2 min read
By Mike
Discord Gateway Intents: What a Bot Is Allowed to Hear
Gateway intents are options a bot declares when it connects, telling Discord which groups of live events it wants to receive. A bot that did not ask for an intent simply never hears those events, which keeps data private and traffic small.
What the gateway is
A bot keeps a constant connection to Discord, called the gateway. Through it Discord pushes events as they happen: a message was sent, a member joined, someone started typing, a voice channel changed. Without limits, every bot would get every event from every server.
Intents are the filter. In the first message a bot sends after connecting, it lists the intents it wants as one number. Discord then sends only the matching events.
The common intents
- Guilds: servers, channels and roles being created or changed. Almost every bot uses it.
- Guild messages: messages in server channels. The text of those messages needs a privileged intent, see below.
- Guild voice states: who joins or leaves voice channels. Music and voice tools need it.
- Guild moderation: bans and audit log entries.
- Guild message reactions: reactions added or removed.
Three intents are special: presence, server members and message content. They are privileged intents, because they expose more personal data and need extra approval for larger bots.
Why it matters to server owners
When a bot is online but ignores messages, joins or voice changes, a missing intent is a common reason. It can also explain a disconnect with the error code 4014 when a bot asks for a privileged intent that is not enabled in its settings. The article on bot offline gateway errors 4004 and 4014 covers it.
Intents are also a privacy signal. A bot that only asks for what its features need is easier to trust.
Intents and Noxyr
The main Noxyr bot is managed for you. If you set up a custom bot with your own application, the Server Members Intent and Message Content Intent must be switched on in the Discord Developer Portal, as the setup guide explains. Those are needed for features such as welcome messages and prefix commands. If a custom bot is offline, start with the bot offline guide.
For more detail, see privileged gateway intents explained.
Checking a bot you did not write
If a bot you installed behaves oddly, ask its developer which intents it uses and why. Good bots list them in their docs. For your own bot, open the Developer Portal, go to the Bot page and compare the toggles to what the code asks for. A mismatch is the first thing to fix.
Common questions
What happens if a bot does not request an intent?
Discord does not send it the matching events. The bot stays online but cannot react to those things.
Where do I turn intents on for my own bot?
In the Discord Developer Portal, open your application, go to Bot and switch on the privileged intents it needs.
Are all intents privileged?
No. Only presence, server members and message content are privileged. The rest can be used freely.
