How do I set up the Discord bot?

Create an application at discord.com/developers/applications, add a bot user, copy the bot token, then invite the bot to your server with the right scopes (typically `bot` plus `applications.commands`). The MCP reads `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` at launch.

What permissions does the bot need?

For read-only triage: View Channels and Read Message History. For posting: add Send Messages. For thread management: Create Public Threads and Manage Threads. For reactions: Add Reactions. Grant only what the workflow needs — bot perms in Discord are per-channel by default, which helps.

Only DMs sent to the bot itself; it cannot read DMs between human users. Discord's API explicitly forbids that, even with admin scope. For user-to-user DM monitoring, you need a different architecture (selfbot, which violates ToS, or a webhook integration).

No — it is a community-maintained server. Discord has not shipped a first-party MCP. The community server is the practical default and works against the standard Discord bot API, so it inherits Discord's rate limits and policies directly.

How is it different from the Slack MCP?

Same protocol, different platform. Slack MCPs target team-internal chat with bot tokens; Discord MCPs target community-facing servers. The capabilities (read, post, thread, react) overlap closely; the auth model and rate limits differ.

Discord

Name: Top MCPs — curated MCP directory
Creator: Top MCPs
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Read and post to Discord channels — community management for AI agents.

Score 69(?)Community (barryyip0625)MIT 103Verified Aug 19, 2026Top MCPs for Communication →

Install View on GitHub

Quick answer

What it does

Provides bot-token-authenticated access to Discord guilds, channels, threads, and members — including reading messages, sending messages, managing threads, and adding reactions.

Best for

Community message triage
Channel summary digests
FAQ auto-responses (with approval gate)
Thread management

Not for

Internal team chat (use Slack or Teams MCPs)
High-volume DM-based support

Source: top-mcps.com/mcp/discord — verified Aug 2026

Setup recipe

Pick your client, then follow the three steps.

Install

claude_desktop_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-discord"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Paste under mcpServers. Fully quit and reopen Claude after editing.

CLI or .mcp.jsonshell

# export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_bot_token
claude mcp add discord -- npx -y mcp-discord

Run from your repo. Commit .mcp.json to share with your team.

.cursor/mcp.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-discord"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Global path: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Reload window after editing.

.vscode/mcp.jsonjsonc

{
  "servers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-discord"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses the "servers" key (not "mcpServers").

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-discord"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via Cascade → hammer icon → Configure.

cline_mcp_settings.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-discord"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via the Cline sidebar → MCP Servers → Edit.

~/.continue/config.jsonjson

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": [
            "-y",
            "mcp-discord"
          ],
          "env": {
            "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Continue uses modelContextProtocolServers with a transport block.

~/.codex/config.tomlshell

# ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.discord]
command = "npx"
args = [
  "-y",
  "mcp-discord",
]
env = { DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN = "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}" }

Codex uses TOML. Each server is a [mcp_servers.<name>] subtable.

~/.config/zed/settings.jsonjsonc

{
  "context_servers": {
    "discord": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "mcp-discord"
        ]
      },
      "env": {
        "DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed calls them "context_servers". Settings live-reload on save.

ChatGPT → Apps directorynone

Discord doesn't ship a hosted HTTPS endpoint today. ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers only — to use this server in ChatGPT you'll need to deploy it to a public HTTPS URL first (e.g. via Cloudflare Workers or Vercel) or wait for an official remote build.

2
Set required secrets
Set DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN in your shell environment before launching your MCP client.
3
Try a minimum working prompt
Daily community digest
Read the last 24 hours of messages from #general, #help, and #announcements. Group questions by topic, surface 3 unanswered help threads worth a moderator response, and post a 5-bullet daily digest to #community-leads.
Tested with: Claude Desktop, Cursor.

Tools & permissions

Tool	Description	Args	Side effects
`discord_login`	Authenticate the bot with the configured token.	—	Network
`discord_get_server_info`	Return guild metadata — name, member count, channels.	—	Read
`discord_read_messages`	Read recent messages from a channel.	channelId: string	Read
`discord_send`	Post a message to a channel.	channelId: string, message: string	Write
`discord_add_reaction`	Add an emoji reaction to a message.	—	Write
`discord_add_multiple_reactions`	Add several reactions to a message in one call.	—	Write
`discord_remove_reaction`	Remove a reaction from a message.	—	Write
`discord_delete_message`	Delete a message.	—	Write
`discord_create_text_channel`	Create a text channel in the guild.	—	Write
`discord_delete_channel`	Delete a channel.	—	Write
`discord_create_category`	Create a channel category.	—	Write
`discord_edit_category`	Rename or reposition a category.	—	Write
`discord_delete_category`	Delete a category.	—	Write
`discord_get_forum_channels`	List forum channels in the guild.	—	Read
`discord_get_forum_post`	Read a forum post and its replies.	—	Read
`discord_create_forum_post`	Create a forum post.	—	Write
`discord_reply_to_forum`	Reply to a forum post.	—	Write
`discord_delete_forum_post`	Delete a forum post.	—	Write
`discord_create_webhook`	Create a channel webhook.	—	Write
`discord_edit_webhook`	Edit an existing webhook.	—	Write
`discord_delete_webhook`	Delete a webhook.	—	Write
`discord_send_webhook_message`	Send a message through a webhook.	—	Write

