Discord Bot Setup for Active Developer Badge

Introduction

This guide will walk you through setting up a Discord bot to earn the Active Developer Badge. This version uses environment variables instead of config.json for improved security.

Instructions

Step 1: Create a New Application

1. Go to Discord Developer Portal.
2. Click the New Application button.
3. Give your application a name and create it.

Step 2: Create a Bot Account

1. Navigate to the Bot tab.
2. Click Add Bot and confirm.
3. Click Reset Token to generate a new token. If you have 2FA enabled, you'll need your code.
4. Copy the generated token.

Step 3: Clone the Repository and Set Up the Bot

1. Click this badge to clone this repo to a new repl in Replit ->
2. Add your bot token to the .env file:

   DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN_HERE
   

3. Replace YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN_HERE with the token you copied earlier.

Step 4: Run the Bot

1. Open a terminal and navigate to the project directory.
2. Run npm install to install the necessary dependencies.
3. Start the bot with npm start.
4. Wait for it to print 'DONE | Application/Bot is up and running. DO NOT CLOSE THIS TAB UNLESS YOU ARE FINISHED USING THE BOT, IT WILL PUT THE BOT OFFLINE.' in the console.

Step 5: Add the Bot to Your Server

1. Go back to the application page, go to the General Information tab, scroll down and copy the Application ID.
2. Create a new Discord server (you can delete it at the end).
3. Enable community on the server (you only need to do this if you don't own any other Discord server with community enabled).
4. Use this invite link to add the application to the server: (replace {applicationid} with the copied ID)

   https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id={applicationid}&scope=bot%20applications.commands&permissions=105227086912
   

Step 6: Test the Bot

1. In the server, go to a channel and use the /badge command on the bot.

Step 7: Claim Your Badge

1. Go to the Discord Active Developer Page and register everything.
2. If it says you're not eligible, it might be because you're not registered in their system yet. You might have to wait up to 24 hours.
3. Congrats on that shiny new badge!

NOTE: Make sure you have the "Use data to improve Discord" setting enabled under User Settings > Privacy & Safety, otherwise you won't be able to be marked as eligible.

Using Environment Variables

This bot now uses a .env file for securely storing your token. The advantages include:

• Better security (the token won't be committed to version control)
• Industry-standard approach for managing credentials
• Easier to manage for deployment

If the .env file doesn't exist when you first run the bot, it will create a sample file for you. Just edit it to add your token.