Vestabot (Discord)

A Discord bot that lets anyone in your server post messages to a Vestaboard using the /vesta slash command. Each user is limited to one post per minute.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v22+
• A Discord application and bot token
• A Vestaboard Read/Write API token (Vestaboard app → Settings → Developer)

Installation

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd vestabot-discord
   npm install

2. Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your credentials:

   cp .env.example .env

   Variable	Where to find it
   DISCORD_TOKEN	Discord Developer Portal → your app → Bot → Token
   DISCORD_CLIENT_ID	Discord Developer Portal → your app → General Information → Application ID
   VESTABOARD_TOKEN	Vestaboard app → Settings → Developer → Read/Write API token

3. Invite the bot to your server:

   • Go to your app in the Discord Developer Portal
   • Navigate to OAuth2 → URL Generator
   • Select scopes: bot and applications.commands
   • Select bot permission: Send Messages
   • Open the generated URL and authorize the bot to your server

Running in a console (for testing)

node index.js

You should see:

Slash command /vesta registered.
Logged in as YourBot#1234

Use /vesta <message> in any channel to post to the Vestaboard.

Running in Docker

Build the image:

docker build -t vestabot-discord .

Start the container (runs in the background, restarts automatically):

docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --env-file .env --name vestabot-discord vestabot-discord

Rebuild after code changes:

docker build -t vestabot-discord . && docker rm -f vestabot-discord && docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --env-file .env --name vestabot-discord vestabot-discord

Other useful commands:

docker logs vestabot-discord       # view logs / errors
docker restart vestabot-discord    # restart the container
docker stop vestabot-discord       # stop the container