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Used to create new JDA instances with custom configuration. A single JDABuilder can be reused multiple times to create multiple JDA instances with the same settings.

​
Creating a Builder

​
createDefault

Creates a JDABuilder with recommended default settings.
​
token
String
The bot token
​
intent
GatewayIntent
First intent to enable
​
intents
GatewayIntent...
Additional intents to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
Configured JDABuilder instance
Default Configuration:
  • Member cache policy: MemberCachePolicy.DEFAULT
  • Chunking filter: ChunkingFilter.NONE
  • Gateway intents: GatewayIntent.DEFAULT (if not specified)
  • Disabled cache: ACTIVITY, CLIENT_STATUS
JDABuilder builder = JDABuilder.createDefault(token);

// With specific intents
JDABuilder builder = JDABuilder.createDefault(
    token,
    GatewayIntent.GUILD_MESSAGES,
    GatewayIntent.MESSAGE_CONTENT
);

​
createLight

Creates a JDABuilder with low memory profile settings.
​
token
String
The bot token
​
intent
GatewayIntent
First intent to enable
​
intents
GatewayIntent...
Additional intents to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
Configured JDABuilder instance
Light Configuration:
  • Member cache policy: MemberCachePolicy.NONE
  • Chunking filter: ChunkingFilter.NONE
  • All cache flags disabled
  • Large threshold: 50
JDABuilder builder = JDABuilder.createLight(token);

​
create

Creates a completely empty JDABuilder with specified intents.
​
token
String
The bot token (can be set later)
​
intent
GatewayIntent
First intent to enable
​
intents
GatewayIntent... | Collection<GatewayIntent>
Additional intents to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
JDABuilder instance
// Create with specific intents
JDABuilder builder = JDABuilder.create(
    token,
    GatewayIntent.GUILD_MESSAGES,
    GatewayIntent.GUILD_MEMBERS
);

// Create with no intents, configure later
JDABuilder builder = JDABuilder.create(token, EnumSet.noneOf(GatewayIntent.class));

​
Building the Instance

​
build

Builds the JDA instance and starts the login process.
​
return
JDA
The JDA instance
JDA jda = JDABuilder.createDefault(token)
    .enableIntents(GatewayIntent.MESSAGE_CONTENT)
    .build();

​
Configuration

​
Token

​
setToken

Sets the bot token for authentication.
​
token
String
required
The bot token from Discord Developer Portal
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setToken("your-bot-token");

​
Gateway Intents

​
enableIntents

Enables specific gateway intents.
​
intent
GatewayIntent
required
First intent to enable
​
intents
GatewayIntent... | Collection<GatewayIntent>
Additional intents to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.enableIntents(
    GatewayIntent.MESSAGE_CONTENT,
    GatewayIntent.GUILD_MEMBERS
);

// Or with a collection
builder.enableIntents(EnumSet.of(
    GatewayIntent.GUILD_MESSAGES,
    GatewayIntent.DIRECT_MESSAGES
));

​
disableIntents

Disables specific gateway intents.
​
intent
GatewayIntent
required
First intent to disable
​
intents
GatewayIntent... | Collection<GatewayIntent>
Additional intents to disable
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.disableIntents(GatewayIntent.GUILD_PRESENCES);

​
setEnabledIntents

Sets the complete list of enabled intents, replacing any previous configuration.
​
intent
GatewayIntent
required
First intent to enable
​
intents
GatewayIntent... | Collection<GatewayIntent>
Additional intents to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setEnabledIntents(GatewayIntent.getIntents(GatewayIntent.ALL_INTENTS));

​
Cache Configuration

​
enableCache

Enables specific cache flags.
​
flag
CacheFlag
required
First cache flag to enable
​
flags
CacheFlag... | Collection<CacheFlag>
Additional cache flags to enable
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.enableCache(CacheFlag.ACTIVITY, CacheFlag.VOICE_STATE);

​
disableCache

Disables specific cache flags.
​
flag
CacheFlag
required
First cache flag to disable
​
flags
CacheFlag... | Collection<CacheFlag>
Additional cache flags to disable
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.disableCache(
    CacheFlag.ACTIVITY,
    CacheFlag.CLIENT_STATUS,
    CacheFlag.ONLINE_STATUS
);

​
setMemberCachePolicy

Configures which members to cache.
​
policy
MemberCachePolicy
required
The member cache policy
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
// Cache only members in voice channels
builder.setMemberCachePolicy(MemberCachePolicy.VOICE);

// Cache voice members OR online members
builder.setMemberCachePolicy(
    MemberCachePolicy.VOICE.or(MemberCachePolicy.ONLINE)
);

// Don't cache any members
builder.setMemberCachePolicy(MemberCachePolicy.NONE);

​
setChunkingFilter

Configures which guilds should use member chunking.
​
filter
ChunkingFilter
required
The chunking filter
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
// Don't chunk any guilds
builder.setChunkingFilter(ChunkingFilter.NONE);

