OpenClaw Discord Bot Setup

Why Discord + OpenClaw?

Discord is where developer communities live. With OpenClaw, your AI agent becomes a full Discord participant — responding to mentions, managing channels, reacting to messages, and running automations.

Step 1: Create a Discord Bot

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Click New Application → name it
3. Go to Bot → click Add Bot
4. Copy the Bot Token (keep it secret!)
5. Enable Message Content Intent under Privileged Intents

Step 2: Invite the Bot

Generate an invite URL with these permissions: - Send Messages - Read Message History - Add Reactions - Use Slash Commands - Manage Messages (optional)

https://discord.com/api/oauth2/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&permissions=274877975552&scope=bot

Step 3: Configure OpenClaw

openclaw config set discord.token YOUR_BOT_TOKEN
openclaw gateway restart

Step 4: Set Up Channels

Configure which channels your agent monitors:

discord:
  token: "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"
  channels:
    - id: "123456789"
      mode: "mention"  # Only respond when mentioned
    - id: "987654321"
      mode: "all"      # Respond to everything

Bot Behavior in Groups

OpenClaw agents are smart about group chat participation:

• Respond when directly mentioned or asked a question
• React with emoji when acknowledging without a full reply
• Stay silent during casual banter that doesn't need AI input
• Never dominate the conversation

This is configured in AGENTS.md — your agent follows social norms.

Advanced: Multiple Servers

One OpenClaw instance can serve multiple Discord servers. Each channel can have different modes and permissions.

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't respond

• Check the bot token is correct
• Verify Message Content Intent is enabled
• Ensure the bot has permission to read/send in the channel

Bot responds to everything

• Switch channel mode to mention instead of all
• Review your AGENTS.md group chat rules

Slow responses

• Check your LLM API key and quota
• Run openclaw status to verify the gateway is healthy

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Ready to go deeper? Check out our hands-on course: OpenClaw Agent — practical exercises you can follow along on your own machine.

Related

For a production-focused walkthrough, see Luca Berton's guide on the Ansible intelligent assistant and MCP server.