Constraint: Val Town has no WebSockets. Must use polling via REST API. Solution: Cron job that runs every minute, polling Discord API every 2 seconds for new messages.

• Pipedream successfully polls Discord API every 15 seconds to 1 minute
• Approach: Store last message ID, then poll for messages sent after that ID
• Perfect for Val Town: Use interval val (cron) + internal polling loop

• Global: 50 requests/sec for authenticated bot requests
• IP-based: IP addresses have separate 50 req/sec limit if no Authorization header
• Invalid Request Ban: 10,000 invalid requests per 10 min = 24-hour IP ban (401/403/429 count as invalid)
• Your situation: Val Town shares IP addresses across all users. Risk of hitting shared limits!

• Parse response headers to prevent hitting limits, handle 429s accordingly
• On 429 response, Discord sends retry_after field indicating when to retry
• Headers to check: X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset, Retry-After

• IP rotation proxies distribute load across multiple IPs, preventing single IP rate limits
• Options: Twilight HTTP-Proxy, custom Nginx setup, or simple proxy services
• For Val Town: Recommended if scaling, but for single bot: careful request pacing sufficient

• Endpoint: GET /channels/{channel_id}/messages
• Params: limit (1-100), after (message_id), before, around
• Cursor approach: Store after ID from previous poll, use it next time
• Bot needs: MESSAGE_CONTENT intent to read message content

• Endpoint: POST /channels/{channel_id}/messages/{message_id}/threads
• Body: { name, auto_archive_duration }
• Requires message ID and channel ID
• Can use message content to generate AI thread name

• Official guide: https://docs.val.town/integrations/discord/how-to-make-a-discord-bot-hosted-24-7-for-free-in-/
• Use @discordjs/rest package (REST-only, no WebSockets) OR raw fetch calls
• SQLite for persistence (store last message IDs per channel)

// Dependencies
import { sqlite } from "https://esm.town/v/std/sqlite@14-main/main.ts";

// Lightweight REST - use native fetch (no discord.js)
// Reason: discord.js includes gateway code we don't need
const TOKEN = Deno.env.get("DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN");
const API_BASE = "https://discord.com/api/v10";

main.ts (interval - runs every minute)
  ├─ Polls Discord API every 2 seconds for 55 seconds
  ├─ Stores state in SQLite (last_message_id per channel)
  └─ Calls createThread.ts for each new message

createThread.ts (script - utility)
  ├─ Calls OpenAI/Claude for thread title
  └─ Creates thread via Discord API

config.ts (script - configuration)
  └─ Channel IDs, API endpoints

1. Request Pacing: Add 200ms delay between Discord API calls
2. Backoff: On 429, respect Retry-After header
3. Monitoring: Log rate limit headers
4. Fallback: If hit hard limits, skip cycle and retry next minute

• ⚠️ Message Filtering: Bot sees its own messages; filter by author.id
• ⚠️ Thread Duplication: Store processed message IDs in SQLite to prevent duplicates
• ⚠️ Cold Starts: Interval vals start fresh; store state in DB not memory
• ⚠️ IP Sharing: Multiple bots on Val Town = shared IP rate limits
• ⚠️ Authorization: Always include Authorization: Bot TOKEN to use bot token limits (higher than IP limits)

• Discord API Reference: https://discord.com/developers/docs/reference
• Rate Limits Deep Dive: https://discord.com/developers/docs/topics/rate-limits
• Val Town Discord Guide: https://docs.val.town/integrations/discord/how-to-make-a-discord-bot-hosted-24-7-for-free-in-/
• Turso/SQLite in Val: https://docs.val.town/reference/std/sqlite/usage/