If you run a Discord server, you have a wide variety of options to provide interesting features to your players. One of these features is the addition of bots. Customizing your server is simple once you learn how to add these bots.
This article will show you how to set up a Discord server, introduce you to the world of bots, and explain how to add bots to your Discord server (and why you might want to).
What are Discord Bots?
Bots are simply computer programs that interact with humans (and sometimes other bots) to perform certain functions automatically. A website that has a useful chat window opens immediately offering to talk to you about your product or service; this is a bot. If you use Reddit, you will see bot interactions (beep! Boop!) all the time.
Bots can be useful or annoying, depending on their purpose, design, and how they are deployed. On Discord, bots provide a variety of productive and not-so-productive features to the community on the server where they “live”. You can add bots to your Discord server that help moderate members or make your server a little more unique and fun.
For example, there are bots that play music, bots that offer fun memes on request, bots that fetch your game stats for you, and bots that play a loud horn sound on the channel when asked.
How to find bots
The Discord world is full of bots; there are thousands of bots available for free out there. There's a list of some silly, semi-useful bots here if you like, but more serious bots can be found on the Carbonitex website, which is considered to be one of the best Discord bot repositories out there. Another reputable repository for Discord bots is simply called Discord Bots. A GitHub search for Discord bots will find almost anything that is in the public eye for the true hardcore.
How to Put Bot on Discord
Adding bots to the Discord server can be a time consuming process the first time around. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple.
STEP 1. Enable administrator access
To add bots to your Discord Server, you will have to be an administrator of that server. If you don't own the server, it's probably a good idea to check with the server before adding anything to it.
1. On the Discord homepage, select the server you want to add the bot to (on the left side of the Discord website).
2. Once selected; Choose the dropdown menu (The server name at the top left of the screen with a small down arrow next to it).
3. Tap “Server Settings”.
4. Tap “Functions”.
5. Scroll down to General Permissions setting and enable “Administrator”.
6. Click on “Save Changes”.
STEP 2. Get the bots you want
It is important to note that depending on the site your Bots come from; you can see “Invite” or “Add bots”. For this example, we'll be using Dyno, but the instructions may vary slightly if you're adding another Bot.
Find the Bot you will add to your server and login using your Discord credentials.
Tap “Invite” or “Add Bot”, whichever is listed, then tap the server you want to add the Bot to.
Follow the instructions – This will take you through a series of permissions and ask for admin access, which is why Step 1 is so important.
Authorize the Bot and complete the Captcha.
There are several bot options available; some may differ in their processes, but following the prompts will make the installation successful.
If you're having trouble finding your server, make sure you're logged into Discord in the same browser you're using for the Bots website. Also, make sure you are signed in to the correct account.
If you want to add someone as an administrator on your server.
One popular bot is Dyno, a full bot with moderation features, music playing abilities, CleverBot integration, and many other features outside the scope of this article. It's been added to over 1,4 million Discord servers, so it's popular.
You can get Dyno from the Carbonitex website.
- Click on the green “Add Bot to Server” button. This will open a Discord confirmation dialog asking you to choose which server you want to add Dyno to. You need to be logged into your server for Discord to know you are trying to add something.
- Select your server and click “Authorize”.
You may have to fill in an “I am not a robot” captcha, but after that, the bot will automatically be added to your server and you will be taken to the admin page to manage Dyno on your server.
Easypeasy!
If you are more obstinate and want to add bots without worrying about the beautiful interface, you can also add them directly. You will need to know the bot's client ID and be connected to your Discord server. This is the method you'll need to use for most GitHub bots, which don't have a web interface.
- Open your browser and paste the following URL: https://discordapp.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id= &scope=bot&permissions=0 .
- Change 'Bot_Client_ID' in the URL above with the actual client ID of the bot you want to add.
- You may still have to authorize the bot, even though the command uses Oauth2 to do just that.
Authorizing Your Discord Bot
Discord is very careful with bots and sometimes requires multiple authorizations to allow one to work. Even though the platform uses Oauth2 to allow a bot with permission to access and interact, you may still be asked to authorize it within the channel.
More bot features
There are many resources available to help you choose, customize and even create your own Discord bots. Here are some of the most popular and useful bot-oriented resources available on the web to help you get the most out of your bot experience.
Discord.me is a large Discord community where users can add and promote servers, but the site's overall mission is "to help people find online communities they love". The site has 33 server categories, ranging from Military to Adults, Anime to Art and Fitness to Furry.
An active blog keeps community members up to date, and the site features an NSFW switch that lets you avoid (or browse) the “after dark” servers out there.
Discordbots.org is a bot-themed Discord community with a vast array of resources for bot users. The site has thousands of categorized and rated bots and also publishes and supports its own bot creation API, available in JavaScript, Java, Python, C#/ variations. NET and Go.
For bot developers, this site is a gold mine of great resources and examples.
Bastionbot.org takes an interesting philosophical stand for the bot world – instead of having a dozen bots each performing their own functions, Bastion tries to be an all-in-one bot that can control literally everything a server can. to need.
Bastion's feature list includes music, games, giveaways and promotions, a suggestion channel, voting, user profiles, virtual currencies, leveling systems, a server store, filters, polls, game statistics, messages, moderation, emojis, “fun” features like horns and quotes, starboard, programmed commands and reaction triggers and events. Bastion is an all-in-one bot that can do just about anything you want and adds features regularly.
Carbonitex is a stat gathering site dedicated to Discord servers and bots and is an amazing resource for those who want to see where the action is on the server and bot playing field. You can invite Carbonitex to monitor your own server and collect statistics to show you where you are in the large ecosystem of servers.
FAQ
Bots are a great tool to use as a Discord server administrator. Here are some more answers to your most frequently asked questions.
How do I create a Discord server?
In fact, we have an article to walk you through creating a server. The process is quite simple and you can have multiple servers for free. This means you can create a server for your Minecraft friends and a separate one for your Call of Duty friends.
You can even create a Discord server for business or school meetings too!
Do I have to add a bot to each server?
Yes. Let's say you want to add the music bot to your servers; you will need to follow the steps above for each server.
I added a bot but it is not doing anything. What is wrong?
Depending on the bot you added, you might run into some problems because there is something wrong with the bot itself. However, in most cases you need to navigate to 'Roles' in your server settings and give your mechanical helper the correct permissions.
Most bots have a dashboard on their website. If you've added the roles but it's still not working properly, go to the bot's website and check the moderator permissions there. For example, the Mee6 bot is incredibly popular, but you need to enable moderator permissions on the site before it actually does anything.
Do I have to be an admin to add bots?
Yes, if you don't have admin permissions enabled, you won't be able to add a bot to that server. You can always ask the owner or administrators for access to these permissions, or ask them to add them for you. Though this might not work out as well, depending on what you are trying to accomplish and your relationship with them.
You may like other lists and guides listed below:
- Discord's Best Bots
- Discord Game Bots
- Best Discord Music Bots
- Most Useful Discord Bots to Use on Server
- How to Create Bots in Discord
- How to Create a Discord Server
