Overview

This guide shows you how to connect Anthropic to Discord using OpenClaw. You'll configure the messaging channel, set up AI provider authentication, and deploy your assistant.

Discord Capabilities

Direct messages
Group chats
Media support
Reactions
Thread support
Native commands

Anthropic Features

200K context window
Image understanding
Tool/function calling
Streaming responses

Step 1: Configure Discord

Create a Discord application at discord.com/developers
Create a bot user and copy the token
Set DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN environment variable
Configure OAuth2 and add bot to your server
Add discord configuration to openclaw.json

Step 2: Configure Anthropic

Standard API key authentication

Create an account at console.anthropic.com
Navigate to API Keys section
Generate a new API key
Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable

Environment variable: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Step 3: Combined Configuration

Add both configurations to your openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
      }
    }
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "anthropic": {
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "anthropic": {
        "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "token": "${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "applicationId": "your-app-id",
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["user123"]
    }
  }
}
}

Step 4: Start and Test

# Start the gateway
openclaw gateway start

# Check connection status
openclaw status

# View real-time logs
openclaw logs --follow

Access Control

Discord supports the following access control policies:

DM Policies

Policy	Description
`allowlist`	Only senders in allowFrom list are processed
`pairing`	Unknown senders receive a pairing code; admin must approve
`open`	All DMs are processed (requires allowFrom: ["*"])