Development Environment Setup

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

Required Software

Node.js >= 24.13.0

Fire requires Node.js version 24.13.0 or higher.Install Node.js:

# Using nvm (recommended)
nvm install 24.13.0
nvm use 24.13.0

# Or download from nodejs.org

Verify installation:

node --version
# Should output v24.13.0 or higher

pnpm Package Manager

Fire uses pnpm for dependency management.Install pnpm:

npm install -g pnpm

Verify installation:

pnpm --version

PostgreSQL Database

Fire uses PostgreSQL for data persistence.Install PostgreSQL:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install postgresql postgresql-contrib

# macOS with Homebrew
brew install postgresql

# Windows
# Download from postgresql.org

Start PostgreSQL:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo systemctl start postgresql

# macOS
brew services start postgresql

Git

Version control for the codebase.

git --version

Initial Setup

Clone the Repository

Clone the Fire repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/FireDiscordBot/bot.git
cd bot

Install Dependencies

Install all required npm packages:

pnpm install

This will install:

TypeScript and type definitions
Discord.js (Fire’s custom fork)
Discord Akairo framework
Database drivers
All other dependencies from package.json:29-58

Configure Database

Create a PostgreSQL database for Fire:

# Connect to PostgreSQL
psql -U postgres

# Create database and user
CREATE DATABASE fire_dev;
CREATE USER fire_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE fire_dev TO fire_user;

Set Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

.env

# Discord Bot Configuration
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here
DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here

# Database Configuration
POSTGRES_HOST=localhost
POSTGRES_USER=fire_user
POSTGRES_PASS=your_password
POSTGRES_DB=fire_dev

# Optional: Special prefix for testing
SPECIAL_PREFIX=!

# Optional: WebSocket authentication
WS_AUTH=your_ws_auth_token

Get your Discord bot token from the Discord Developer Portal

Create Discord Bot Application

Go to Discord Developer Portal

Visit discord.com/developers/applications

Create New Application

Click “New Application” and give it a name

Create Bot User

Go to the “Bot” section
Click “Add Bot”
Copy the bot token (needed for .env)

Enable Intents

Enable the following Privileged Gateway Intents:

Server Members Intent
Message Content Intent
Presence Intent

Invite Bot to Test Server

Generate an invite URL with appropriate permissions:

Go to OAuth2 > URL Generator
Select scopes: bot, applications.commands
Select required permissions
Use generated URL to invite bot

Compile TypeScript

Compile the TypeScript code to JavaScript:

pnpm compile

This runs the build script from package.json:17:

rm -rf dist/ && tsc && pnpm gitinfo

The compiled code will be in the dist/ directory.

Run the Bot

Start Fire in development mode:

pnpm dev

This will:

Compile TypeScript (package.json:15)
Start the bot with source maps enabled (package.json:16)
Set NODE_ENV=development

You should see output indicating the bot is connecting to Discord.

Development Scripts

Fire provides several npm scripts for development:

Available Commands

package.json:14-20

{
  "dev": "pnpm compile && pnpm rundev",
  "rundev": "NODE_ENV=development node --enable-source-maps dist/src/index.js",
  "compile": "rm -rf dist/ && tsc && pnpm gitinfo",
  "start": "NODE_ENV=production node --enable-source-maps dist/src/index.js",
  "format": "prettier . --write",
  "gitinfo": "git rev-parse HEAD > dist/commit.txt && git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD > dist/branch.txt"
}

# Compile and run in development mode
pnpm dev

# Just run (after compiling)
pnpm rundev

TypeScript Configuration

Fire uses a specific TypeScript configuration:

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ESNext",
    "module": "CommonJS",
    "strict": false,
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "esModuleInterop": false,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "outDir": "dist/",
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@fire/lib/*": ["lib/*"],
      "@fire/src/*": ["src/*"],
      "@fire/config/*": ["config/*"],
      "@fire/i18n/*": ["languages/*"]
    }
  }
}

