ForumRank Bot

This Discord bot helps server moderators identify popular forum posts within specified forum-type channels by generating a report listing threads ordered by the number of reactions (votes) they have received.

Features

• /forum-rank Slash Command: Lists top posts in a forum channel.
  • channel (required): The forum channel to analyze.
  • number_of_posts (optional): Limits the results to the top X posts. Defaults to all posts.
  • direct_message (optional): Sends the report as a direct message to the user. Defaults to false (sends to channel).
• Counts only the primary reaction (default emoji) on the initial post of each thread.
• Accessible only to server moderators.

Setup Instructions

1. Project Initialization

1. Clone the repository (if applicable) or create a new directory:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd discord-forum-bot
   # OR
   mkdir discord-forum-bot
   cd discord-forum-bot

2. Initialize Node.js project:

   npm init -y

3. Install dependencies:

   npm install discord.js dotenv

2. Discord Bot Setup

1. Create a new Discord Application:

   • Go to the Discord Developer Portal.
   • Click on New Application.
   • Give your application a name (e.g., ForumRankBot) and click Create.

2. Create a Bot User:

   • In your application's settings, navigate to Bot on the left sidebar.
   • Click Add Bot and confirm.
   • IMPORTANT: Under Privileged Gateway Intents, enable PRESENCE INTENT, SERVER MEMBERS INTENT, and MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT.

3. Get your Bot Token:

   • On the Bot page, click Reset Token and copy the token. Keep this token secret!

4. Get your Client ID:

   • Navigate to General Information on the left sidebar.
   • Copy the Application ID. This is your DISCORD_CLIENT_ID.

5. Invite the Bot to your Server:

   • Go to OAuth2 -> URL Generator.
   • Under SCOPES, select bot and applications.commands.
   • Under BOT PERMISSIONS, select the following:
     • View Channels
     • Send Messages
     • Manage Channels (required for the bot to check moderator permissions)
     • Read Message History
   • Copy the generated URL and paste it into your browser to invite the bot to your desired server.

3. Environment Variables

1. Create a file named .env in the root of your project (same level as package.json).
2. Add the following lines to your .env file, replacing the placeholders with your actual values:

   DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_HERE
   DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_CLIENT_ID_HERE
   DISCORD_GUILD_ID=YOUR_GUILD_ID_HERE # The ID of the Discord server (guild) where you want to register slash commands for development. For global commands, this is not needed.
   

   • To get your GUILD_ID, enable Developer Mode in Discord (User Settings -> Advanced -> Developer Mode), then right-click on your server icon and select Copy ID.

4. Running the Bot Locally

1. Start the bot:

   npm start
   # Or for development with potential restarts (if you set up a dev script):
   # npm run dev

5. Deployment Instructions

These instructions outline the general steps for deploying your Discord bot to a hosting service. Specific steps may vary depending on your chosen provider.

1. Prepare Your Project for Deployment:

   • Ensure your project is version-controlled (e.g., with Git) and pushed to a remote repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
   • Make sure all necessary dependencies are listed in your package.json file.

2. Choose a Hosting Provider:

   • Select a hosting service that supports Node.js applications and allows for long-running processes (as Discord bots require a persistent connection).
   • Examples include Railway, Render, DigitalOcean, AWS EC2, Heroku (check current free tier availability).

3. Configure Environment Variables on Your Host:

   • Most hosting providers have a section for managing environment variables.
   • Add the following variables, ensuring their values are correct and kept secret:
     • DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN: Your bot's token from the Discord Developer Portal.
     • DISCORD_CLIENT_ID: Your bot's application ID.
     • DISCORD_GUILD_ID: (Optional) The ID of your development guild for guild-specific command registration.
   • Crucially, do NOT commit your .env file to your version control system.

4. Set Build and Start Commands:

   • Your hosting provider will typically ask for commands to build and start your application.
   • Build Command: npm install (or yarn install if you use Yarn).
   • Start Command: node src/index.js (This command runs your main bot file).

5. Deploy Your Application:

   • Follow your hosting provider's specific instructions to deploy your project. This often involves connecting your Git repository and triggering a deployment.

6. Register Slash Commands:

   • Your bot is configured to register slash commands when it starts up.
   • Ensure your DISCORD_CLIENT_ID and DISCORD_GUILD_ID (if applicable) are correctly set as environment variables on your hosting service.
   • The bot needs to be running successfully on your host for the commands to be registered with Discord.

Project Structure

discord-forum-bot/
├── .env
├── package.json
├── src/
│   ├── index.js
│   ├── commands/
│   │   └── forum-rank.js
│   └── utils/
│       ├── discord-api.js
│       ├── message-formatter.js
│       └── report-generator.js
└── README.md

Running Tests

To run unit tests (requires Jest to be installed: npm install --save-dev jest):

npx jest
# Or to run specific tests:
npx jest src/commands/forum-rank.test.js