Multiple Bots

DiSky allows you to run multiple bot instances on a single Minecraft server. This guide explains how to set up and manage multiple bots.

Setting Up Multiple Bots

Adding another bot is straightforward - just define another bot structure with a different name and token.

Copy your existing bot definition

define new bot named "Bot1":
    token: "FIRST_BOT_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents

    on ready:
        send "Bot1 is ready!" to console

Create a second bot with a different name and token

define new bot named "Bot2":
    token: "SECOND_BOT_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents

    on ready:
        send "Bot2 is ready!" to console

Restart your server

Both bots will connect simultaneously!

Event Handling with Multiple Bots

When you have multiple bots, events fire once for each bot.

Example Scenario

You have 2 bots (Bot1 and Bot2) in the same Discord server. A user sends a message.

What happens:

The on message receive event fires twice
Once with event-bot as Bot1
Once with event-bot as Bot2

on message receive:
    # This code runs twice - once per bot!
    send "Received message from %event-user%!" to console

Handling Conflicts

Since events fire for all bots, you need to specify which bot should handle what.

Method 1: Check the Bot (Recommended)

Check which bot triggered the event and handle accordingly:

on message receive:
    # Only respond with Bot1
    if event-bot is bot named "Bot1":
        reply with "Hello from Bot1!"

    # Only respond with Bot2
    if event-bot is bot named "Bot2":
        reply with "Hello from Bot2!"

This is the most common approach because each bot usually has different functionality.

Method 2: Execute with Specific Bot

Use the execute ... with bot syntax to specify which bot executes an effect:

on message receive:
    # Respond with a specific bot regardless of which bot received the event
    execute reply with "Hello!" with bot named "Bot1"

This is useful when you want a specific bot to always handle certain actions.

Complete Examples

Different Bots, Different Roles

# Moderation Bot
define new bot named "ModBot":
    token: "MOD_BOT_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents, guild members, message content

    on ready:
        set presence of event-bot to watching "for rule breakers"

# Music Bot
define new bot named "MusicBot":
    token: "MUSIC_BOT_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents, guild voice states

    on ready:
        set presence of event-bot to listening "music commands"

# Handle events separately
on message receive:
    # ModBot handles moderation
    if event-bot is bot named "ModBot":
        if message contains "badword":
            delete event-message
            send "Message deleted!" to event-channel

    # MusicBot handles music commands
    if event-bot is bot named "MusicBot":
        if message is "!play":
            reply with "Starting music..."

Development vs Production Bot

# Production Bot
define new bot named "ProductionBot":
    token: "PRODUCTION_TOKEN"
    intents: all intents

    on ready:
        send "&a[Production] Bot is ready!" to console
        set presence of event-bot to playing "Production Mode"

# Development Bot (for testing)
define new bot named "DevBot":
    token: "DEV_TOKEN"
    intents: all intents

    on ready:
        send "&e[Dev] Bot is ready!" to console
        set presence of event-bot to playing "Development Mode"

# Only respond in dev mode if user is developer
on message receive:
    if event-bot is bot named "DevBot":
        if event-user is not developer:
            stop
        reply with "Dev mode response!"

    if event-bot is bot named "ProductionBot":
        reply with "Production response!"

Multi-Purpose Bot Farm

# Separate bot for each server
define new bot named "ServerABot":
    token: "SERVER_A_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents

define new bot named "ServerBBot":
    token: "SERVER_B_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents

define new bot named "ServerCBot":
    token: "SERVER_C_TOKEN"
    intents: default intents

# Route commands to the correct bot
on slash command:
    set {_botName} to "ServerABot"
    if event-guild's id is "SERVER_B_ID":
        set {_botName} to "ServerBBot"
    else if event-guild's id is "SERVER_C_ID":
        set {_botName} to "ServerCBot"

    execute reply with "Command from %{_botName}%!" with bot named {_botName}

Using Specific Bot Syntax

Many DiSky effects support the with bot clause:

# Reply with specific bot
execute reply with "Hello!" with bot named "Bot1"

# Post to channel with specific bot
execute post "Message" to {_channel} with bot named "Bot2"

# Update message with specific bot
execute edit {_message} to show "Updated!" with bot named "Bot1"

This ensures the action is performed by the specified bot, regardless of which bot is in the current event context.

Best Practices

1. Give Bots Clear Names

# ✅ Good - clear purpose
define new bot named "ModerationBot":
define new bot named "MusicBot":

# ❌ Bad - unclear
define new bot named "Bot1":
define new bot named "MyBot":

2. Always Check Bot in Events

# ✅ Good - handles each bot separately
on message receive:
    if event-bot is bot named "ModBot":
        # Moderation logic
    else if event-bot is bot named "MusicBot":
        # Music logic

# ❌ Bad - all bots respond
on message receive:
    reply with "Hello!"  # Both bots will respond!

3. Separate Bot Configuration

# ✅ Good - different configs for different purposes
define new bot named "ModBot":
    intents: guild members, message content
    policy: all

define new bot named "MusicBot":
    intents: guild voice states
    policy: voice

# ❌ Bad - same config for different purposes (wasteful)
define new bot named "ModBot":
    intents: all intents
    policy: all

4. Use Different Presences

Help users distinguish between your bots:

define new bot named "ModBot":
    on ready:
        set presence of event-bot to watching "for rule breakers"

define new bot named "MusicBot":
    on ready:
        set presence of event-bot to listening "music requests"

Troubleshooting

Both Bots Respond to Events

You forgot to check which bot triggered the event:

# Add this check
on message receive:
    if event-bot is not bot named "DesiredBot":
        stop
    # Your code here

Wrong Bot Performs Action

Use the with bot clause:

execute reply with "Message" with bot named "CorrectBot"

Memory Usage Too High

Multiple bots use more memory. Optimize each bot’s configuration:

# Only cache what each bot needs
define new bot named "CommandBot":
    policy: none  # Commands don't need member cache
    cache flags: none

define new bot named "MemberBot":
    policy: all  # This one needs members
    cache flags: default flags

Events Not Firing

Make sure each bot has the required intents:

define new bot named "Bot1":
    intents: guild members, message content  # Required for member events

define new bot named "Bot2":
    intents: guild voice states  # Required for voice events

When to Use Multiple Bots

Good use cases:

Different bots for different purposes (moderation, music, utility)
Development vs production environments
Separate bots per server/community
Load distribution across multiple bots

Bad use cases:

Running multiple instances of the same bot (use clustering instead)
Avoiding rate limits (this violates Discord ToS)
Just because you can (unnecessary complexity)

Next Steps

Send messages with Simple Messages
Create interactions with Components
Learn about Data Structures