Quick Start

Get Discord Forum API running locally in just a few minutes.

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/KevinTrinh1227/discord-forum-api.git
cd discord-forum-api

Install dependencies
Terminal window
```
pnpm install
```
Configure environment
Terminal window
```
cp .env.example .env
```

Edit .env with your Discord credentials:

# Required
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here
DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=your_application_id_here

# Optional (for OAuth)
DISCORD_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here

Initialize the database
Terminal window
```
pnpm db:push
```
Start development servers
Terminal window
```
pnpm dev
```

That’s it! The bot will connect to Discord and the API will be available at http://localhost:3000.

What’s Running?

After pnpm dev, you have:

Service	URL/Status	Purpose
Bot	Connected to Discord	Syncs forum content
API	`http://localhost:3000`	REST endpoints
Database	`./data/discord-forum.db`	SQLite storage

Verify It’s Working

Check API health

curl http://localhost:3000/health

Expected response:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Check bot connection

Look for this in your terminal:

[INFO] Logged in as YourBot#1234
[INFO] Connected to X guilds

Add Bot to Your Server

If you haven’t already, invite the bot to your Discord server:

Go to Discord Developer Portal
Select your application → OAuth2 → URL Generator
Select scopes: bot, applications.commands
Select permissions: View Channels, Read Message History
Copy and open the generated URL

Initial Sync

When the bot joins a server, it automatically:

Syncs server metadata (name, icon, member count)
Discovers all forum channels
Syncs existing threads and messages

For large servers, initial sync may take a few minutes. You can monitor progress in the console logs.

Project Structure

discord-forum-api/
├── packages/
│   ├── api/          # REST API (Hono)
│   ├── bot/          # Discord bot (discord.js)
│   └── db/           # Database (Drizzle ORM)
├── data/             # SQLite database file
├── .env              # Your configuration
└── package.json      # Root workspace

Available Commands

Command	Description
`pnpm dev`	Start all services in watch mode
`pnpm build`	Build all packages
`pnpm db:studio`	Open Drizzle Studio (database GUI)
`pnpm db:push`	Push schema changes to database
`pnpm lint`	Run linting
`pnpm test`	Run tests

Next Steps

Now that you’re running, try:

Troubleshooting

”Cannot find module” errors

Run pnpm build to compile TypeScript:

pnpm build
pnpm dev

Bot not connecting

Verify DISCORD_TOKEN is correct
Check token hasn’t expired (regenerate in Developer Portal if needed)
Ensure bot has proper intents enabled

No threads syncing

Verify the bot can see your forum channels
Check that Message Content Intent is enabled in Developer Portal
Look for error messages in console

See the Discord Bot Setup troubleshooting section for more help.