---
title: "Build a Discord Bot for Image Generation"
description: "Create a Discord bot that generates images from templates on command. Build leaderboards, welcome cards, and achievement badges. Discord.js + API tutorial."
url: "https://www.imejis.io/blogs/tutorials/discord-bot-image-generation"
published: "2026-03-28"
---

# Build a Discord Bot for Image Generation

A Discord bot that generates images on command is one of those projects that sounds complex but takes an afternoon to build. Your server members type a slash command, the bot calls an image API, and a branded graphic appears in the channel. Welcome cards, leaderboards, achievement badges, meme templates, all generated on the fly.

I built one for a gaming community that wanted automated leaderboard graphics. Every time someone hit a new rank, the bot generated a personalized achievement card and posted it to #achievements. The members loved it. Here's how to build something similar with [Imejis.io](https://www.imejis.io) and Discord.js. If you're new to image APIs, read our [beginner guide to generating images with an API](/blogs/tutorials/how-to-generate-images-with-api) first. All pricing as of March 2026.

## What a Discord Image Generation Bot Can Do

Here's what Discord communities actually use image bots for:

**Welcome cards**: When a new member joins, the bot generates a card with their username, avatar, and a "Welcome to [Server]!" message. Posted automatically to #welcome.

**Leaderboard graphics**: Weekly or on-demand leaderboard images showing top players, XP rankings, or activity stats in a clean branded layout.

**Achievement badges**: "Level 10 Reached!", "100 Messages Sent!", "1 Year Member!" personalized achievement cards triggered by milestones. [Gaming communities take this further with leaderboard graphics and rank badges](/blogs/industry/gaming-achievement-badges-leaderboards).

**Event announcements**: "/event Game Night - Saturday 8pm EST" generates a branded event card with all the details.

**Meme generation**: "/meme top-text bottom-text" generates a meme from a template. Simple but fun.

**Server stats**: "/stats" generates an infographic showing member count, active users, messages per day, top channels.

## Prerequisites

- A [Discord account](https://discord.com) and a server where you have admin access
- [Node.js 18+](https://nodejs.org) installed
- An [Imejis.io account](https://app.imejis.io) (free tier works)
- A template designed for your use case

## Step 1: Create a Discord Application

1. Go to the [Discord Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications)
2. Click "New Application" and name it (e.g., "Image Bot")
3. Go to **Bot** in the sidebar, click "Add Bot"
4. Copy the **Bot Token** (keep this secret)
5. Under **Privileged Gateway Intents**, enable "Server Members Intent" if you want to detect new member joins
6. Go to **OAuth2 > URL Generator**, select scopes: `bot` and `applications.commands`
7. Select bot permissions: "Send Messages", "Attach Files", "Use Slash Commands"
8. Copy the generated URL and open it to invite the bot to your server

## Step 2: Set Up the Project

```bash
mkdir discord-image-bot && cd discord-image-bot
npm init -y
npm install discord.js dotenv
```

Create `.env`:

```bash
DISCORD_TOKEN=your-bot-token
DISCORD_CLIENT_ID=your-application-id
IMEJIS_API_KEY=your-imejis-api-key
```

## Step 3: Register Slash Commands

Create `deploy-commands.js`:

```javascript
import "dotenv/config"
import { REST, Routes, SlashCommandBuilder } from "discord.js"

const commands = [
  new SlashCommandBuilder()
    .setName("welcome")
    .setDescription("Generate a welcome card")
    .addUserOption((option) =>
      option
        .setName("member")
        .setDescription("The member to welcome")
        .setRequired(true)
    ),
  new SlashCommandBuilder()
    .setName("achievement")
    .setDescription("Generate an achievement badge")
    .addUserOption((option) =>
      option
        .setName("member")
        .setDescription("The member who earned it")
        .setRequired(true)
    )
    .addStringOption((option) =>
      option
        .setName("title")
        .setDescription("Achievement title")
        .setRequired(true)
    ),
].map((cmd) => cmd.toJSON())

const rest = new REST().setToken(process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN)
await rest.put(Routes.applicationCommands(process.env.DISCORD_CLIENT_ID), {
  body: commands,
})
console.log("Slash commands registered!")
```

Run it once: `node deploy-commands.js`

## Step 4: Build the Bot

Create `index.js`:

```javascript
import "dotenv/config"
import { AttachmentBuilder, Client, GatewayIntentBits } from "discord.js"

const client = new Client({
  intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds, GatewayIntentBits.GuildMembers],
})

const TEMPLATES = {
  welcome: "YOUR_WELCOME_TEMPLATE_ID",
  achievement: "YOUR_ACHIEVEMENT_TEMPLATE_ID",
}

async function generateImage(templateId, data) {
  const response = await fetch(`https://render.imejis.io/v1/${templateId}`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "dma-api-key": process.env.IMEJIS_API_KEY,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(data),
  })
  return Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer())
}

// Handle /welcome command
client.on("interactionCreate", async (interaction) => {
  if (!interaction.isChatInputCommand()) return

  if (interaction.commandName === "welcome") {
    await interaction.deferReply()

    const member = interaction.options.getUser("member")

    const imageBuffer = await generateImage(TEMPLATES.welcome, {
      username: { text: member.displayName },
      avatar: { image: member.displayAvatarURL({ size: 256 }) },
      server_name: { text: interaction.guild.name },
      member_count: { text: `Member #${interaction.guild.memberCount}` },
    })

    const attachment = new AttachmentBuilder(imageBuffer, {
      name: "welcome.png",
    })

    await interaction.editReply({
      content: `Welcome to the server, ${member}! 🎉`,
      files: [attachment],
    })
  }

  if (interaction.commandName === "achievement") {
    await interaction.deferReply()

    const member = interaction.options.getUser("member")
    const title = interaction.options.getString("title")

    const imageBuffer = await generateImage(TEMPLATES.achievement, {
      username: { text: member.displayName },
      avatar: { image: member.displayAvatarURL({ size: 256 }) },
      achievement_title: { text: title },
      date: {
        text: new Date().toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
          month: "long",
          day: "numeric",
          year: "numeric",
        }),
      },
    })

    const attachment = new AttachmentBuilder(imageBuffer, {
      name: "achievement.png",
    })

    await interaction.editReply({
      content: `${member} just earned an achievement! 🏆`,
      files: [attachment],
    })
  }
})

client.once("ready", () => {
  console.log(`Bot is online as ${client.user.tag}`)
})

client.login(process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN)
```