Key Settings

target: ESNext - Uses latest ECMAScript features
module: CommonJS - Node.js compatibility
sourceMap: true - Enables debugging with source maps
outDir: dist/ - Compiled output directory
paths: Module aliases for cleaner imports

Project Structure

fire-discord-bot/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── commands/          # Bot commands
│   │   ├── Admin/
│   │   ├── Configuration/
│   │   ├── Fun/
│   │   ├── Main/
│   │   ├── Moderation/
│   │   ├── Premium/
│   │   ├── Starboard/
│   │   ├── Tags/
│   │   ├── Tickets/
│   │   └── Utilities/
│   ├── modules/           # Background modules
│   ├── listeners/         # Event listeners
│   ├── inhibitors/        # Command guards
│   ├── arguments/         # Custom argument types
│   └── languages/         # i18n translations
├── lib/                   # Core library
│   ├── Fire.ts           # Main bot client
│   ├── Manager.ts        # Cluster manager
│   ├── util/             # Utilities
│   │   ├── command.ts    # Command base class
│   │   ├── module.ts     # Module base class
│   │   └── constants.ts  # Constants
│   └── extensions/       # Discord.js extensions
├── config/               # Configuration files
├── languages/            # i18n resources
├── dist/                 # Compiled output (gitignored)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── .env                  # Environment variables (gitignored)

IDE Setup

Visual Studio Code (Recommended)

Recommended Extensions:

ESLint
Prettier - Code formatter
TypeScript Vue Plugin
GitLens

Settings (.vscode/settings.json):

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
  "typescript.tsdk": "node_modules/typescript/lib",
  "typescript.enablePromptUseWorkspaceTsdk": true
}

WebStorm / IntelliJ IDEA

Enable TypeScript support
Configure Prettier as default formatter
Set up Node.js interpreter (v24.13.0+)
Enable “Reformat on Save”

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Module resolution errors

If you see errors like Cannot find module '@fire/lib/Fire':

Ensure TypeScript paths are configured in tsconfig.json
Rebuild the project: pnpm compile
Restart your IDE

Database connection errors

If Fire can’t connect to PostgreSQL:

Verify PostgreSQL is running: sudo systemctl status postgresql
Check credentials in .env file
Ensure database exists: psql -U postgres -l
Check lib/Fire.ts:440-471 for connection logic

Discord API errors

If you get 401 Unauthorized:

Verify DISCORD_TOKEN in .env
Ensure token hasn’t been regenerated in Developer Portal
Check bot has required intents enabled

Build errors

If TypeScript compilation fails:

Delete dist/ and node_modules/
Run pnpm install
Run pnpm compile
Check for TypeScript version compatibility

Getting Help

GitHub Issues

Report bugs or request features

Fire Discord Server

Ask questions in the development channel

Next Steps

Now that your environment is set up:

Create Commands

Learn how to create your first command

Create Modules

Build background modules

Architecture

Understand the codebase structure

Contributing

Development Environment Setup

Prerequisites

Required Software

Initial Setup

Development Scripts

Available Commands

TypeScript Configuration

Key Settings

Project Structure

IDE Setup

Visual Studio Code (Recommended)

WebStorm / IntelliJ IDEA

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Getting Help

GitHub Issues

Fire Discord Server

Next Steps

Create Commands

Create Modules

Architecture

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Contributing

​Prerequisites

​Required Software

​Initial Setup

​Development Scripts

​Available Commands

​TypeScript Configuration

​Key Settings

​Project Structure

​IDE Setup

​Visual Studio Code (Recommended)

​WebStorm / IntelliJ IDEA

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

​Getting Help

GitHub Issues

Fire Discord Server

​Next Steps

Create Commands

Create Modules

Architecture

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Required Software

Initial Setup

Development Scripts

Available Commands

TypeScript Configuration

Key Settings

Project Structure

IDE Setup

Visual Studio Code (Recommended)

WebStorm / IntelliJ IDEA

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Getting Help

Next Steps