Discord Bot Commands

Complete reference for Answer Overflow Discord bot commands - slash commands and context menu actions

The Answer Overflow Discord bot provides commands for managing questions, solutions, and community settings.

Command Registration

Commands are registered globally or per-guild using Discord’s application commands API. The registration happens in /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/register.ts.

Global Commands

Available in all servers where the bot is installed.

Guild Commands

Restricted to specific servers (currently the Answer Overflow debug server).

---

Solution Management

✅ Mark Solution

Context menu command to mark a message as the solution to a question.

Type: Message Context Menu Command
Permission Check: Must be question author OR have ManageThreads, ManageChannels, ManageGuild, or Administrator permission

How to Use:

1. Right-click a message in a thread
2. Select “Apps” > ”✅ Mark Solution”
3. The message will be marked as the solution

What Happens:

• Message is marked as solution in database
• Checkmark (✅) reaction added to both question and solution messages
• Solution tag added to forum thread (if configured)
• Question tag removed from forum thread (if configured)
• Thread archived (if server settings enable auto-archive)
• Thread locked (if server settings enable auto-lock)
• Leaderboard points awarded to solution author
• Analytics event tracked

Requirements:

• Must be used in a thread
• Channel must have mark solution enabled
• Cannot mark the question message as its own solution

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/mark-solution.ts:36

Show Mark Solution Flow

// 1. Validate context
if (!interaction.channel.isThread()) {
  return "This command can only be used in a thread";
}

// 2. Check permissions
const isQuestionAuthor = questionMessage.author.id === interaction.user.id;
const hasManagePermission = member.permissions.has(["ManageThreads"]);

if (!isQuestionAuthor && !hasManagePermission) {
  return "You must be the question author or have ManageThreads permission";
}

// 3. Save to database
await database.private.messages.markMessageAsSolution({
  questionMessageId: questionMessage.id,
  solutionMessageId: targetMessage.id
});

// 4. Update Discord
await targetMessage.react("✅");
await thread.setAppliedTags([solutionTagId]);

// 5. Archive/lock if configured
if (serverPreferences.archiveOnMarkSolution) {
  await thread.setArchived(true);
}

---

✅ Mark Solution & Archive

Same as “Mark Solution” but always archives the thread after marking, regardless of server settings.

Type: Message Context Menu Command
Permission Check: Same as “Mark Solution”
Response: Ephemeral (only visible to you)

---

Community Commands

/leaderboard

Display the server leaderboard showing who has solved the most questions.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: None

Options:

ephemeral · boolean

Show the leaderboard only to you (default: false)

Response:

Displays an embed with:

• Top 10 users by solutions marked
• Each user’s solution count
• User avatars and names
• Link to full leaderboard on web

Example:

/leaderboard ephemeral:true

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/leaderboard.ts

---

/export

Export a channel or thread’s messages to a file.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: None

Options:

format · choice

Export format. Choices:

• markdown - Export as Markdown file (default)
• json - Export as JSON file

ephemeral · boolean

Only show the export to you (default: true)

Response:

Generates and uploads a file containing all messages in the current channel/thread.

Markdown Format:

# Channel Name

## Thread: Question Title

**@username** - 2024-01-15 10:30 AM
Message content here...

**@otheruser** - 2024-01-15 10:35 AM  
Reply content here...

JSON Format:

{
  "channel": {
    "id": "123456789",
    "name": "help"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": "987654321",
      "author": { "id": "111222333", "name": "username" },
      "content": "Message text",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "attachments": []
    }
  ]
}

Example:

/export format:markdown ephemeral:false

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/export.ts

---

Server Management

/channel-settings

Open the Answer Overflow dashboard to configure channel settings.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: Requires ManageGuild permission

Response:

Sends an ephemeral message with a link to the dashboard settings page for the server.

Example:

/channel-settings

Settings Available in Dashboard:

• Enable/disable indexing per channel
• Enable/disable mark solution feature
• Configure solution tag for forum channels
• Set tags to remove when solution is marked
• Configure auto-archive on solution
• Configure auto-lock on solution

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/channel-settings.ts

---

/manage-account

Manage how Answer Overflow interacts with your Discord account.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: None

Response:

Sends an ephemeral message with options to:

• View your privacy settings
• Hide your messages from public indexing
• Opt out of leaderboards
• Delete your Answer Overflow data
• Link to privacy policy

Example:

/manage-account

---

Feedback & Support

/feedback

Send feedback about Answer Overflow to the development team.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: None
Context: Works in servers and DMs

Response:

Opens a modal dialog where you can enter feedback text. Submissions are sent to the Answer Overflow team.

