How to Build a Discord AI Bot with APIVAI (Cheap Claude & GPT)

#discord #aibot #tutorial

Build a Discord AI bot with APIVAI

A Discord AI bot lets your server chat with Claude or GPT. Create a bot application, run a small
discord.js script that forwards messages to an OpenAI-compatible model, and reply. APIVAI provides
the model at a fraction of list price, with crypto/USDT/Alipay payment.

1. Create the bot

Go to the Discord Developer Portal → New Application → Bot → copy the bot token.
Enable the Message Content Intent (Bot settings) so the bot can read messages.
Invite the bot to your server (OAuth2 URL with the bot scope and Send Messages permission).

2. The bot (discord.js)

npm install discord.js openai

import { Client, GatewayIntentBits } from "discord.js";
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds, GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages, GatewayIntentBits.MessageContent] });
const ai = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.APIVAI_API_KEY, baseURL: "https://api.apivai.com/v1" });
const SYSTEM = "You are a helpful assistant in a Discord server. Be concise.";

client.on("messageCreate", async (msg) => {
  if (msg.author.bot) return;
  // respond when mentioned (so the bot isn't noisy)
  if (!msg.mentions.has(client.user)) return;

  const prompt = msg.content.replace(/<@!?\d+>/g, "").trim();
  await msg.channel.sendTyping();
  const r = await ai.chat.completions.create({
    model: "gpt-5.5",
    messages: [{ role: "system", content: SYSTEM }, { role: "user", content: prompt }],
    max_tokens: 500,
  });
  msg.reply(r.choices[0].message.content.slice(0, 1900)); // Discord 2000-char limit
});

client.login(process.env.DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN);

Set DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN and APIVAI_API_KEY, run node bot.js, and mention the bot in your server.

Polish

Add slash commands (/ask) for a cleaner UX.
Keep short per-channel history for context; trim to control token cost.
Split replies over 2000 chars into multiple messages.
Pick GPT-5.5 for general chat, Claude Sonnet for coding help.

FAQ

Can a Discord bot use APIVAI? Yes — it's a standard OpenAI chat call with base URL
https://api.apivai.com/v1; the bot forwards the message and posts the reply.

Which model should the bot use? GPT-5.5 for general/multilingual chat; Claude Sonnet for code.

How do I keep it from being spammy? Only respond when mentioned or via a slash command.

How do I control cost? Trim history and cap max_tokens; APIVAI's per-token price is already low.

Get started

Create a bot app, drop in the script with your APIVAI key, and run it. Examples:
APIVAI examples repo.

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