Discord has become the platform of choice for gamers looking to chat and connect with friends online. The easy-to-use interface, customizable servers, and excellent voice chat capabilities have made it a go-to way for gaming communities to hang out.
But did you know that Discord offers more advanced customization and bot development options through its developer mode? Turning on developer mode allows power users, programmers, and budding developers access under the hood to create custom Discord bots and tools.
Enabling developer mode only takes a few quick steps, but opens up a whole new set of possibilities. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to activate developer mode, use its features to access technical IDs, and leverage the additional capabilities it unlocks.
What Does Activating Developer Mode Allow You to Do?
Developer mode gives technical users and programmers access to behind-the-scenes information and advanced customization options with Discord’s platform. Specifically, here are some of the key things activating developer mode allows:
View technical IDs – You can view unique user, message, channel, and server IDs by clicking or right-clicking on them with developer mode enabled. These IDs allow deeper programmatic integration when developing bots.
Inspect web traffic – Developer mode lets developers analyze and debug Discord‘s web traffic to build bots that respond to events and queues. This access aids bot development.
Theme creation – Custom CSS code and scripts can be added with developer mode to create custom Discord themes for your servers and profile.
Bot development – Bots can be programmed to respond to Discord events and user commands. The technical data available with dev mode assists this automated bot creation.
Access experiment features – Occasionally Discord rolls out experimental new features to subsets of developer mode users first before wide public release. early access.
Essentially, it comes down to advanced customization and integration options aimed primarily at technically inclined users. The added visibility and control opens possibilities for experimentation and creation of clever custom add-ons that expand upon Discord’s capabilities.
Now let’s walk through how to flip the switch to access these developer mode perks on both desktop and mobile apps.
Activating Developer Mode on Desktop
Turning on developer mode through the Discord desktop application only takes a few simple clicks. Follow these steps:
Launch the Discord app and log into your account if you aren’t already.
Click on the small gear icon in the bottom left corner to open Discord’s settings menu.
On the left side of the settings pop-up, click on “Advanced” under “App Settings.”
Within the “Advanced” settings tab, you’ll see the option to switch on “Developer mode” – click the slider to toggle it on to enable developer access.
And that’s it! Discord will reload itself with the added data access and visibility that comes with developer mode now switched on.
Turning on Developer Mode Through Mobile
The steps to enable developer mode on Discord’s mobile apps for iOS and Android are quite similar to the desktop process. Just follow these steps on your phone:
Open up the Discord app and log into your profile if you aren’t already.
Tap on your profile picture icon in the lower right corner to open the settings menu.
Scroll down on the settings page and choose “Advanced.”
Like on desktop, you’ll find the “Developer mode” toggle here. Switch it on.
After toggling on dev mode, give Discord a few seconds to refresh. You’ll then have full developer access enabled across the mobile app.
Key Developer Data Now Accessible
Once you have developer mode enabled on either platform, you’ll notice new numeric IDs that become visible when you interact with elements of Discord. Here are some of the key places where viewing these unique IDs becomes possible:
- User IDs – Right click on a username and choose “Copy ID” to save that user’s unique identifier.
- Message IDs – Right click on any chat message and select “Copy ID” to copy its identifier.
- Channel IDs – Channel IDs can by viewing by clicking the channel name in the channel list to see its hashtag ID.
- Server IDs – The server ID appears at the top of the server settings page, accessible by clicking the server drop down menu.
These ID numbers may seem mundane, but they provide critical data developers rely on to identify the exact server, user account, message, or channel they want their bots and programs to interact with. It provides precise targeting information for all the key components of Discord.
Without these unique identifiers exposed, complex bot development integrating deep into Discord’s messaging platform wouldn’t be feasible. So while less useful to the average non-technical user, developer mode hardware backdoors that advanced custom programs can hook into.
Developing Bots: Where the Real Developer Mode Power Lies
While accessing the raw technical IDs provides some value for troubleshooting and debugging issues on Discord, the most common and practical application of developer mode is for writing bots.
In fact, over 30 million active bot accounts now access and interact with users across Discord thanks to the platform’s developer support.
Developer mode allows bot creators view the events, connections, and data points they need for scripts that automate tasks:
- Welcoming new users to servers
- DJing music in voice channels
- Pulling in RSS feeds and external data sources
- Automating moderation and banning abuse
- Adding custom meme images, sound clips, and other fun responses via commands
- Building games and interactive experiences leveraging Discord’s API
The possibilities stretch as far as the imagination of the ambitious developers tinkering on the platform thanks to the additional visibility granted through that small dev mode toggle.
Key Developer Resources for Bot Creation
If you’re inspired to try your hand at building your own custom bot, definitely take advantage of these valuable resources:
- Discord Developers Documentation – Discord’s JavaScript API documentation with code snippets and explanations. The definitive guide.
- An Idiot‘s Guide – Excellent community guide covering Discord bot coding from the ground up. Great for beginners.
- Top.gg – Directory of popular bots to research and brainstorm, along with tutorials.
- Discord Bot List – Another bot directory with thousands of submissions to browse.
With developer mode unlocked, you now have the keys to start tinkering and creating custom additions like these listed above to augment your Discord experience.
Responsible Developer Mode Usage in Accordance with Terms
However, before rushing ahead to build the next big bot sensation, do make sure to carefully the read Discord’s full Terms of Service and Developer Terms of Service.
While developer mode grants advanced access, using any data or building any application with Discord needs to comply fully with these rules.
Key highlights to avoid running any risk of suspensions from the platform:
- Don‘t over scrape data – Access user data only on an as-needed basis. Caching and rate limiting is a must.
- Follow API guidelines – Ensure your app or bot follows all listed API rules.
- Don‘t sell user data – Information accessed should only be used directly in the operation of your developed app.
- Properly attribute Discord – Ensure your projects and developer accounts follow Discord branding guidelines.
As long as you follow these terms and avoid causing excessive load, leaking private data, or other policy violations, you are free to build on Discord’s platforms. Just be responsible.
Conclusion
Turning on developer mode may seem like a small change at first glance, but doing so opens up a wealth of options for technically savvy Discord users. With just a quick settings change, you gain access to critical ID strings and can even start writing bots to programmatically interact with Discord’s messaging platform.
Hopefully this guide gave you a good overview of how to flip on that dev mode switch across desktop and mobile, recognize what the ability to access technical IDs enables, and inspiration around the bot and app creation now within your reach.
The core Discord chatting experience is plenty fun on its own already – but entering developer mode lets you augment and expand that friendly hangout in nearly infinite ways.
Go unlock innovation potential and see what clever bots or additions to the platform only you can dream up. Just make sure to stay responsibly within Discord’s guidelines, and have fun unleashing your creativity!