Example:

/feedback

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/feedback.ts

---

/bug-report

Report a bug with Answer Overflow.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: None
Context: Works in servers and DMs

Response:

Opens a modal dialog for submitting bug reports with fields for:

• Bug title
• Description
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs actual behavior

Example:

/bug-report

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/bug-report.ts

---

Developer Commands

These commands are only available in the Answer Overflow debug server (Guild ID: 1037547185492996207).

/debug

Test bot latency and API status.

Type: Slash Command
Permission Check: Rhys only
Availability: Debug server only

Response:

Displays:

• Bot WebSocket latency
• API response time
• Database connection status
• Current bot version

Example:

/debug

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/debug.ts

---

Context Menu Commands

Quick Action

Multi-purpose context menu for common actions.

Type: Message Context Menu Command
Permission Check: Varies by action

Available Actions:

• Delete message (if you’re the author or have permissions)
• Report message
• Bookmark message
• Copy message link

How to Use:

1. Right-click a message
2. Select “Apps” > “Quick Action”
3. Choose an action from the menu

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/interactions/quick-action.ts

---

Create GitHub Issue

Create a GitHub issue from a Discord thread.

Type: Message Context Menu Command
Permission Check: Requires GitHub integration to be configured for the server

How to Use:

1. Right-click the first message in a thread
2. Select “Apps” > “Create GitHub Issue”
3. Fill in the issue details in the modal

What Happens:

• Creates a GitHub issue with the thread content
• Links the Discord thread to the GitHub issue
• Posts a message in the thread with the issue link

Requirements:

• Server must have GitHub integration enabled
• User must have connected their GitHub account
• Server must have a configured GitHub repository

Implementation: /apps/discord-bot/src/commands/github-issue-utils.ts

---

Command Error Handling

All commands implement comprehensive error handling:

Show Error Handling Pattern

try {
  // Command logic
  await interaction.deferReply({ ephemeral: true });
  
  // Validate context
  if (!interaction.channel) {
    await interaction.editReply({ content: "Channel not found" });
    return;
  }
  
  // Execute command
  const result = await doSomething();
  
  await interaction.editReply({ content: "Success!" });
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Command failed:", error);
  
  const errorMessage = error instanceof Error 
    ? error.message 
    : "An unexpected error occurred";
  
  if (interaction.deferred || interaction.replied) {
    await interaction.editReply({ content: `Error: ${errorMessage}` });
  } else {
    await interaction.reply({ 
      content: `Error: ${errorMessage}`,
      ephemeral: true 
    });
  }
}

---

Command Timeouts

Commands have a 25-second timeout to prevent hung interactions:

const commandWithTimeout = handleCommand(interaction).pipe(
  Effect.timeoutFail({
    duration: Duration.seconds(25),
    onTimeout: () => new CommandTimeoutError()
  })
);

If a command times out:

1. An error is logged with context (guild, channel, user)
2. The user sees an error message
3. The interaction is cleaned up

---

Permissions Reference

Discord Permissions Used

• ManageThreads - Close/archive threads, mark solutions in any thread
• ManageChannels - Mark solutions in any thread
• ManageGuild - Access channel settings, server configuration
• Administrator - Full access to all bot features

Permission Checking

const memberPermissions = channel.permissionsFor(guildMember);
const hasPermission = 
  memberPermissions?.has("ManageThreads") ||
  memberPermissions?.has("ManageChannels") ||
  memberPermissions?.has("ManageGuild") ||
  memberPermissions?.has("Administrator") ||
  false;

---

Analytics & Tracking

Commands fire analytics events for:

• Command usage (which command was used)
• Success/failure outcomes
• Solution marking events
• Export format preferences
• Error occurrences

Events are tracked using:

• PostHog for user behavior analytics
• Custom Convex functions for database events
• Discord audit log for moderation actions

Example:

import { trackMarkSolutionCommandUsed } from "../utils/analytics";

await trackMarkSolutionCommandUsed(guildMember, "Success");