Create the minimal Discord bot with /ask functionality

.env.example

@@ -8,3 +8,5 @@ OLLAMA_EMBEDDING_MODEL=nomic-embed-text
 EMBEDDING_DIM=768
 TOP_K=3
 TEST_DATABASE_URL=postgresql+asyncpg://postgres:postgres@localhost:5445/cs_assistant_test
+DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=
+DISCORD_GUILD_ID=

Makefile

@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ setup:
 cli:
 	uv run python -m src.apps.dev_cli
 
+discord:
+	uv run python -m src.apps.discord_bot
+
 migrate:
 	uv run alembic -c src/infrastructure/db/alembic.ini upgrade head
 

README.md

@@ -150,6 +150,41 @@ ask> what electives should I take for a software engineering focus?
 
 You should see an answer followed by a `Sources:` block listing the URLs used.
 
+### 10. (Optional) Run the Discord bot
+
+The bot exposes the same Q&A flow as `make cli` through a `/ask` slash command,
+so it needs the full backend already working: Docker up, `make migrate` and
+`make ingest` run, and Ollama serving. The CLI is enough for most development —
+this step is only needed if you're working on the bot itself.
+
+You'll need your own throwaway Discord server and bot to develop against:
+
+1. In the [Discord Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications),
+   create an application, then under **Bot** click **Reset Token** and copy the
+   token. No privileged intents are required — `/ask` uses default intents.
+2. Under **OAuth2 → URL Generator**, select the `bot` and `applications.commands`
+   scopes, open the generated URL, and invite the bot to a server you own.
+3. Enable **Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode**, then right-click your server
+   icon → **Copy Server ID**.
+4. Add both values to your `.env`:
+
+   ```
+   DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here
+   DISCORD_GUILD_ID=your_server_id_here
+   ```
+
+5. Start the bot:
+
+   ```bash
+   make discord
+   ```
+
+`/ask` is synced to your server on startup, so it appears immediately. Invoking
+it defers the reply (Discord's 3-second ack), then sends the answer and its
+sources as a follow-up once `ask()` finishes — expect the same 1–3 minute local
+latency as the CLI. If the token or server ID is missing, the bot exits at
+startup with a message.
+
 ---
 
 ## Using it
@@ -188,6 +223,7 @@ Every command runs through `uv run`, so you never need to activate the venv.
 | `make migrate` | Apply Alembic migrations (enable pgvector, create tables) |
 | `make ingest` | Scrape, chunk, embed, and store every URL in `list.json` |
 | `make cli` | Open the question REPL against the ingested data |
+| `make discord` | Run the Discord bot (`/ask` slash command) — see setup step 10 |
 | `make lint` | Run ruff (lint only, no changes) |
 | `make format` | Run black (rewrites files in place) |
 | `make test` | Run the pytest suite (requires Docker running) |

pyproject.toml

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "langchain-text-splitters",
     "celery",
     "redis",
+    "discord-py>=2.7.1",
 ]
 
 [dependency-groups]

src/apps/discord_bot.py

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import sys
+
+import discord
+from discord import app_commands
+
+from src.completions.services.completion_service import ask
+from src.config import settings
+from src.config.logger import get_logger
+
+log = get_logger(__name__)
+
+
+class CsAssistantBot(discord.Client):
+    def __init__(self):
+        intents = discord.Intents.default()
+        super().__init__(intents=intents)
+        self.tree = app_commands.CommandTree(self)
+
+    async def on_ready(self) -> None:
+        guild = discord.Object(id=settings.discord_guild_id)
+        self.tree.copy_global_to(guild=guild)
+        await self.tree.sync(guild=guild)
+        log.info("discord_ready", self_user=self.user, guild=settings.discord_guild_id)
+
+
+client = CsAssistantBot()
+
+
+@client.tree.command(name="ask", description="Receive advice for Carleton CS")
+@app_commands.describe(question="Your question")
+async def ask_command(interaction: discord.Interaction, question: str) -> None:
+    await interaction.response.defer()
+    log.info("discord_ask_received", interaction_id=interaction.id, question=question)
+
+    try:
+        answer = await ask(question=question)
+    except Exception as e:
+        await interaction.followup.send(
+            "❌ I couldn't process this request, please try again later."
+        )
+        log.error("discord_ask_failed", interaction_id=interaction.id, error=str(e))
+        return
+
+    content = answer.text
+    if answer.sources:
+        content += "\n\n**Sources:**\n" + "\n".join(f"• {source.url}" for source in answer.sources)
+
+    await interaction.followup.send(content)
+    log.info("discord_ask_completed", interaction_id=interaction.id)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if settings.discord_bot_token is None or settings.discord_guild_id is None:
+        print("Discord config is incomplete or nonexistent", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    client.run(settings.discord_bot_token)

src/config/__init__.py

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     embedding_dim: int
     top_k: int = 3
     test_database_url: str | None = None
+    discord_bot_token: str | None = None
+    discord_guild_id: int | None = None
 
 
 settings = Settings()