Security & scope

Access scope: Read + write
Sandbox: Authenticates to Discord as a bot user via the token in `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`. The bot has whatever permissions the server admin granted at invite time, scoped per channel where Discord supports it.
Gotchas: Discord bot tokens are bearer credentials — leaking one gives an attacker the bot's full permission set instantly. Rotate via the Developer Portal whenever in doubt.
Posting messages without an approval gate in a community context is a brand risk; for any auto-reply workflow, require human approval before send.

Agent prompt pack

— copy into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT.

Paste into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT. Edit the [brackets] before sending.

Recommend the best MCP servers for [task: e.g. communication work] in [client: Claude].

Constraints:
- Prefer tools that are [official | open-source | read-only] — pick what matters for my use case.
- Exclude MCPs that require [e.g. a paid plan, OAuth-only flows, remote-only transport].
- Return at most 3 picks, ranked.

For each pick include:
1. One-sentence rationale.
2. The ready-to-paste install snippet for my client.
3. Any required secrets I need to create before installing.

Cross-check the top-mcps.com listing: https://top-mcps.com/top-mcps-for-communication

Compare Discord against a real alternative. Swap the second MCP in [brackets] if you want a different match.

Compare Discord MCP vs [Slack (community) MCP] for the following job: [describe the job, e.g. "let an agent create GitHub issues on bug triage"].

Judge them on:
- Setup time and complexity (what a new user hits first).
- Auth model (none / API key / OAuth 2.1) and credential risk.
- Transport (stdio / Streamable HTTP / SSE) and where the server runs.
- Required secrets and the blast radius if they leak.
- Operational risk in an unattended agent loop.
- Which one is "good enough" for a weekend prototype vs. production.

End with one sentence: which should I pick for my scenario, which is: [my scenario].

References:
- https://top-mcps.com/mcp/discord
- top-mcps.com listing for Slack (community)

Asks the agent to install and verify. Works inside Claude Code, Cursor Agent, Codex CLI.

Install the Discord MCP server for my [client: Claude] at the default config path for that client.

Use the exact install snippet published at https://top-mcps.com/mcp/discord (fetch https://top-mcps.com/mcp/discord.json for the canonical server.json if you can read URLs).

Before finishing:
1. Create the required secrets (DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN) and put them in the appropriate env block — do not hard-code them.
2. Restart or reload the client so it picks up the new server.
3. Verify the server is connected (green / running state) and at least one tool is listed.
4. If anything fails, read the client's MCP logs and report the exact error — do not silently retry.

Confirm when done and list the tools the server now exposes.

Frequently asked questions

What changed

— 2 updates tracked.

Aug 19, 2026
Refreshed install snippets and fact sheet; verified for 2026.
Mar 1, 2025
Initial directory listing.

At a glance

Maintainer: Community (barryyip0625)
Transport: stdio
Auth model: API key
Required secrets: DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN
Supported clients: ChatGPT
Claude Desktop
Claude Code
Cursor
VS Code
Windsurf
Cline
Continue
Zed
Codex CLI
License: MIT
Language: TypeScript
Latest version: latest
Last verified: Aug 19, 2026

GitHub repo

Rank badge

Maintainer of Discord? Embed the live badge — it re-renders with the current rank and score on every catalog refresh.

[![Ranked #4 in Communication on Top-MCPs](https://top-mcps.com/badge/discord.svg)](https://top-mcps.com/mcp/discord)

Alternatives

Slack (community) →
Read and send Slack messages, manage channels and threads — the token-based community server, no admin approval needed.
Teams →
Teams — official ChatGPT Apps directory listing, verified for 2026.

Related guides

More Communication MCPs

Other tools in the same category worth evaluating.

Slack (community)

Read and send Slack messages, manage channels and threads — the token-based community server, no admin approval needed.

slackmessagingcommunicationautomation

10 minMedium

Slack (official)

Official

Slack's own hosted MCP server — search, send messages, read threads, and manage canvases, gated by workspace admins.

slackmessagingchatcanvases

5 minLow

Send messages and read channel history from a Telegram bot in an agent.

communicationmessagingtelegrambot

6 minLow

Compared with Discord

Side-by-side breakdowns for the choices people most often weigh against this MCP.

DiscordvsSlack (community)DiscordvsTeams DiscordvsSlack (official)DiscordvsTelegram

Exploring Top MCPs for Communication? See all Communication MCPs →