Bobby is a Discord chatbot that helps answer questions about your codebase, file bugs, and translate business requirements into technical requirements. Bobby leverages Claude Code to understand your codebase and provide intelligent responses in a self-hosted, privacy-first environment.
- index.js - Main Node.js application using Bun runtime
- Discord.js - Handles Discord bot interactions and thread management
- Claude Code CLI - Powers AI analysis of codebases with streaming responses
- GitHub CLI - Creates issues automatically when bugs are detected
- Docker Container - Self-contained environment with all dependencies
DISCORD_TOKEN=your_discord_bot_token
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key
GH_TOKEN=your_github_personal_access_token
GITHUB_REPO=owner/repo-name
ALLOWED_DISCORD_SERVERS=server_id1,server_id2 (optional)
- Base Image:
oven/bun:latest
- Dependencies: Git, GitHub CLI v2.61.0, Claude Code CLI
- Working Directory:
/app
- Repository Clone:
/app/repo
(target repository)
- Data Storage:
/app/data
(Claude Code sessions and configs)
- Entrypoint:
entrypoint.sh
(handles authentication and setup)
Bobby uses Discord threads for session management with streaming responses:
- New Conversations: Mention Bobby in any channel to create a new thread with a new Claude Code session
- Follow-ups: Simply type in the thread (no need to mention Bobby) to continue the same Claude Code session
- Thread Naming: Threads are automatically named as
Bobby - Title - session-id
where:
Title
is a 3-5 word summary generated by Claude (hidden from user via regex)session-id
is the Claude Code session identifier
- Streaming Responses: Real-time message streaming with JSON parsing
- Auto-Archive: Threads automatically archive after 24 hours of inactivity
User mentions Bobby → Create thread → Spawn Claude process → Stream JSON responses → Extract session ID → Update thread name
Bobby has access to the following tools through Claude Code:
- Read, Grep, Glob, LS - File operations for codebase analysis
- Bash(gh:*) - GitHub CLI for issue creation and repository access
- Bash(git:*) - Git commands for repository operations
- WebFetch, WebSearch - Web access for additional information
Bobby is designed as a READ-ONLY assistant:
- ✅ Can analyze, explore, and read your codebase
- ✅ Can create GitHub issues for bugs and improvements
- ✅ Can provide code recommendations and suggestions
- ✅ Can fetch latest git changes and analyze repository state
- ❌ Cannot modify, edit, or write code files
- ❌ Cannot make commits or push changes
Enforcement: The system prompt explicitly instructs Claude to immediately decline any modification requests and offer to create GitHub issues instead.
Bobby uses an optimized system prompt with:
- Role Definition: Expert code analysis assistant
- Context Awareness: Discord environment constraints
- Session Management: Thread-based conversation handling
- Response Format: Concise, actionable responses with bullet points
- Thread Title Generation:
[THREAD_TITLE: <title>]
pattern (filtered from user view)
- GitHub Integration: Automatic issue creation for bugs and feature requests
Bobby implements real-time response streaming:
- Process Spawning:
claude
CLI with --output-format stream-json
- JSON Parsing: Line-by-line JSON object parsing from stdout
- Content Filtering: Removes
[THREAD_TITLE: <title>]
patterns before sending to user
- Session Tracking: Extracts session IDs and thread titles from metadata
- Error Handling: Captures stderr and provides fallback responses
- Server Whitelist:
ALLOWED_DISCORD_SERVERS
environment variable controls access
- Private Bot: Designed to be run as private Discord application
- Token Validation: Validates all required environment variables on startup
- Container Isolation: Runs in isolated Docker environment
- Data Persistence: Claude Code sessions persist in
/app/data
volume
docker run -d --name bobby \
-e DISCORD_TOKEN=your_token \
-e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key \
-e GH_TOKEN=your_gh_token \
-e GITHUB_REPO=owner/repo \
-v bobby-data:/app/data \
stewart86/bobby:latest
git clone https://github.com/Stewart86/bobby.git
docker build -t bobby-bot .
docker run -d --name bobby [env vars] bobby-bot
GitHub Actions workflow (
docker-publish.yml
) automatically:
- Builds Docker images on commits to main
- Creates versioned releases on git tags
- Publishes to Docker Hub as
stewart86/bobby
- Syncs README to Docker Hub (with error tolerance)
When Bobby detects bugs, it follows these guidelines:
- Clear title describing the bug
- Detailed description with technical details
- Reproduction steps when available
- Labels: "bug,bobby-detected" or "enhancement,bobby-detected"
- Attribution: "Detected by Bobby (Claude Code assistant)"
- Response Format: Always includes issue link and number
Bobby stores information in Markdown files in the
docs/
directory, organized by topic. The
CLAUDE.md
file serves as an index to these memory files, helping Claude find relevant information during conversations.
If authentication errors occur (known issue):
- Access running container:
docker exec -it bobby /bin/sh
- Manually authenticate:
claude
(follow prompts)
- Exit container:
exit
This typically resolves authentication problems in the Docker environment.
- Startup Time: ~30 seconds (includes repository cloning)
- Response Time: Real-time streaming (starts within 2-3 seconds)
- Memory Usage: ~100-200MB base + Claude Code processes
- Storage: Minimal (repository clone + session data)
- Network: Outbound only (Discord, GitHub, Anthropic APIs)