Command Parsing

Bots typically respond to commands like !ping, /help, .kick @user.

Simple parser:

Discord slash commands /command arg:value:

• Structured. Defined ahead of time.
• Auto-completion in UI.
• Type-checked args.
• More effort to register than text commands.

Routing:

Argument parsing:

• Quoted strings: handle "with spaces".
• Type conversion: !set delay 30 → int 30.
• Optional / default args.

Modern: argparse-style declarations:

Help generation:

• Auto-generate from command metadata.
• !help lists all commands.
• !help kick shows kick's args.

Subcommands:

• !config get key, !config set key value.
• Tree of routes.

Aliases:

• !ping and !p same command.
• Map all aliases to same handler.

Cooldowns:

• Prevent spam: each command has min interval per user.
• Track last-used per (user, command).