Message Caching

DiSky’s message caching system allows you to track information about deleted and edited messages. This is crucial for moderation, logging, and maintaining accountability in your Discord server.

How It Works

DiSky caches received messages in memory while your bot is running. This means:

Only messages sent while your bot is online are cached
Messages sent before the bot started are not cached
Cache is cleared when the bot restarts
Memory usage increases with cached messages

Edited Messages

When a message is edited, DiSky updates its cache with both the old and new content.

How Editing Works

User sends a message
DiSky caches the message content
User edits the message
DiSky stores the old content and updates with new content
You can access both versions in the on message edit event

Using the Edit Event

on message edit:
    # event-string contains the OLD content
    # event-message contains the NEW/current content

    set {_old} to event-string
    set {_new} to event-message

    # Log to moderation channel
    set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "MOD_LOG_CHANNEL_ID"

    make embed:
        set title of embed to "📝 Message Edited"
        add field named "Author" with value mention tag of author of {_new} to fields of embed
        add field named "Channel" with value mention tag of message channel of {_new} to fields of embed
        add field named "Before" with value {_old} to fields of embed
        add field named "After" with value {_new} to fields of embed
        add field named "Jump" with value "[Go to message](%jump url of {_new}%)" to fields of embed
        set embed color of embed to orange
        set timestamp of embed to now

    post last embed to {_logChannel}

Deleted Messages

When a message is deleted, DiSky recreates a “fake” message object with all cached information.

How Deletion Works

User sends a message
DiSky caches all message data (content, author, attachments, etc.)
User or moderator deletes the message
DiSky recreates a message object from the cache
You can access the deleted message data in the on message delete event

Using the Delete Event

on message delete:
    # event-message is a reconstructed message with cached data

    set {_deleted} to event-message
    set {_content} to content of {_deleted}
    set {_author} to author of {_deleted}
    set {_channel} to message channel of {_deleted}

    # Skip if no content (e.g., uncached message)
    if {_content} is not set:
        stop

    # Log deletion
    set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "DELETE_LOG_CHANNEL_ID"

    make embed:
        set title of embed to "🗑️ Message Deleted"
        add field named "Author" with value mention tag of {_author} to fields of embed
        add field named "Channel" with value mention tag of {_channel} to fields of embed
        add field named "Content" with value {_content} to fields of embed
        set embed color of embed to red
        set timestamp of embed to now

    post last embed to {_logChannel}

What Can You Access?

From cached deleted messages, you can typically access:

Message content (text)
Author information
Channel information
Timestamp
Attachments (URLs, not files)
Embeds
Message ID

Practical Examples

Complete Moderation Log

# Message edits
on message edit:
    # Ignore bot messages
    if author of event-message is a bot:
        stop

    set {_old} to event-string
    set {_new} to event-message
    set {_author} to author of {_new}
    set {_channel} to message channel of {_new}

    set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "EDIT_LOG_CHANNEL"

    make embed:
        set title of embed to "📝 Message Edited"
        set author of embed to discord name of {_author}
        set author icon of embed to avatar of {_author}

        if length of {_old} > 1024:
            set {_old} to "%first 1020 characters of {_old}%..."
        if length of {_new} > 1024:
            set {_new} to "%first 1020 characters of {_new}%..."

        add field named "Before" with value {_old} to fields of embed
        add field named "After" with value {_new} to fields of embed
        add field named "Location" with value "%mention tag of {_channel}% ([Jump](%jump url of {_new}%))" to fields of embed

        set embed color of embed to orange
        set timestamp of embed to now
        set footer of embed to "User ID: %discord id of {_author}%"

    post last embed to {_logChannel}

# Message deletions
on message delete:
    set {_msg} to event-message

    # Check if message was cached
    if {_msg} is not set:
        stop

    set {_author} to author of {_msg}

    # Ignore bot messages
    if {_author} is a bot:
        stop

    set {_content} to content of {_msg}
    set {_channel} to message channel of {_msg}

    # Skip empty messages (like image-only)
    if {_content} is not set:
        set {_content} to "*[No text content]*"

    set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "DELETE_LOG_CHANNEL"

    make embed:
        set title of embed to "🗑️ Message Deleted"
        set author of embed to discord name of {_author}
        set author icon of embed to avatar of {_author}

        # Truncate long messages
        if length of {_content} > 1024:
            set {_content} to "%first 1020 characters of {_content}%..."

        add field named "Content" with value {_content} to fields of embed
        add field named "Channel" with value mention tag of {_channel} to fields of embed
        add field named "Message ID" with value discord id of {_msg} to fields of embed

        set embed color of embed to red
        set timestamp of embed to now
        set footer of embed to "User ID: %discord id of {_author}%"

    post last embed to {_logChannel}

Track Attachment Deletions

on message delete:
    set {_msg} to event-message

    if {_msg} is not set:
        stop

    # Get attachments
    set {_attachments::*} to attachments of {_msg}

    if {_attachments::*} is set:
        set {_author} to author of {_msg}
        set {_channel} to message channel of {_msg}

        set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "ATTACHMENT_LOG"

        make embed:
            set title of embed to "📎 Message with Attachments Deleted"
            set author of embed to discord name of {_author}
            set author icon of embed to avatar of {_author}

            add field named "Channel" with value mention tag of {_channel} to fields of embed

