Skip to main content
Operator connects to Discord using the Discord Gateway (WebSocket) via the discordgo library. The bot receives messages from both direct messages and guild (server) channels in real time. The channel supports:
  • Direct messages (DMs)
  • Guild channel messages with optional @mention-only filtering
  • Audio file attachments (downloaded and forwarded to the agent)
  • Other attachment URLs forwarded as text references
  • Typing indicator (refreshed every 8 seconds while the agent is thinking)
  • Placeholder message (“Thinking… 💭”) edited in-place with the final response when enabled
  • Media sending (images, files) via SendMedia
  • HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5 proxy support for the Discord WebSocket connection

​
Setup

1

Create a Discord application

Go to the Discord Developer Portal and click New Application. Give it a name and click Create.
2

Create a bot user

In the left sidebar, select Bot and click Add Bot → Yes, do it!Under Privileged Gateway Intents, enable:
  • Message Content Intent — required to read message text
  • Server Members Intent — required to resolve member display names
Click Save Changes.
3

Copy the bot token

On the Bot page, click Reset Token and copy the token. Store it securely — this is your token config value. Do not share it.
4

Invite the bot to your server

Go to OAuth2 → URL Generator. Under Scopes, select bot. Under Bot Permissions, select:
  • Send Messages
  • Read Message History
  • Add Reactions
  • Attach Files
  • View Channels
Copy the generated URL, open it in a browser, and add the bot to your server.
5

Get your Discord user ID

In Discord, go to Settings → Advanced and enable Developer Mode. Right-click your username anywhere and select Copy User ID. This is the value to put in allow_from.
6

Configure Operator

Add the following to your config.json:
{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
      "proxy": "",
      "allow_from": ["YOUR_USER_ID"],
      "group_trigger": {
        "mention_only": false
      },
      "reasoning_channel_id": ""
    }
  }
}
7

Start the gateway

Start Operator. The bot will connect and log its username and user ID. Message it in Discord.

​
Configuration reference

​
enabled
boolean
required
Set to true to activate the Discord channel.
​
token
string
required
The bot token from the Discord Developer Portal. Keep this secret — anyone with this token can control your bot.
​
proxy
string
Proxy URL for both the HTTP API client and the WebSocket gateway connection. Supports http://, https://, and socks5:// schemes. Example: socks5://127.0.0.1:1080. If empty, HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY environment variables are used if set.
​
allow_from
array of strings
Discord user IDs (snowflake strings) allowed to message the agent. Example: ["123456789012345678"]. Enable Developer Mode in Discord settings to copy user IDs by right-clicking a username.Leave empty to allow all users. See Common configuration fields for all supported formats.
​
group_trigger.mention_only
boolean
When true, the bot only responds in guild (server) channels when @mentioned directly. Messages that do not contain a mention are silently ignored. DMs are always answered regardless of this setting.Default: false.
​
reasoning_channel_id
string
A Discord channel ID where agent reasoning traces are sent. Leave empty to disable. See Messaging channels for details.

​
The mention_only option

In a large Discord server, you likely do not want the agent responding to every message in every channel. Set mention_only to true: 
"group_trigger": {
  "mention_only": true
}
With this enabled, only messages that @mention the bot in a guild channel trigger a response. The bot mention (<@BOT_ID>) is stripped from the content before it reaches the agent. DMs always get a response, regardless of mention_only.
Discord’s message length limit is 2000 characters. Operator automatically splits longer responses into multiple sequential messages while preserving code block integrity.
The Message Content Intent must be enabled in the Developer Portal, otherwise the bot will receive messages with empty content and cannot respond.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us