Discord Bot Light Client

A lightweight, modern Erlang library for building Discord bots using the Gateway and HTTP APIs.
This library provides a simple, configurable client process that connects to Discord, listens for messages, and lets you define your own command handlers.

Features

• Lightweight: Minimal dependencies, no heavy frameworks.
• Flexible Command Handling: Plug in your own module, function, or fun for command processing.
• Modern Discord Gateway Support: Connects via WebSocket, handles heartbeats, reconnection, and events.
• Simple API: Send and edit messages easily.

Installation

Add the following to your rebar.config dependencies:

{discord_bot_light, "2.1.0"}

Make sure you also depend on:

• gun (HTTP/WebSocket client)
• jsone (JSON library)
• certifi (CA certificates)
• public_key (comes with Erlang/OTP)

Usage

1. Write a Command Handler Module

Create a module that exports handle_message/3:

%%% example_bot_commands.erl
-module(example_bot_commands).
-export([handle_message/4]).

handle_message(<<"!hello">>, ChannelId, Author, Token) ->
    Username = maps:get(<<"username">>, Author, <<"Unknown">>),
    Response = <<"Hello, ", Username/binary, "!">>,
    discord_bot_light_client:send_message(ChannelId, Response, Token);

handle_message(<<"!ping">>, ChannelId, _Author, Token) ->
    discord_bot_light_client:send_message(ChannelId, <<"Pong!">>, Token);

handle_message(_, _, _, _) ->
    ok.

2. Start the Bot

You can start the bot from your application supervisor or shell:

Token = <<"YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN">>,
Handler = example_bot_commands,
{ok, Pid} = discord_bot_light_client:start_link(Token, [{command_handler, Handler}]).

3. Send Messages from Anywhere

You can send messages manually:

discord_bot_light_client:send_message(<<"channel_id">>, <<"Hello, Discord!">>, <<"YOUR_TOKEN">>).

Or edit messages:

discord_bot_light_client:edit_message(<<"channel_id">>, <<"message_id">>, <<"New content!">>, <<"YOUR_TOKEN">>).

Command Handler Interface

Your handler should export:

handle_message(Content, ChannelId, Author) -> ok | {error, Reason}.

• Content: binary, message text
• ChannelId: binary, Discord channel ID
• Author: map, info about the author (id, username, etc.)

Notes

• Do not respond to your own bot's messages; the client ignores them by default.
• Intents: The client enables MESSAGE_CONTENT and GUILD_MESSAGES intents.
• TLS: Uses secure TLS options with hostname verification.
• Reconnect: Handles automatic reconnection if the connection drops.

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.

Credits

• Inspired by the simplicity of the Discord API.

Happy hacking!

For questions or improvements, open an issue or PR on the repository.