OpenClaw Discord Bot Setup: Complete Guide

Discord is one of OpenClaw's supported channels. Once connected, your AI agent responds in DMs, channels, or threads — just like any other Discord bot, but powered by a full AI agent with memory and skills.

Prerequisites

• A running OpenClaw instance (self-hosted or ClawTank)
• A Discord account
• Admin access to the Discord server where you want the bot

Step 1: Create a Discord Application

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Click "New Application" and give it a name (e.g., "My AI Assistant")
3. Go to the "Bot" section in the left sidebar
4. Click "Add Bot"
5. Under "Privileged Gateway Intents", enable:
   • Message Content Intent
   • Server Members Intent (optional)
6. Copy the Bot Token — you'll need this

Step 2: Generate Invite Link

1. Go to "OAuth2" → "URL Generator"
2. Select scopes: bot, applications.commands
3. Select bot permissions:
   • Send Messages
   • Read Message History
   • Embed Links
   • Attach Files
   • Use Slash Commands
4. Copy the generated URL and open it to invite the bot to your server

Step 3: Configure OpenClaw

Install the Discord channel skill and configure:

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/channel-discord
openclaw config set channels.discord.token "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"
openclaw config set channels.discord.enabled true
openclaw restart

Step 4: Test the Bot

In your Discord server, mention the bot or send it a DM:

@YourBot What can you do?

The bot should respond using your OpenClaw AI model.

Configuration Options

DM Only Mode

Restrict the bot to direct messages only (no channel responses):

openclaw config set channels.discord.dmOnly true

Channel Whitelist

Only respond in specific channels:

openclaw config set channels.discord.allowedChannels '["channel-id-1", "channel-id-2"]'

Mention Required

Only respond when mentioned (prevents the bot from answering every message):

openclaw config set channels.discord.requireMention true

Thread Support

Enable the bot to follow and respond in threads:

openclaw config set channels.discord.threads true

Use Cases

Personal AI in DMs

Use Discord DMs as your personal AI interface — similar to Telegram but for Discord-native users.

Team AI Assistant

Add the bot to a team server. Members can ask questions, get summaries, or request research.

Community Moderation Helper

The bot can help moderate by summarizing long discussions, answering FAQs, or flagging potential issues.

Project Channel Assistant

Add it to project channels where it can answer questions about the project based on its memory of past discussions.

Discord vs Telegram

Both work well. Choose based on which app you already use daily.

Troubleshooting

Bot Not Responding

• Check the bot token is correct
• Verify Message Content Intent is enabled
• Ensure the bot has permissions in the channel
• Check OpenClaw logs for connection errors

Slow Responses

Discord has a 3-second interaction timeout. For longer responses, OpenClaw sends a "thinking..." indicator while processing.

Rate Limiting

Discord limits bots to 50 messages per second. Normal usage won't hit this, but automated broadcasting could.

Get Started

Deploy OpenClaw on ClawTank, configure the Discord channel, and have your AI assistant available in Discord within minutes.