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Discord OAuth setup guides you through creating a Discord application and configuring OAuth2 credentials.

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Prerequisites

You need a Discord account to create applications in the Discord Developer Portal.

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Setup Process

1

Create Discord Application

OAuth Init opens the Discord Developer Portal with the new application dialog:
https://discord.com/developers/applications?new_app=true
If the dialog doesn’t appear automatically, click the New Application button in the top-right corner.
Enter a name for your application and click Create.
2

Configure OAuth2 Settings

After creating the application:
  1. Navigate to OAuth2 → General in the left sidebar
  2. Scroll to the Redirects section
  3. Click Add Redirect
  4. Paste your callback URL (provided by OAuth Init)
  5. Click Save Changes
Make sure to save your redirect URL before proceeding, or the OAuth flow will fail.
3

Get Client Secret

If you don’t already have a Client Secret visible:
  1. In the OAuth2 → General page
  2. Click Reset Secret
  3. Confirm the reset
  4. Copy the new Client Secret immediately (it won’t be shown again)
The Client ID is always visible on this page.
4

Enter Credentials

Return to the CLI and paste your credentials when prompted:Client ID:
123456789012345678
Client Secret:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456
Discord Client IDs are 17-19 digit numeric strings (snowflake IDs).
5

Save Credentials

Choose where to save your credentials:
  • .env - Save to .env file in your project root
  • .env.local - Save to .env.local file (ideal for Next.js projects)
  • .json - Save to discord-credentials.json file
  • print to the console - Display credentials in terminal without saving
See Save Options for detailed information about each format.

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Validation Rules

OAuth Init validates Discord credentials with these rules:

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Client ID Validation

validate: (value) =>
  !value || !/^\d{17,19}$/.test(value) 
    ? "Invalid Discord ID" 
    : undefined
The Client ID must:
  • Be 17-19 digits long
  • Contain only numbers
  • Match Discord’s snowflake ID format

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Client Secret Validation

validate: (value) =>
  !value || value.length < 10 
    ? "Secret too short" 
    : undefined
The Client Secret must:
  • Be at least 10 characters long
  • Not be empty

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Discord Application Settings

After OAuth setup, you may want to configure additional settings in the Discord Developer Portal:

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OAuth2 Scopes

Common scopes for user authentication:
  • identify - Read user profile data
  • email - Access user email address
  • guilds - Read user’s server list
  • guilds.join - Add users to your server

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Bot Settings

If your application also includes a bot:
  1. Go to Bot section in the sidebar
  2. Configure bot permissions and settings
  3. Note that OAuth credentials are separate from bot tokens

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CLI Options

When running OAuth Init, you can use various flags to customize behavior: 
# Standard interactive setup
oauth-init

# Skip browser opening (get URLs in console)
oauth-init --no-open

# Quiet mode (minimal output)
oauth-init --quiet

# Combine flags
oauth-init --quiet --no-open
See CLI Options for all available flags.

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Common Issues

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Invalid Client ID Format

If you see “Invalid Discord ID”, ensure:
  • You’re copying the Client ID, not the Application ID (they’re usually the same)
  • The ID contains only numbers
  • The ID is 17-19 digits long

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Secret Too Short

If you see “Secret too short”:
  • Make sure you clicked Reset Secret to generate a new one
  • Copy the entire secret string without truncation
  • Secrets are typically 32 characters long

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Redirect URI Mismatch

During OAuth flow, if users see “redirect_uri” errors:
  • Verify the redirect URL in Discord matches exactly (including protocol and trailing slashes)
  • Check that you saved changes after adding the redirect in Discord
  • Ensure there are no typos in the URL

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Using Discord OAuth

After setup, implement the OAuth flow in your application: 
// Example authorization URL
const authUrl = `https://discord.com/api/oauth2/authorize?client_id=${CLIENT_ID}&redirect_uri=${REDIRECT_URI}&response_type=code&scope=identify email`;

// Exchange code for access token
const tokenResponse = await fetch('https://discord.com/api/oauth2/token', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' },
  body: new URLSearchParams({
    client_id: CLIENT_ID,
    client_secret: CLIENT_SECRET,
    grant_type: 'authorization_code',
    code: code,
    redirect_uri: REDIRECT_URI
  })
});
See the Discord OAuth2 documentation for complete implementation details.

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