Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js and pnpm installed
A Discord application with a bot token and client ID from the Developer Portal
A test guild ID (optional, but recommended for instant command deploys during development)

Scaffold the project
Terminal window
```
pnpm create bight
cd my-bight-bot
pnpm install
```
The CLI walks you through storage backend selection, command mode, and optional extras. See create-bight reference for all available flags.
Configure environment variables

Copy the example env file and fill in your credentials:
Terminal window
```
cp .env.example .env
```
.env
```
DISCORD_TOKEN=your-bot-token
DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
DISCORD_TEST_GUILD_ID=your-test-server-id   # optional
```
Setting DISCORD_TEST_GUILD_ID lets you push command changes to a single guild instantly, bypassing Discord’s global cache delay (up to an hour).
Start the bot
Terminal window
```
pnpm start:with-deploy
```
This builds the project, registers commands with Discord, and starts the runtime. Open your test server and run /ping. The bot should reply correctly.

If command metadata changes aren’t appearing in Discord’s slash command picker, redeploy:
Terminal window
```
pnpm deploy:commands:guild    # test guild only
pnpm deploy:commands          # global (production)
```
See Command Deploy Modes for when to use each.

Path	Purpose
`src/commands/`	Slash command definitions and handlers
`src/interactions/`	Button, modal, and select menu handlers
`src/services/`	App-owned integrations (database clients, caches, external APIs)
`src/plugins/`	Lifecycle hooks (schedulers, devtools, error reporters)
`src/bight.ts`	Framework entry point. Intents, discovery, runtime config

Project Structure See to understand the directory layout of a Bight app.

Slash Commands See to understand how to start creating your slash commands.