Discord Sync and Summary Tool

Automate exporting and summarizing Discord messages with flexible filtering options for dates, usernames, and topics.

Prerequisites

Docker installed and running
jq (optional but recommended for summary generation)
- Install: sudo apt-get install jq (Linux) or brew install jq (macOS)
Discord Token - Your personal Discord user token (see Getting Your Discord Token below)

Getting Your Discord Token

This tool uses your personal Discord account token to export messages. You don't need any special server permissions - it works with your existing access to servers you're already a member of.

Steps to get your user token:

Open Discord in your browser
- Go to https://discord.com/app
- Log in to your Discord account
Open Developer Tools
- Press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac)
- Go to the "Network" tab (this is the most reliable method)
Find the Token (Network Tab Method - Recommended)
- In the Network tab, make sure it's recording (red circle should be active)
- Filter by "Fetch/XHR" or search for "api" in the filter box
- Reload the page or interact with Discord (send a message, switch channels)
- Look for requests to discord.com/api (they'll show up as you use Discord)
- Click on any request (look for ones like "messages", "channels", "gateway")
- In the request details, go to the "Headers" tab
- Scroll down to "Request Headers"
- Look for "authorization" - the value is your user token
- It will be a long string that looks like: MTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4OQ.abcdef.xyz123...
Alternative: Console Method
- Open Developer Tools (F12)
- Go to the "Console" tab
- Type: (webpackChunkdiscord_app.push([[''],{},e=>{m=[];for(let c in e.c)m.push(e.c[c])}]),m).find(m=>m?.exports?.default?.getToken!==void 0).exports.default.getToken()
- Press Enter - this will display your token in the console
- Copy the token (it will be a long string)
Note: If the console method doesn't work, use the Network tab method - it's more reliable.
Use the Token
- Copy the token
- Add it to your .env file as DISCORD_TOKEN=your-user-token-here

How it works:

Uses your existing Discord account
Can export from any server you're already a member of
No server admin permissions needed
Works immediately - no bot setup required

Security Note:

Keep your token secret - it gives access to your account
Don't share it or commit it to git
Discord may revoke tokens if they detect abuse
For personal use and occasional exports, this is perfectly fine

Note: This tool is designed for regular users. No bot setup or server admin permissions needed.

Configuration

The script automatically sources environment variables from a .env file if present.

Option 1: Using a .env file (Recommended)

Create a .env file in either:

discord-sync/.env (preferred, most specific)
embabel-learning/.env (parent directory, fallback)

Add your Discord token:

DISCORD_TOKEN=your-discord-token-here

The script will automatically load this file when run.

Option 2: Export environment variable

export DISCORD_TOKEN=your-discord-token-here

Option 3: Pass inline

DISCORD_TOKEN=your-token-here ./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh --channel 123456789 --after "2026-01-25"

Usage

Basic Export

Export messages from a specific date range:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25T00:00:00" \
  --before "2026-01-26T00:00:00"

Date Formats

Dates can be specified in multiple formats:

Full ISO: 2026-01-25T00:00:00
Date only: 2026-01-25 (automatically expands to 2026-01-25T00:00:00 for --after and 2026-01-25T23:59:59 for --before)

Filter by Username

Export messages from specific users:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --username "alice" \
  --username "bob"

You can specify multiple usernames - messages from any of them will be included.

Filter by Topic/Keyword

Export messages containing specific keywords:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --topic "embabel" \
  --topic "agent"

You can specify multiple topics - messages containing any of them will be included.

Combined Filters

Combine username and topic filters:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --before "2026-01-26" \
  --username "alice" \
  --topic "embabel"

This will export messages from "alice" that also contain "embabel".

Output Formats

Export in different formats:

# JSON (default, enables summary generation)
./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh --channel 123456789 --after "2026-01-25" --format json

# Plain text
./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh --channel 123456789 --after "2026-01-25" --format txt

# HTML
./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh --channel 123456789 --after "2026-01-25" --format html

Summary Only Mode

Generate a summary from an existing export file:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --summary-only

Note: This requires an existing export file. The script will look for a file matching the channel ID and date range.

Custom Output Directory

Specify a custom directory for exports:

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --output-dir /path/to/exports

Default location: $LEARNING_DIR/exports/discord/

Output Files

The script generates two types of files:

Export File: Raw message data in the specified format
- Location: $LEARNING_DIR/exports/discord/
- Naming: discord_{CHANNEL_ID}_{DATE_RANGE}.{format}
- Example: discord_123456789_20260125_to_20260126.json
Summary File: Markdown summary with statistics and recent messages (JSON format only)
- Location: Same as export file
- Naming: discord_{CHANNEL_ID}_{DATE_RANGE}_summary.md
- Example: discord_123456789_20260125_to_20260126_summary.md

Summary Contents

The summary includes:

Statistics: Total messages, unique authors, date range
Top Contributors: Most active users (top 10)
Recent Messages: Last 20 messages with author and timestamp
Topic Mentions: Count of messages containing specified topics
Media & Links: Count of messages with links or attachments

Getting Channel ID

To find a Discord channel ID:

Enable Developer Mode in Discord (User Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode)
Right-click on the channel
Select "Copy ID"