            # List attachments
            clear {_attachList::*}
            loop {_attachments::*}:
                add "[%file name of loop-value%](%url of loop-value%)" to {_attachList::*}

            add field named "Attachments" with value join {_attachList::*} with nl to fields of embed

            set embed color of embed to purple
            set timestamp of embed to now

        post last embed to {_logChannel}

Filter Spam Deletions

# Track recently deleted messages by user
on message delete:
    set {_msg} to event-message

    if {_msg} is not set:
        stop

    set {_author} to author of {_msg}
    set {_authorId} to discord id of {_author}

    # Ignore bots
    if {_author} is a bot:
        stop

    # Count recent deletions
    add 1 to {spam-tracker::%{_authorId}%}

    # Clear counter after 10 seconds
    wait 10 seconds
    remove 1 from {spam-tracker::%{_authorId}%}

    # Check for spam deletion (5+ messages in 10 seconds)
    if {spam-tracker::%{_authorId}%} >= 5:
        set {_logChannel} to text channel with id "SPAM_LOG"

        make embed:
            set title of embed to "⚠️ Rapid Message Deletion Detected"
            set description of embed to "%mention tag of {_author}% deleted 5+ messages in 10 seconds"
            add field named "User" with value "%discord name of {_author}% (%{_authorId}%)" to fields of embed
            set embed color of embed to dark red
            set timestamp of embed to now

        post last embed to {_logChannel}

        # Reset counter
        set {spam-tracker::%{_authorId}%} to 0

Restore Deleted Content

command /restore <text>:
    trigger:
        # Only for moderators
        if event-user doesn't have permission "MANAGE_MESSAGES":
            reply with hidden "❌ You don't have permission!"
            stop

        set {_messageId} to arg-1

        # Check if message exists in cache (this is conceptual)
        # Note: You'd need to implement your own caching system for this

        reply with "ℹ️ DiSky cannot retrieve deleted messages after they're deleted. Use message delete event to log them in real-time."

Best Practices

Log Immediately

Process edit/delete events as they happen. Don’t rely on retrieving data later.
Filter Bot Messages

Ignore bot edits/deletions to reduce log spam.
Check for Null

Always verify cached data exists before using it.
Truncate Long Content

Limit message content to prevent embed errors (1024 character field limit).
Store Important Data

If you need long-term message history, save critical data to a database.
Respect Privacy

Consider user privacy when logging message content. Make logs accessible only to moderators.
Monitor Cache Size

Be aware of memory usage if your bot handles many messages.

Limitations and Caveats

Cache is Temporary

# ❌ This won't work - cache is cleared on restart
on server start:
    # No access to messages from before bot started

Cannot Modify Fake Messages

on message delete:
    set {_msg} to event-message

    # ❌ This will fail - message doesn't exist on Discord
    delete {_msg}  # Results in "10008: Unknown Message" error

Memory Usage

# Large servers with many messages can consume significant RAM
# Consider implementing:
# - Cache size limits
# - Periodic cache clearing
# - Selective caching (only certain channels)

Why This System Exists

Discord’s API doesn’t provide message content for deleted messages. When a message is deleted, Discord only sends the message ID and channel ID - no content, author, or other data.

DiSky’s caching system solves this by:

Storing message data when received
Providing that data when deletion events occur
Allowing moderation logging without relying on Discord’s API

Alternatives

If you need permanent message history:

# Store messages in a database
on message received:
    set {_msg} to event-message
    set {_id} to discord id of {_msg}
    set {_content} to content of {_msg}
    set {_author} to discord id of author of {_msg}
    set {_time} to now

    # Store in database (pseudocode)
    execute "INSERT INTO messages VALUES ('%{_id}%', '%{_content}%', '%{_author}%', '%{_time}%')" in {sql}

Troubleshooting

Deleted Message Has No Content

Problem: event-message is null in delete event.

Solutions:

Message was sent before bot started (not cached)
Message was sent during bot downtime
Bot didn’t have permission to see the message
Cache was cleared or bot restarted

Edit Event Not Showing Old Content

Problem: event-string is empty or same as new content.

Solutions:

Message was edited before bot started
Edit happened too quickly (race condition)
Message wasn’t cached properly

”Unknown Message” Error

Problem: Trying to interact with deleted message.

Explanation: Deleted messages are reconstructed objects, not real Discord messages.

Solution: Only use cached data for reading. Don’t try to delete, edit, or reference fake messages.

Next Steps

Create Polls for gathering feedback
Build Advanced Messages with embeds
Learn about Error Handling
Set up Audit Logs for moderation tracking