Commands

Commands are a structured way for users to interact with your bot. Instead of parsing on_message manually, you register named commands that the SDK matches and dispatches automatically.

Registering Commands

Python

@bot.command()
async def ping(ctx: syncopate.Context) -> None:
    await ctx.reply("Pong!")

When a user types !ping, the bot calls your ping handler with a Context object.

TypeScript

class MyBot extends Bot {
  @Command('ping')
  async ping(ctx: Context) {
    await ctx.reply('Pong!');
  }
}

Command Arguments

Arguments are automatically parsed from the message text:

Python

@bot.command()
async def greet(ctx: syncopate.Context, name: str = "world") -> None:
    await ctx.send(f"Hello, {name}!")

• !greet → “Hello, world!”
• !greet Alice → “Hello, Alice!”

TypeScript

Arguments are available through ctx.args:

@Command('greet')
async greet(ctx: Context) {
  const name = ctx.args[0] ?? 'world';
  await ctx.send(`Hello, ${name}!`);
}

Custom Command Names

By default, the command name matches the function name. Override it with the name parameter:

Python

@bot.command(name="hi", description="Say hello")
async def greet_handler(ctx: syncopate.Context) -> None:
    await ctx.reply("Hello!")

TypeScript

@Command('hi')
async greetHandler(ctx: Context) {
  await ctx.reply('Hello!');
}

The Context Object

Every command handler receives a Context with these properties:

Property	Type	Description
message	Message	The original message that triggered the command
channel	Channel	The channel it was sent in
author	User	The user who sent the command
command	str / string	The command name that was matched
args	list[str] / string[]	Parsed arguments after the command name

Context Methods

Method	Description
ctx.reply(content)	Reply to the command message
ctx.send(content)	Send a message to the same channel

Command Prefix

The default prefix is !. Change it in the bot constructor:

Python

bot = syncopate.Bot(token="...", command_prefix="/")

TypeScript

const bot = new MyBot({ token: '...', commandPrefix: '/' });