Integrating OpenClaw with Discord: Complete Setup Guide

1Create Discord Application

Navigate to the Discord Developer Portal and create your bot application:

1. Go to discord.com/developers/applications
2. Click "New Application"
3. Name your application (e.g., "Community Assistant")
4. Navigate to the "Bot" tab
5. Click "Add Bot" and confirm

2Configure Bot Permissions

Set up the required permissions for OpenClaw to function properly:

Required Intents (in Bot settings):

• ✓ Presence Intent
• ✓ Server Members Intent
• ✓ Message Content Intent

Bot Permissions (in OAuth2 → URL Generator):

Permissions needed:
- Read Messages/View Channels
- Send Messages
- Send Messages in Threads
- Embed Links
- Attach Files
- Read Message History
- Add Reactions
- Use Slash Commands

3Initialize OpenClaw for Discord

Create a new OpenClaw project configured for Discord:

openclaw init discord-bot --platform discord
cd discord-bot

This generates a project structure:

discord-bot/
├── openclaw.config.js
├── .env.example
├── commands/
│   ├── help.js
│   └── info.js
├── events/
│   ├── messageCreate.js
│   └── ready.js
└── package.json

4Configure Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env and add your credentials:

# Discord Configuration
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here
DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
DISCORD_GUILD_ID=your_server_id

# OpenClaw Settings
OPENCLAW_API_KEY=your_openclaw_api_key
OPENCLAW_MODE=production
OPENCLAW_LANGUAGE=en

# Optional: Advanced Features
ENABLE_LEARNING=true
ENABLE_MODERATION=true
LOG_LEVEL=info

5Customize Bot Configuration

Edit openclaw.config.js to define your bot's personality and capabilities:

module.exports = {
  name: 'Community Assistant',
  prefix: '!',
  
  // AI Behavior
  ai: {
    model: 'openclaw-v2',
    temperature: 0.7,
    maxTokens: 500,
    contextWindow: 10
  },
  
  // Discord-specific settings
  discord: {
    status: 'online',
    activity: {
      type: 'WATCHING',
      name: 'for questions'
    },
    embedColor: '#5865F2'
  },
  
  // Feature toggles
  features: {
    autoModeration: true,
    welcomeMessages: true,
    customCommands: true,
    reactionRoles: false
  },
  
  // Response templates
  responses: {
    greeting: 'Hey there! 👋 How can I help you today?',
    farewell: 'Goodbye! Feel free to ask if you need anything.',
    error: 'Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again.',
    noPermission: 'Sorry, you don\'t have permission for that.'
  }
};

6Create Custom Commands

Add a custom command in commands/server-info.js:

module.exports = {
  name: 'serverinfo',
  description: 'Display server information',
  
  async execute(message, args, client) {
    const { guild } = message;
    
    const embed = {
      color: 0x5865F2,
      title: `📊 ${guild.name} Server Info`,
      fields: [
        {
          name: 'Members',
          value: `${guild.memberCount}`,
          inline: true
        },
        {
          name: 'Created',
          value: guild.createdAt.toDateString(),
          inline: true
        },
        {
          name: 'Owner',
          value: `<@${guild.ownerId}>`,
          inline: true
        }
      ],
      timestamp: new Date()
    };
    
    await message.reply({ embeds: [embed] });
  }
};

7Invite Bot to Your Server

Generate an invite URL with proper permissions:

openclaw invite --permissions 8

Or manually construct the URL:

https://discord.com/api/oauth2/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&permissions=8&scope=bot%20applications.commands

Open the URL in your browser and select your server.

8Launch Your Bot

Start OpenClaw in development mode for testing:

openclaw dev

Expected output:

🚀 OpenClaw Discord Bot Starting...
✓ Configuration loaded
✓ Commands registered: 5
✓ Events loaded: 3
✓ Connected to Discord Gateway
✓ Bot online: Community Assistant#1234
✓ Serving 1 guild with 247 members
→ Ready to receive messages!