How to Connect OpenClaw to Discord

Prerequisites

• ✓A Discord account with access to the Discord Developer Portal at https://discord.com/developers/applications.
• ✓A Discord server you can manage; if you do not have one, create it via "Create My Own > For me and my friends".
• ✓An OpenClaw gateway already installed and able to run the `openclaw gateway` command on your machine.
• ✓Permission to add a bot to your Discord server and to enable Message Content Intent and Server Members Intent for that bot.

Steps

1. 1

   Create a Discord application and bot

   Start by creating a dedicated Discord application and bot so OpenClaw has its own identity in your server. This isolates your agent from any other bots and gives you a clean place to manage intents and permissions.

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   Go to the Discord Developer Portal and click **New Application**. Name it something like “OpenClaw”.Click **Bot** on the sidebar. Set the **Username** to whatever you call your OpenClaw agent.

2. 2

   Enable privileged gateway intents

   OpenClaw needs specific gateway intents so your bot can see message content and resolve members correctly. If you skip this, the bot may connect but never see messages or resolve roles, which breaks routing and allowlists.

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   Still on the **Bot** page, scroll down to **Privileged Gateway Intents** and enable:
   *   **Message Content Intent** (required)
   *   **Server Members Intent** (recommended; required for role allowlists and name-to-ID matching)
   *   **Presence Intent** (optional; only needed for presence updates)

3. 3

   Copy your bot token and invite the bot to your server

   You now generate the bot token that OpenClaw will use and create an OAuth2 invite URL with the right scopes and permissions. Treat the token like a password and avoid over-privileging the bot so you keep your server safe.

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   Scroll back up on the **Bot** page and click **Reset Token**.
   
   Despite the name, this generates your first token — nothing is being “reset.”
   
   Copy the token and save it somewhere. This is your **Bot Token** and you will need it shortly.
   
   Click **OAuth2** on the sidebar. You’ll generate an invite URL with the right permissions to add the bot to your server.Scroll down to **OAuth2 URL Generator** and enable:
   *   `bot`
   *   `applications.commands`
   
   A **Bot Permissions** section will appear below. Enable:
   *   View Channels
   *   Send Messages
   *   Read Message History
   *   Embed Links
   *   Attach Files
   *   Add Reactions (optional)
   
   Copy the generated URL at the bottom, paste it into your browser, select your server, and click **Continue** to connect. You should now see your bot in the Discord server.

4. 4

   Enable Developer Mode and collect your IDs

   OpenClaw’s Discord config prefers numeric IDs for servers and users so audits and probes stay reliable. You enable Developer Mode once, then grab the Server ID and your own User ID that you will pass to OpenClaw during pairing.

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   Back in the Discord app, you need to enable Developer Mode so you can copy internal IDs.
   1.   Click **User Settings** (gear icon next to your avatar) → **Advanced** → toggle on **Developer Mode**
   2.   Right-click your **server icon** in the sidebar → **Copy Server ID**
   3.   Right-click your **own avatar** → **Copy User ID**
   
   Save your **Server ID** and **User ID** alongside your Bot Token — you’ll send all three to OpenClaw in the next step.

5. 5

   Allow DMs from server members so pairing works

   Discord blocks DMs from server members if you disable them, which also blocks your bot from DMing you the pairing code. Turn this on at least for the pairing flow; you can lock it down later if you only use guild channels.

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   For pairing to work, Discord needs to allow your bot to DM you. Right-click your **server icon** → **Privacy Settings** → toggle on **Direct Messages**.This lets server members (including bots) send you DMs. Keep this enabled if you want to use Discord DMs with OpenClaw. If you only plan to use guild channels, you can disable DMs after pairing.

6. 6

   Set your Discord bot token in OpenClaw and start the gateway

   Now you wire the Discord bot token into OpenClaw config using an environment-backed SecretRef and enable the Discord channel. Run the gateway after setting the token so it connects to Discord with the new credentials.

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   export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN="YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"
   openclaw config set channels.discord.token --ref-provider default --ref-source env --ref-id DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN --dry-run
   openclaw config set channels.discord.token --ref-provider default --ref-source env --ref-id DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN
   openclaw config set channels.discord.enabled true --strict-json
   openclaw gateway

7. 7

   Configure OpenClaw for Discord and pair your account

   With the gateway running, you complete the pairing flow so OpenClaw knows which Discord user and server to associate with your agent. You can either drive this via chat or by editing file-based config if you prefer explicit JSON.

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   {
     channels: {
       discord: {
         enabled: true,
         token: {
           source: "env",
           provider: "default",
           id: "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN",
         },
       },
     },
   }
   
   DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...

8. 8

   Approve the first DM pairing from Discord

   Finally you link your Discord DM with your existing OpenClaw agent identity using a one-time pairing code. This prevents random Discord users from binding to your agent and gives you a clear approval step.

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   openclaw pairing list discord
   openclaw pairing approve discord <CODE>

9. 9

   Optionally allow your Discord guild channels to talk to the agent

   Once DMs work, you can turn your Discord server into a workspace where each channel has its own session. Start with an allowlist so the bot only responds in the guilds and channels you explicitly approve.

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   {
     channels: {
       discord: {
         groupPolicy: "allowlist",
         guilds: {
           YOUR_SERVER_ID: {
             requireMention: true,
             users: ["YOUR_USER_ID"],
           },
         },
       },
     },
   }

Configuration

Troubleshooting

{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      accounts: {
        default: {
          eventQueue: {
            listenerTimeout: 120000,
          },
          inboundWorker: {
            runTimeoutMs: 1800000,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw logs --follow

Frequently asked questions