Discord Get All Messages - n8n Community Node

A custom n8n community node package for retrieving all messages from Discord channels with advanced rate limiting and pagination control.

Features

• Get All Messages: Retrieve all messages from any Discord channel your bot has access to
• Customizable Rate Limiting: Control the delay between API requests to avoid hitting Discord's rate limits
• Flexible Pagination: Support for pagination with before, after, and around message ID parameters
• Response Simplification: Option to return simplified message data or full Discord API response
• Built-in Error Handling: Graceful error handling with continue-on-fail support

Installation

Via n8n Community Nodes

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes in your n8n instance
2. Click Install a community node
3. Enter the package name: @theredflag/n8n-nodes-discord-purge
4. Click Install

Via npm (for self-hosted n8n)

npm install @theredflag/n8n-nodes-discord-purge

Then restart your n8n instance.

Prerequisites

You need a Discord Bot Token to use this node. If you don't have one:

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal
2. Create a new application
3. Go to the "Bot" section
4. Create a bot and copy the token
5. Invite the bot to your server with appropriate permissions

Configuration

Credentials

This package includes the Discord Bot API credential type:

• Bot Token: Your Discord bot's token (keep this secure!)

Node Parameters

Required Parameters

• Channel ID: The ID of the Discord channel to fetch messages from

Optional Parameters

• Return All: Whether to fetch all messages or limit the results (default: true)
• Limit: Maximum number of messages to return when "Return All" is false (1-100, default: 50)

Advanced Options

• After Message ID: Get messages after this specific message ID
• Around Message ID: Get messages around this specific message ID
• Before Message ID: Get messages before this specific message ID
• Delay Between Requests (Ms): Time in milliseconds to wait between API requests (default: 1000ms)
• Simplify Response: Return simplified message data instead of full Discord API response (default: true)

Usage Examples

Basic Usage - Get All Messages

1. Add the "Discord Get All Messages" node to your workflow
2. Configure your Discord Bot API credentials
3. Enter the Channel ID (e.g., 123456789012345678)
4. Set "Return All" to true
5. Execute the workflow

Rate-Limited Bulk Retrieval

For large channels, use a longer delay to avoid rate limits:

1. Set "Delay Between Requests (Ms)" to 2000 (2 seconds)
2. This helps when fetching thousands of messages from active channels

Paginated Retrieval

To get messages from a specific time range:

1. Set "Before Message ID" to a message ID from your end date
2. Set "After Message ID" to a message ID from your start date
3. This will fetch messages between those two points

Output Data

Simplified Response (default)

When "Simplify Response" is enabled, each message contains:

• id: Message ID
• channel_id: Channel ID where the message was sent
• author: Author information (user object)
• content: Message text content
• timestamp: When the message was created
• type: Message type
• attachments: File attachments
• embeds: Rich embeds
• reactions: Message reactions
• mentions: User/role mentions
• edited_timestamp: When the message was last edited (if applicable)

Full Response

When "Simplify Response" is disabled, you get the complete Discord API message object with all fields.

Rate Limiting

Discord has strict rate limits:

• Global: 50 requests per second across all endpoints
• Per-channel: Varies by endpoint, typically 5-10 requests per second

This node includes built-in rate limiting:

• Default 1-second delay between requests
• Respects Discord's rate limit headers
• Automatically handles rate limit responses

For very large channels (10k+ messages), consider:

• Increasing delay to 2-3 seconds
• Running during off-peak hours
• Using pagination to process in chunks

Permissions Required

Your Discord bot needs the following permissions in the target channel:

• Read Messages (VIEW_CHANNEL)
• Read Message History (READ_MESSAGE_HISTORY)

Limitations

• Maximum 100 messages per API request (Discord limitation)
• Historical message limit depends on Discord's retention policy
• Bot can only access channels it has permissions for
• Rate limits may slow down large bulk operations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Missing Permissions" Error

• Ensure your bot has the required permissions in the target channel
• Check that the bot is actually in the server/channel

Rate Limit Errors

• Increase the "Delay Between Requests" value
• Consider running during off-peak hours

Invalid Channel ID

• Right-click the channel in Discord and select "Copy ID"
• Ensure Developer Mode is enabled in Discord settings

Empty Results

• Check if the channel has any messages
• Verify the bot can see the channel
• Check if using pagination parameters correctly

Getting Channel IDs

1. Enable Developer Mode in Discord (User Settings > Advanced > Developer Mode)
2. Right-click on the channel name
3. Select "Copy ID"

Support

If you encounter issues or have questions:

1. Check the n8n community forum
2. Report bugs via the GitHub repository

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues on the GitHub repository.