// Chunk all guilds
builder.setChunkingFilter(ChunkingFilter.ALL);

// Chunk specific guilds only
builder.setChunkingFilter(ChunkingFilter.include(guildId1, guildId2));

​
Event Listeners

​
addEventListeners

Adds event listeners that will be registered when JDA is built.
​
listeners
Object...
required
One or more event listeners
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.addEventListeners(
    new MessageListener(),
    new ReadyListener()
);

​
setEventManager

Sets the event manager implementation.
​
manager
IEventManager
The event manager (null for default)
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
// Use annotation-based events
builder.setEventManager(new AnnotatedEventManager());

​
Presence

​
setActivity

Sets the initial activity (game status) for the bot.
​
activity
Activity
The activity to display
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setActivity(Activity.playing("with commands"));
builder.setActivity(Activity.listening("music"));
builder.setActivity(Activity.watching("the server"));
builder.setActivity(Activity.competing("a tournament"));

​
setStatus

Sets the initial online status for the bot.
​
status
OnlineStatus
required
The online status
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setStatus(OnlineStatus.ONLINE);
builder.setStatus(OnlineStatus.IDLE);
builder.setStatus(OnlineStatus.DO_NOT_DISTURB);

​
setIdle

Sets whether the bot session should be marked as idle.
​
idle
boolean
required
Whether to mark as idle
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setIdle(false);

​
Sharding

​
useSharding

Enables sharding mode for the bot.
​
shardId
int
required
The shard ID (0-based)
​
shardTotal
int
required
Total number of shards
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
// Create shard 0 of 2 total shards
builder.useSharding(0, 2);

​
Thread Pools

​
setCallbackPool

Sets the executor for RestAction callbacks.
​
executor
ExecutorService
The executor service
​
automaticShutdown
boolean
default:"true"
Whether JDA should shutdown this pool
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
ExecutorService executor = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(4);
builder.setCallbackPool(executor, true);

​
setGatewayPool

Sets the executor for gateway operations.
​
pool
ScheduledExecutorService
The scheduled executor service
​
automaticShutdown
boolean
default:"true"
Whether JDA should shutdown this pool
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining

​
setRateLimitPool

Sets the executor for rate limit handling.
​
pool
ScheduledExecutorService
The scheduled executor service
​
automaticShutdown
boolean
default:"true"
Whether JDA should shutdown this pool
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining

​
Behavior

​
setAutoReconnect

Configures automatic reconnection on connection errors.
​
autoReconnect
boolean
required
Whether to automatically reconnect
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setAutoReconnect(true); // Default

​
setBulkDeleteSplittingEnabled

Configures whether bulk delete events should be split into individual events.
​
enabled
boolean
required
Whether to split bulk deletes
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setBulkDeleteSplittingEnabled(false);

​
setEnableShutdownHook

Configures whether to use a shutdown hook for cleanup.
​
enable
boolean
required
Whether to enable shutdown hook
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setEnableShutdownHook(true); // Default

​
setCompression

Sets the compression algorithm for the gateway connection.
​
compression
Compression
required
The compression type
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
builder.setCompression(Compression.ZLIB); // Default
builder.setCompression(Compression.NONE); // Disable compression

​
HTTP Configuration

​
setHttpClient

Sets a custom OkHttpClient for REST requests.
​
client
OkHttpClient
The HTTP client
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient.Builder()
    .connectTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
    .build();
builder.setHttpClient(client);

​
setRestConfig

Sets custom REST configuration including rate limit handling.
​
config
RestConfig
required
The REST configuration
​
return
JDABuilder
The builder for chaining
RestConfig config = new RestConfig()
    .setBaseUrl("https://discord.com/api/v10")
    .setTimeout(20000);
builder.setRestConfig(config);

​
Complete Example

import net.dv8tion.jda.api.JDA;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.JDABuilder;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.entities.Activity;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.requests.GatewayIntent;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.utils.ChunkingFilter;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.utils.MemberCachePolicy;
import net.dv8tion.jda.api.utils.cache.CacheFlag;

public class Bot {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        JDA jda = JDABuilder.createDefault("token")
            // Configure intents
            .enableIntents(
                GatewayIntent.MESSAGE_CONTENT,
                GatewayIntent.GUILD_MEMBERS
            )
            // Configure caching
            .setMemberCachePolicy(MemberCachePolicy.VOICE)
            .setChunkingFilter(ChunkingFilter.NONE)
            .disableCache(CacheFlag.ACTIVITY, CacheFlag.CLIENT_STATUS)
            // Set presence
            .setActivity(Activity.playing("with commands"))
            // Add listeners
            .addEventListeners(new MessageListener())
            // Build
            .build()
            .awaitReady();
        
        System.out.println("Bot is ready!");
    }
}

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