discordjs/discord.js · critical · DiscordjsTypeError

ClientMissingIntents

ClientMissingIntents

Error message

Valid intents must be provided for the Client.

What it means

DiscordjsTypeError with code ClientMissingIntents is thrown during Client construction (via _validateOptions) when neither options.intents nor options.ws.intents is defined. Since discord.js v13, gateway intents are mandatory — the library requires you to explicitly declare which gateway events you want, both for performance and Discord's privileged-intent policy.

Source

Thrown at packages/discord.js/src/client/Client.js:824

   *
   * @param {string} script Script to eval
   * @returns {*}
   * @private
   */
  _eval(script) {
    // eslint-disable-next-line no-eval
    return eval(script);
  }

  /**
   * Validates the client options.
   *
   * @param {ClientOptions} [options=this.options] Options to validate
   * @private
   */
  _validateOptions(options = this.options) {
    if (options.intents === undefined && options.ws?.intents === undefined) {
      throw new DiscordjsTypeError(ErrorCodes.ClientMissingIntents);
    } else {
      options.intents = new IntentsBitField(options.intents ?? options.ws.intents).freeze();
    }

    if (typeof options.sweepers !== 'object' || options.sweepers === null) {
      throw new DiscordjsTypeError(ErrorCodes.ClientInvalidOption, 'sweepers', 'an object');
    }

    if (!Array.isArray(options.partials)) {
      throw new DiscordjsTypeError(ErrorCodes.ClientInvalidOption, 'partials', 'an Array');
    }

    if (typeof options.waitGuildTimeout !== 'number' || Number.isNaN(options.waitGuildTimeout)) {
      throw new DiscordjsTypeError(ErrorCodes.ClientInvalidOption, 'waitGuildTimeout', 'a number');
    }

    if (typeof options.failIfNotExists !== 'boolean') {
      throw new DiscordjsTypeError(ErrorCodes.ClientInvalidOption, 'failIfNotExists', 'a boolean');

View on GitHub (pinned to a81ed8a306)

Solutions

1. Pass an intents array in ClientOptions: new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds, GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages] })
2. Add the intents key to whatever config object is spread into the Client constructor
3. If you intentionally use the legacy ws shape, set options.ws.intents instead — but prefer the modern intents option
4. Review the intents you need and request privileged ones (GuildMembers, MessageContent, GuildPresences) explicitly, enabling them in the Developer Portal

Example fix

// before
const client = new Client({ token });
// after
const { Client, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');
const client = new Client({
  token,
  intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds, GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages, GatewayIntentBits.MessageContent],
});

if (!clientOptions.intents && !clientOptions.ws?.intents) {
  throw new Error('ClientOptions.intents is required, e.g. [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds]');
}

const hasIntents = (opts) =>
  Array.isArray(opts?.intents) || typeof opts?.intents === 'number' || opts?.ws?.intents !== undefined;

try {
  const client = new Client(options);
} catch (err) {
  if (err.code === 'ClientMissingIntents') {
    console.error('Provide intents, e.g. intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds]');
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: new Client({}) or new Client({ token }) without an intents property; constructing the client with options loaded from a config file missing the intents key; code migrated from discord.js v12 where intents were optional.

Common situations: Upgrading from v12 to v13+ where the required intents option did not exist before; a config loader returning an object that drops the intents field; copying an old tutorial's constructor.

Understand the failure class

Background: "X is required", "must be set", "cannot be empty": the missing-required-config error family, from Vertex AI project/location to WeChat keys — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

• Package ${packageName} not releaseable
• The --tag option can only be used with --dev
• ClientNotReady
• InvalidMissingScopes
• InvalidScopesWithPermissions

AI-assisted analysis of discordjs/discord.js@a81ed8a306 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c70500f36e3b3687. Report an issue: GitHub.