DocsLoading Commands from Files

Loading Commands from Files

Learn how to organize and load commands from external files.

Why Load Commands from Files?

As your bot grows, keeping all commands in a single file can become unwieldy. Loading commands from separate files offers several benefits:

Better organization and maintainability
Easier to find and modify specific commands
Ability to enable/disable commands by adding or removing files
Cleaner main bot file

File Structure

A common file structure for a meowcord bot with external command files looks like this:

project/
├── index.js
├── config.js
└── commands/
    ├── fun/
    │   ├── ping.js
    │   └── hello.js
    ├── moderation/
    │   ├── kick.js
    │   └── ban.js
    └── utility/
        ├── help.js
        └── info.js

Command File Format

Each command file should export an object with the command properties:

commands/fun/ping.js

// commands/fun/ping.js
module.exports = {
  cmdName: "ping",
  cmdDescription: "Responds with the bot's ping",
  cmdCode: async (message) => {
    const ping = Date.now() - message.createdTimestamp;
    message.reply(`🏓 Pong! My ping is currently ${ping}ms`);
  }
};

For advanced commands, the format is similar:

commands/utility/custom-handler.js

// commands/utility/custom-handler.js
module.exports = {
  cmdName: "custom-handler",
  cmdCode: async (message) => {
    // Custom command logic here
    if (message.content.toLowerCase().includes("help me")) {
      message.reply("I'm here to help! Try using one of my commands.");
    }
  }
};

Loading Commands

Meowcord provides the loadCommandFromFolder method to load commands from a directory:

index.js

const { Meow, Intents } = require("meowcord");
const path = require("path");

const bot = new Meow({
  intents: [Intents.Guilds, Intents.GuildMessages, Intents.MessageContent],
  prefix: "!",
});

// Load all commands from the commands folder
bot.loadCommandFromFolder(path.join(__dirname, "commands"));

bot.start("YOUR_BOT_TOKEN");

This will load all command files from the specified directory and its subdirectories.

Loading Individual Command Files

You can also load individual command files using loadCommandFrom:

index.js

// Load a specific command file
bot.loadCommandFrom(path.join(__dirname, "commands", "fun", "ping.js"));

Reloading Commands

As of version 0.1.3, meowcord uses a two-step process for reloading commands. This ensures that code changes are properly reflected:

index.js

// Step 1: Clear all existing commands
bot.clearCommands();

// Step 2: Reload commands from the folder
bot.loadCommandFromFolder(path.join(__dirname, "commands"));

This approach ensures that the require cache is cleared, allowing any changes to your command files to be properly loaded.

Command Parameters

As of version 0.1.3, meowcord automatically detects whether your command function needs the args parameter:

index.js

// Command that only needs the message parameter
bot.basicCommand({
  cmdName: "ping",
  cmdCode: async (message) => {
    // Only message parameter is passed
    const ping = Date.now() - message.createdTimestamp;
    message.reply(`🏓 Pong! My ping is currently ${ping}ms`);
  }
});

// Command that needs both message and args parameters
bot.basicCommand({
  cmdName: "say",
  cmdCode: async (message, args) => {
    // Both message and args parameters are passed
    if (!args.length) return message.reply("Please provide something for me to say!");
    message.reply(args.join(" "));
  }
});

Meowcord will automatically detect the number of parameters your command function expects and pass the appropriate arguments.

Complete Example

Here's a complete example of a bot that loads commands from files:

index.js

// index.js
const { Meow, Intents } = require("meowcord");
const path = require("path");

const bot = new Meow({
  intents: [Intents.Guilds, Intents.GuildMessages, Intents.MessageContent],
  prefix: "!",
  meowSettings: {
    returnBotInfosInConsole: true
  },
});

// Load all commands from the commands folder
bot.loadCommandFromFolder(path.join(__dirname, "commands"));

// Ready event
bot.on("ready", () => {
  console.log(`Logged in as ${bot.discordClient.user.tag}!`);
  console.log(`Loaded ${bot.commands.length} commands`);
});

// Function to reload commands (for development)
function reloadCommands() {
  // Clear existing commands
  bot.clearCommands();
  
  // Load commands again
  bot.loadCommandFromFolder(path.join(__dirname, "commands"));
  
  console.log(`Reloaded ${bot.commands.length} commands`);
}

// Example command to reload commands at runtime
bot.basicCommand({
  cmdName: "reload",
  cmdCode: async (message) => {
    reloadCommands();
    message.reply("Commands reloaded successfully!");
  }
});

bot.start("YOUR_BOT_TOKEN");

Example command file:

commands/fun/ping.js

// commands/fun/ping.js
module.exports = {
  cmdName: "ping",
  cmdDescription: "Responds with the bot's ping",
  cmdCode: async (message) => {
    const ping = Date.now() - message.createdTimestamp;
    message.reply(`🏓 Pong! My ping is currently ${ping}ms`);
  }
};