Commands

In this section, we will go over how to create commands for your bot. Commands are the main way users will interact with your bot.

The template comes with an example command called ping. You can find it in the src/commands/ping.ts file. This command will reply with the latency of the bot when a user types !ping.

ping command example

Structure

The template provides a Command class that you can use to create commands for your bot. You can find the Command class in the src/classes/Command.ts file.

Commands are created using the following structure:

new Command({
  name: string;
  description?: string;
  aliases?: string[];
  cooldown?: number;
  permission: PermissionLevel;
  execute: (client: Client, message: Message) => Promise<any> | any;
});

Understanding Each Property

Let's break down what each property means and how to use them:

`name` (required)

This is the name of your command. When a user types your command prefix followed by this name, the command will run.

Example: If command's name is "hello", users will type !hello to run it.

`description` (optional)

A short explanation of what your command does. This helps users understand what the command is for and is often shown in help menus.

Example: "Greets the user with a friendly message"

`aliases` (optional)

Alternative names for the command. If you have a command called "hello", you can add aliases like ["hi", "hey"]. Users can type any of these names to run the same command.

Example: aliases: ["hi", "hey", "greet"] means users can type !hi, !hey, or !greet to run the "hello" command.

`cooldown` (optional)

Prevents the command from being used too frequently by the same person. The number is in seconds.

Example: cooldown: 5 means each person can only use this command once every 5 seconds. This is useful for preventing spam.

`permission` (required)

Controls who is allowed to use the command. You must specify a PermissionLevel:

PermissionLevel.User - Anyone can use it
PermissionLevel.Moderator - Only moderators can use it
PermissionLevel.Admin - Only server admins can use it
PermissionLevel.Owner - Only the server owner can use it
PermissionLevel.BotOwner - Only the bot owner (you) can use it

You can modify the permission levels in the src/classes/command.ts file.

Example: permission: PermissionLevel.User allows anyone to use the command.

`execute` (required)

This is the actual code that runs when someone uses the command. It receives:

client - Your bot instance
message - The message object that triggered the command

Example:

execute: (client, message) => {
  message.reply("Hello, world!");
};

Creating Your First Command

Let's create a simple hello command:

src/commands/hello.ts

import { Command, PermissionLevel } from "@/classes/commnd";

export default new Command({
  name: "hello",
  description: "Greets you with a friendly message",
  aliases: ["hi", "hey"],
  cooldown: 3,
  permission: PermissionLevel.User,
  execute: async (client, message) => {
    await message.reply(`Hello ${message.author?.username}! 👋`);
  },
});

When someone types !hello (or !hi or !hey), the bot will reply with a greeting.

Making the Command

Create a new file in src/commands/ called hello.ts
Type the following code

src/commands/hello.ts

export default new Command({});

You might've noticed that when you start typing new Command, you get suggestions for the properties you can add. This is called intellisense. You can press Enter or Tab to quickly add the properties you need.

intellisense

Fill in the required properties

src/commands/hello.ts

import { Command, PermissionLevel } from "@/classes/commnd";

export default new Command({
  name: "hello",
  permission: PermissionLevel.User,
  execute: async (client, message) => {},
});

Add optional properties

src/commands/hello.ts

import { Command, PermissionLevel } from "@/classes/commnd";

export default new Command({
  name: "hello",
  description: "Greets you with a friendly message",
  aliases: ["hi", "hey"],
  cooldown: 3,
  permission: PermissionLevel.User,
  execute: async (client, message) => {},
});

Write your code in execute

src/commands/hello.ts

import { Command, PermissionLevel } from "@/classes/commnd";

export default new Command({
  name: "hello",
  description: "Greets you with a friendly message",
  aliases: ["hi", "hey"],
  cooldown: 3,
  permission: PermissionLevel.User,
  execute: async (client, message) => {
    await message.reply(`Hello ${message.author?.username}! 👋`);
  },
});

Save the file and test your command by running your bot and typing !hello in a server or DM.

hello command example

Explanation of the Code in `execute`

In the execute function, we use message.reply() to send a response back to the user who triggered the command. The message includes a greeting and the username of the person who used the command.

message is an object that contains information about the message that triggered the command, including the author, content, and more. By using message.author?.username, we can get the username of the person who sent the command.

The reason why we see a ? after author is because the author might be undefined. The ? prevents errors in case author is not available for some reason.

Visual Studio Code's intellisense will show you all the properties and methods available on the message object and app ? when needed.

message intellisense

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