Building a Discord Bot using CLion (Linux)

Warning

This tutorial assumes you are using Ubuntu. You might use other distros if you prefer, but keep in mind the setup process might be different! This tutorial also teaches you how to use DPP with CMake, using the JetBrains IDE CLion. If you have not installed CLion, You can download CLion here. If you do not have DPP installed, visit this page on how to setup the project using a precompiled version of DPP. If you want to use source and haven't set that up, look towards this page on how to do so. This tutorial will not teach you how to setup CMake and will assume you have already done so.

Add an example program

Open up CLion and open the folder for your bot. You may notice that CLion will start doing the whole CMake process and it will create a folder called cmake-build-debug, this is normal so don't be alarmed! It is just CLion registering all the CMake stuff so it can build and give you auto-suggestions.

Now, you can open your main.cpp file. If you have code there, then you're one step ahead! If not, copy and paste the following example program in the main.cpp and set your bot token (see Creating a Bot Token). Here's how your main.cpp file should look:

#include <dpp/dpp.h>
 
const std::string    BOT_TOKEN    = "add your token here";
 
int main() {
    dpp::cluster bot(BOT_TOKEN);
 
    bot.on_log(dpp::utility::cout_logger());
 
    bot.on_slashcommand([](const dpp::slashcommand_t& event) {
         if (event.command.get_command_name() == "ping") {
            event.reply("Pong!");
        }
    });
 
    bot.on_ready([&bot](const dpp::ready_t& event) {
        if (dpp::run_once<struct register_bot_commands>()) {
            bot.global_command_create(
                dpp::slashcommand("ping", "Ping pong!", bot.me.id)
            );
        }
    });
 
    bot.start(dpp::st_wait);
}

Now, you can go ahead and hit the green "Run" button in the top-right to run the bot.

Congratulations, you've successfully set up a bot!

If you're stuck, come find us on the official discord server! Ask away! We don't bite!