## Step 5: Auto-Welcome New Members

Add automatic welcome card generation when someone joins:

```javascript
client.on("guildMemberAdd", async (member) => {
  const welcomeChannel = member.guild.channels.cache.find(
    (ch) => ch.name === "welcome"
  )

  if (!welcomeChannel) return

  const imageBuffer = await generateImage(TEMPLATES.welcome, {
    username: { text: member.displayName },
    avatar: { image: member.displayAvatarURL({ size: 256 }) },
    server_name: { text: member.guild.name },
    member_count: { text: `Member #${member.guild.memberCount}` },
  })

  const attachment = new AttachmentBuilder(imageBuffer, {
    name: "welcome.png",
  })

  await welcomeChannel.send({
    content: `Welcome ${member}! We're glad you're here.`,
    files: [attachment],
  })
})
```

Every new member gets a personalized welcome card. No manual work.

## Step 6: Deploy

Discord bots need to stay online, so you can't use serverless functions. Good options:

- **[Railway](https://railway.app)**: Free tier, deploys from GitHub, stays running
- **[Fly.io](https://fly.io)**: Free tier with 3 shared VMs
- **[Render](https://render.com)**: Free tier for background workers
- **Any VPS**: A $5/month server handles most community bots

Start the bot: `node index.js`

## Template Design Tips for Discord

Discord displays images in chat with specific constraints. Keep these in mind when designing your templates in [Imejis.io](https://www.imejis.io):

**Use a 16:9 or 2:1 aspect ratio.** Discord's embed preview crops square images. Wide formats (1200x600, 800x400) display better in chat.

**Dark backgrounds work best.** Most Discord users are on dark theme. A bright white card looks jarring. Match Discord's dark gray (#36393f) or use your brand's dark palette.

**Keep text large.** Discord compresses images in chat. Text that looks fine at 1200px wide can be unreadable when Discord shrinks it to 400px in mobile view.

**Avatar images need HTTPS URLs.** Discord serves avatars over HTTPS. The `displayAvatarURL()` method returns the right format, but if you're using custom avatar URLs, make sure they're HTTPS.

## Cost Breakdown

| Server Size                  | Monthly Images (est.) | Imejis.io Plan | Cost         |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------- | -------------- | ------------ |
| Small (under 100 members)    | 10-30                 | Free           | $0           |
| Medium (100-1,000 members)   | 30-100                | Free           | $0           |
| Large (1,000-10,000 members) | 100-500               | Basic ($14.99) | $14.99       |
| Very large (10,000+)         | 500-2,000             | Basic-Pro      | $14.99-24.99 |

Most community bots stay well within the [free tier](https://www.imejis.io/pricing) of 100 images per month. Even a server with 1,000 members won't get 100 new joins per month in most cases.

## Getting Started

1. **[Sign up for Imejis.io](https://app.imejis.io)** and design a welcome card template (dark background, 1200x600)
2. **Create a Discord app** at the [Developer Portal](https://discord.com/developers/applications)
3. **Copy the code** from this tutorial and add your tokens
4. **Deploy to Railway** and invite the bot to your server
5. **Test with** `/welcome @yourself` to see it in action

The whole build takes 2-3 hours. I'd start with just the welcome card, get it working, then add achievement badges and other commands later.

For the JSON data format, see our [Generate Images from JSON](/blogs/tutorials/generate-images-from-json) guide. For similar bot patterns, check our [Slack Bot Image Generation](/blogs/tutorials/slack-bot-image-generation) tutorial. And for API pricing, see our [Image Generation API Pricing Comparison](/blogs/comparisons/image-generation-api-pricing-comparison).

## FAQ

### Can a Discord bot generate images?

Yes. The bot listens for slash commands, calls [Imejis.io](https://www.imejis.io) with the data, and sends the image back to the channel. Takes about 3-4 seconds end to end.

### What can I use a Discord image bot for?

Welcome cards, leaderboard graphics, achievement badges, event announcements, meme generation, and server stats. Anything your community generates repeatedly.

### Do I need to host my own server?

Yes, Discord bots need a persistent connection. [Railway](https://railway.app), [Render](https://render.com), and [Fly.io](https://fly.io) all have free tiers that work for most bots.

### How much does this cost to run?

$0 for most communities. [Imejis.io free tier](https://www.imejis.io/pricing) (100 images/month), Discord API (free), Railway hosting (free tier). You won't pay unless your server generates more than 100 images monthly.

### What programming language do I need?

This tutorial uses JavaScript with [Discord.js](https://discord.js.org). The image API is REST-based, so Python with [discord.py](https://discordpy.readthedocs.io) works too, or any language with a Discord library. For a deeper Node.js walkthrough, see our [Node.js integration guide](/blogs/node-js-integration).

## Ship It

Your community deserves better than text-only announcements. A welcome card with someone's name and avatar costs nothing to generate and makes every new member feel seen. [Try Imejis.io free](https://app.imejis.io) and build your Discord image bot this weekend.