discord-new-forum-post-ping

Pings a specified role when a new post is created in a forum.

Overview

This Discord bot is designed to post a message and ping a specified role whenever a new post is created in a designated forum within a server. The bot uses the Python Discord API and is easily customizable for different roles and forum channels by setting them in the environment variables.

Features

• Automated pings for a specified role when a new forum post is created.
• Logging for debugging and monitoring.
• Environment variable based configuration for enhanced security.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• Discord API Token
• Python packages: discord, python-dotenv, logging

Discord Bot Setup

1. Create a Discord Application

   • Go to the Discord Developer Portal.
   • Click the "New Application" button and give it a name.
   • On the left sidebar, click on "Bot" and then click "Add Bot".

2. Set Up Bot Permissions

   • While in the Bot tab, under the "Privileged Gateway Intents" section, enable "PRESENCE INTENT", "SERVER MEMBERS INTENT" and "MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT".
   • Under the "TOKEN" section, click "Copy" to copy your bot token for use later - you may need to click "Reset Token" first.

3. Invite the Bot to Your Server

   • On the left sidebar, click on "OAuth2".
   • Under the "OAuth2" > "URL Generator" section, select the "bot" scope.
   • Select the permissions your bot needs. At a minimum, it will need "Read Messages/View Channels", "Send Messages", "Send Messages in Threads", "Read Message History" and "Mention Everyone".
   • Copy the generated URL and open it in a web browser to invite the bot to your server.
   • Now in Discord, either add the bot to the forums/channels you need it for, or give the bot a role that gives it access to them, or update the bot's role permissions to suit.

Local Setup & Installation

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/benbodhi/discord-new-forum-post-ping.git
   cd discord-new-forum-post-ping

2. Set Up a Virtual Environment (Recommended)

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows, use `venv\Scripts\activate`

3. Install Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Environment Variables

   First, ensure you have Discord's Developer Mode enabled to easily copy IDs. To enable it:

   • Open Discord and go to your User Settings (the gear icon next to your username in the bottom left).
   • In the Appearance tab, scroll down and toggle on 'Developer Mode'.

   With Developer Mode enabled, you can now right-click on servers, channels, users, or messages to obtain their respective IDs by selecting 'Copy ID'.

   Create a .env file in the root directory and set the following:

   • DISCORD_TOKEN: Your bot's token from the Discord Developer Portal.
   • GUILD_ID: Right-click on your server's icon (with Developer Mode enabled) and select 'Copy ID'.
   • FORUM_CHANNEL_ID: Navigate to the desired forum channel in Discord, right-click on its name, and select 'Copy ID'.
   • ROLE_NAME: The name of the role you wish to mention. Ensure this role exists in your server.

   Your .env file should look something like this:

   DISCORD_TOKEN=your_discord_token
   GUILD_ID=your_guild_id
   FORUM_CHANNEL_ID=your_forum_channel_id
   ROLE_NAME=YourRoleNameHere

   Remember to include .env in your .gitignore to prevent exposing sensitive information.

5. Run the Bot

   python pinger.py

Customization

To customize the role or forum channel, adjust the ROLE_NAME and FORUM_CHANNEL_ID variables in your .env file.