picoclaw/docs/channels/discord/README.md

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Discord

Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat application designed for communities. PicoClaw connects to Discord servers via the Discord Bot API, supporting both receiving and sending messages.

Configuration

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "tool_feedback": {
        "enabled": true,
        "max_args_length": 300
      }
    }
  },
  "channel_list": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "type": "discord",
      "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
      "allow_from": ["YOUR_USER_ID"],
      "placeholder": {
        "enabled": true,
        "text": ["Thinking... 💭"]
      },
      "group_trigger": {
        "mention_only": false
      },
      "reasoning_channel_id": ""
    }
  }
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
enabled	bool	Yes	Whether to enable the Discord channel
token	string	Yes	Discord Bot Token
allow_from	array	No	Allowlist of user IDs; empty means all users are allowed
placeholder	object	No	Placeholder message config shown while the agent is working
group_trigger	object	No	Group trigger settings (example: { "mention_only": false })
reasoning_channel_id	string	No	Optional target channel ID for reasoning/thinking output

Visible Execution Feedback

Discord can show three different kinds of "working" feedback:

1. Typing indicator: automatic, no extra config needed.
2. Placeholder message: enable channel_list.discord.placeholder.enabled to send a visible Thinking... message that is later edited into the final reply.
3. Tool execution feedback: enable agents.defaults.tool_feedback.enabled to send a short message before each tool call, for example:

🔧 `web_search`
Checking the latest PicoClaw release notes before I answer.

If you only see Bot is typing, check that placeholder.enabled or tool_feedback.enabled is actually set in your runtime config.

Setup

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal and create a new application
2. Enable Intents:
   • Message Content Intent
   • Server Members Intent
3. Obtain the Bot Token
4. Fill in the Bot Token in the configuration file
5. Invite the bot to your server and grant the necessary permissions (e.g. Send Messages, Read Message History)