Description
`shutdown`	`!shutdown`	Gracefully shut down the bot
`setstatus`	`!setstatus <playing/watching/listening> <text>`	Change the bot's activity status
`dm`	`!dm <@user> <message>`	Send a direct message from the bot to any user

🧩 How to Extend the Bot

The code is organized in clear sections marked with comments. Adding a new command takes about 5 lines.

Adding a Basic Command

@bot.command()
async def hello(ctx):
    """Say hello."""
    await ctx.send(f"Hello, {ctx.author.mention}!")

Adding a Command with Arguments

@bot.command()
async def greet(ctx, member: discord.Member, *, message: str = "Hello!"):
    """Greet a member with a custom message."""
    await ctx.send(f"{member.mention} — {message}")

Adding a Moderation Command with Permission Check

@bot.command()
@commands.has_permissions(manage_guild=True)
async def mymodcmd(ctx, member: discord.Member, *, reason: str = "No reason given"):
    """My custom mod command."""
    # Do something to member
    await ctx.send(embed=make_embed("✅ Done", f"Applied to {member}.", discord.Color.green()))
    await log_action(ctx.guild, "My Action", ctx.author, member, reason)

Using the `make_embed` Helper

The bot includes a make_embed(title, description, color) helper that builds consistent embeds:

await ctx.send(embed=make_embed("Title", "Description", discord.Color.blue()))

Persistent Storage

By default all data (warnings, tags, notes) lives in Python dictionaries and resets when the bot restarts. To make it permanent, swap the dictionaries for a database:

SQLite (simple, file-based, no server needed):

pip install aiosqlite

PostgreSQL (production-grade):

pip install asyncpg

Organizing into Cogs

Once you have more than a dozen commands, consider splitting them into Cogs (Discord.py's module system):

# cogs/moderation.py
from discord.ext import commands

class Moderation(commands.Cog):
    def __init__(self, bot):
        self.bot = bot

    @commands.command()
    @commands.has_permissions(kick_members=True)
    async def kick(self, ctx, member: discord.Member, *, reason="No reason"):
        await member.kick(reason=reason)
        await ctx.send(f"Kicked {member}.")

async def setup(bot):
    await bot.add_cog(Moderation(bot))

# In discord_bot.py, replace the main block with:
async def main():
    async with bot:
        await bot.load_extension("cogs.moderation")
        await bot.start(BOT_TOKEN)

import asyncio
asyncio.run(main())

🔧 Troubleshooting

Bot is online but doesn't respond to commands

Make sure Message Content Intent is enabled in the Developer Portal
Confirm the bot has Read Messages and Send Messages permissions in the channel
Check that your prefix in Discord matches PREFIX in the config

discord.errors.Forbidden when using moderation commands

The bot's role must be higher in the role list than the member you're trying to moderate. Go to Server Settings → Roles and drag the bot's role above member roles.

!mute says it created a Muted role but it doesn't work

The bot auto-creates the role but must have permission to edit every channel's permission overrides. Give the bot Manage Channels permission, then run !mute again.

!tempban doesn't unban after the time expires

tempban uses asyncio.sleep, which means the bot must stay running for the duration. For persistent temp-bans across restarts, store the unban time in a database and check it on on_ready.

Token is invalid

Go back to the Developer Portal → Bot → Reset Token. Make sure there are no extra spaces when you paste it.

ImportError: No module named 'discord'

Run pip install discord.py in the same Python environment you're using to run the bot.

📄 License

MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute. Attribution appreciated but not required.

Made with ❤️ and discord.py · Discord Developer Docs · discord.py Docs

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