Creating a Node.js Discord bot that responds in a designated channel

Other Questions Discord bot
1

I’m trying to set up a Discord bot using Node.js that can send messages to a specific channel. Here’s what I want to do:

When a user types ‘1’ in any channel, the bot should respond with ‘2’ in the ‘general’ channel.

I’ve got this code so far, but it’s not working:

bot.on('messageCreate', (message) => {
  const targetChannel = message.guild.channels.cache.find(ch => ch.name === 'general');
  
  if (message.content === '1') {
    targetChannel.send('2');
  }
});

The bot isn’t sending anything to the ‘general’ channel. What am I doing wrong? How can I fix this to make the bot respond in the right place?

Any help would be awesome! I’m new to Discord bot development and Node.js, so explain it like I’m five. Thanks!

2

Hey there! I’ve actually been working on a similar project recently, so I can share what worked for me.

The issue you’re facing is likely because you’re trying to find the channel within the message event. This can be unreliable, especially if the bot isn’t in the same guild as the message.

Here’s an approach that worked for me: Store the channel ID of ‘general’ when the bot starts up and then use that ID to send messages, instead of searching for the channel each time.

Something like this:

let generalChannel;

bot.once('ready', () => {
  generalChannel = bot.channels.cache.find(ch => ch.name === 'general');
});

bot.on('messageCreate', (message) => {
  if (message.content === '1' && generalChannel) {
    generalChannel.send('2');
  }
});

This way, you’re only looking for the channel once, which is more efficient and reliable. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any clarification.

3

yo dude, i think i got a solution for ya. instead of using channel names, try using channel IDs. theyre more reliable. heres wat u can do:

bot.on(‘messageCreate’, (message) => {
if (message.content === ‘1’) {
const generalChannel = bot.channels.cache.get(‘GENERAL_CHANNEL_ID_HERE’);
if (generalChannel) generalChannel.send(‘2’);
}
});

just replace GENERAL_CHANNEL_ID_HERE with the actual ID. hope this helps!

4

I’ve encountered this issue before when developing Discord bots. The problem likely stems from permissions. Even if your bot can see the ‘general’ channel, it might not have the necessary permissions to send messages there.

To resolve this, first ensure your bot has the ‘Send Messages’ permission in the ‘general’ channel. You can check this in the Discord server settings under ‘Roles’ or directly in the channel permissions.

If permissions are set correctly, try using the channel ID instead of the name:

const targetChannelId = 'your_channel_id_here';

bot.on('messageCreate', (message) => {
  if (message.content === '1') {
    const channel = bot.channels.cache.get(targetChannelId);
    if (channel) channel.send('2');
  }
});

This approach is more reliable as channel names can change, but IDs remain constant. Remember to replace ‘your_channel_id_here’ with the actual ID of your ‘general’ channel.