Python Discord Bot JSON File Error: How Can I Resolve It?

Other Questions Discord bot
1 
I'm running into issues with my Discord bot when trying to handle JSON files. My code is supposed to load user data from a file and update it, but it throws an error indicating that the file is missing. Here is a sample of what I'm doing:

@client.event
async def on_message(message):
    with open('data.json', 'r') as file:
        info = json.load(file)

    await process_user_data(info, message.author)
    await increment_experience(info, message.author, 10)
    await check_leveling(info, message.author.channel)

    with open('data.json', 'w') as file:
        json.dump(info, file)

The error reads:

FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'data.json'

I'm unsure why this error occurs. Could someone please help me understand what I'm doing wrong and suggest a fix? I'm fairly new to Python and handling JSON.
2

The error you’re encountering suggests that the ‘data.json’ file doesn’t exist in the directory where your script is running. To resolve this, you should first create the file if it doesn’t exist. You can modify your code to handle this situation:

import os
import json

@client.event
async def on_message(message):
    if not os.path.exists('data.json'):
        with open('data.json', 'w') as file:
            json.dump({}, file)
    
    with open('data.json', 'r') as file:
        info = json.load(file)

    # Rest of your code...

This approach checks if the file exists before trying to read it, and creates an empty JSON object if it doesn’t. Remember to import the ‘os’ module at the top of your script. Also, ensure you have write permissions in the directory where your script is running.

3

I’ve been working with Discord bots for a while now, and I’ve encountered this issue before. One thing that’s often overlooked is the working directory. When you run your bot, it might not be in the same directory as your script, causing the file not to be found.

Try using an absolute path to your JSON file instead of a relative one. You can do this by importing the ‘os’ module and using os.path.join() with the script’s directory:

import os

script_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(file))
json_path = os.path.join(script_dir, ‘data.json’)

Then use json_path instead of ‘data.json’ in your open() calls. This ensures you’re always looking in the right place, regardless of where the script is run from.

Also, consider adding some error handling around your file operations. It can save you a lot of headaches down the line, especially when dealing with file I/O in a bot that’s supposed to run continuously.

4

Hey mandy, I had the same issue b4. try using a full path to ur json file instead of just the filename. like: ‘/home/user/bot/data.json’. Also, make sure the file actually exists lol. if not, create it first. Good luck with ur bot!