# Creating the main file

Open your code editor and create a new file. We suggest that you save the file as index.js, but you may name it whatever you wish.

Here's the base code to get you started:

// Require the necessary discord.js classes
const { Client, Events, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');
const { token } = require('./config.json');

// Create a new client instance
const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds] });

// When the client is ready, run this code (only once).
// The distinction between `client: Client<boolean>` and `readyClient: Client<true>` is important for TypeScript developers.
// It makes some properties non-nullable.
client.once(Events.ClientReady, readyClient => {
	console.log(`Ready! Logged in as ${readyClient.user.tag}`);
});

// Log in to Discord with your client's token
client.login(token);

This is how you create a client instance for your Discord bot and log in to Discord. The GatewayIntentBits.Guilds intents option is necessary for the discord.js client to work as you expect it to, as it ensures that the caches for guilds, channels, and roles are populated and available for internal use.

Intents also define which events Discord should send to your bot, and you may wish to enable more than just the minimum. You can read more about the other intents on the Intents topic.

# Running your application

Open your terminal and run node index.js to start the process. If you see "Ready!" after a few seconds, you're good to go! The next step is to start adding slash commands to develop your bot's functionality.

# Resulting code

If you want to compare your code to the code we've constructed so far, you can review it over on the GitHub repository here open in new window.