Examples

Export Today's Messages

TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
TOMORROW=$(date -d "tomorrow" +%Y-%m-%d)

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "${TODAY}T00:00:00" \
  --before "${TOMORROW}T00:00:00"

Export Last Week's Messages

LAST_WEEK=$(date -d "7 days ago" +%Y-%m-%d)
TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "${LAST_WEEK}" \
  --before "${TODAY}"

Export and Filter for Specific Project

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-01" \
  --topic "embabel-agent" \
  --topic "embabel-guide" \
  --format json

Generate Summary from Existing Export

If you already have an export file and want to regenerate the summary with different filters:

# First export (if not already done)
./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25"

# Then generate summary with filters
./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel 123456789012345678 \
  --after "2026-01-25" \
  --username "alice" \
  --summary-only

Troubleshooting

Error: DISCORD_TOKEN not set

Solution: Set the token in your .env file or export it:

export DISCORD_TOKEN=your-token-here

Or add to .env:

DISCORD_TOKEN=your-token-here

Error: Docker is not installed

Solution: Install Docker:

Linux: sudo apt-get install docker.io or follow Docker installation guide
macOS: Install Docker Desktop

Warning: jq is not installed

Solution: Install jq for summary generation:

# Linux
sudo apt-get install jq

# macOS
brew install jq

Note: The script will still work without jq, but summary generation will be disabled.

Error: Export file was not created

Possible causes:

Invalid channel ID - Verify the channel ID is correct
Invalid token - Check that your Discord token is valid and has access to the channel
Date range issues - Ensure dates are in the correct format
Docker volume mount issues - Check that the output directory is writable

Solution: Check Docker logs:

docker logs $(docker ps -lq)

No messages found in date range

Solution:

Verify the date range contains messages
Check that your token has access to the channel
Try a wider date range

Summary generation fails

Possible causes:

jq not installed - Install jq (see above)
Non-JSON format - Summary generation only works with JSON format
Export file missing - Ensure the export completed successfully

Solution:

Use --format json for exports
Install jq if missing
Verify the export file exists

Permission denied errors

Solution: Make the script executable:

chmod +x discord-sync/sync-discord.sh

Advanced Usage

Using with Scripts

You can integrate this into other scripts:

#!/bin/bash
CHANNEL_ID="123456789012345678"
YESTERDAY=$(date -d "yesterday" +%Y-%m-%d)

./discord-sync/sync-discord.sh \
  --channel "$CHANNEL_ID" \
  --after "${YESTERDAY}T00:00:00" \
  --before "${YESTERDAY}T23:59:59" \
  --topic "embabel"

# Process the summary file
SUMMARY_FILE="$LEARNING_DIR/exports/discord/discord_${CHANNEL_ID}_*_summary.md"
if [ -f "$SUMMARY_FILE" ]; then
    # Your processing here
    cat "$SUMMARY_FILE"
fi

Scheduled Exports

Add to crontab for daily exports:

# Export daily at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /path/to/embabel-learning/discord-sync/sync-discord.sh --channel YOUR_CHANNEL_ID --after "$(date -d 'yesterday' +\%Y-\%m-\%d)" --before "$(date +\%Y-\%m-\%d)"

Security Notes

Never commit your Discord token to git - The .env file is in .gitignore
Keep your token secret - It gives full access to your Discord account
Don't share your token - Anyone with it can access your account
Rotate tokens if compromised - If you suspect your token is exposed, get a new one

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Discord Sync and Summary Tool

Prerequisites

Getting Your Discord Token

Configuration

Option 1: Using a .env file (Recommended)

Option 2: Export environment variable

Option 3: Pass inline

Usage

Basic Export

Date Formats

Filter by Username

Filter by Topic/Keyword

Combined Filters

Output Formats

Summary Only Mode

Custom Output Directory

Output Files

Summary Contents

Getting Channel ID

Examples

Export Today's Messages

Export Last Week's Messages

Export and Filter for Specific Project

Generate Summary from Existing Export

Troubleshooting

Error: DISCORD_TOKEN not set

Error: Docker is not installed

Warning: jq is not installed

Error: Export file was not created

No messages found in date range

Summary generation fails

Permission denied errors

Advanced Usage

Using with Scripts

Scheduled Exports

Security Notes

See Also

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README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

Discord Sync and Summary Tool

Prerequisites

Getting Your Discord Token

Configuration

Option 1: Using a .env file (Recommended)

Option 2: Export environment variable

Option 3: Pass inline

Usage

Basic Export

Date Formats

Filter by Username

Filter by Topic/Keyword

Combined Filters

Output Formats

Summary Only Mode

Custom Output Directory

Output Files

Summary Contents

Getting Channel ID

Examples

Export Today's Messages

Export Last Week's Messages

Export and Filter for Specific Project

Generate Summary from Existing Export

Troubleshooting

Error: DISCORD_TOKEN not set

Error: Docker is not installed

Warning: jq is not installed

Error: Export file was not created

No messages found in date range

Summary generation fails

Permission denied errors

Advanced Usage

Using with Scripts

Scheduled Exports

Security Notes

See Also