GuardDen

A lightweight, cost-conscious Discord moderation bot focused on essential protection. Built for self-hosting with minimal resource usage and AI costs.

Features

Spam Detection

• Anti-Spam - Rate limiting, duplicate detection, mass mention protection
• Automatic Actions - Message deletion and user timeout for spam violations

AI-Powered NSFW Image Detection

• Smart Image Analysis - AI-powered detection of inappropriate images using Claude or GPT
• Cost Controls - Conservative rate limits (25 checks/hour/guild by default)
• Embed Support - Optional checking of Discord GIF embeds
• NSFW Video Domain Blocking - Block known NSFW video domains
• Configurable Sensitivity - Adjust strictness (0-100)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• PostgreSQL 15+
• Discord Bot Token (see setup below)
• (Optional) Anthropic or OpenAI API key for AI features

Discord Bot Setup

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal

2. Click New Application and give it a name (e.g., "GuardDen")

3. Go to the Bot tab and click Add Bot

4. Configure Bot Settings:

   • Disable Public Bot if you only want yourself to add it
   • Copy the Token (click "Reset Token") - this is your GUARDDEN_DISCORD_TOKEN

5. Enable Privileged Gateway Intents (required):

   • Message Content Intent - for reading messages (spam detection, image checking)

6. Generate Invite URL - Go to OAuth2 > URL Generator:

   Scopes:

   • bot

   Bot Permissions:

   • Moderate Members (timeout)
   • View Channels
   • Send Messages
   • Manage Messages
   • Read Message History

   Or use permission integer: 275415089216

7. Use the generated URL to invite the bot to your server

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://git.hiddenden.cafe/Hiddenden/GuardDen.git
   cd guardden
   

2. Create your environment file:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env and add your Discord token
   

3. Start with Docker Compose:

   docker compose up -d
   

Local Development

1. Create a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -e ".[dev,ai]"
   

3. Set up environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your configuration
   

4. Start PostgreSQL (or use Docker):

   docker compose up db -d
   

5. Run the bot:

   python -m guardden
   

Configuration

GuardDen uses a single YAML configuration file (config.yml) for managing all bot settings across all guilds.

Configuration File (config.yml)

Create a config.yml file in your project root:

bot:
  prefix: "!"
  owner_ids:
    - 123456789012345678  # Your Discord user ID

# Spam detection settings
automod:
  enabled: true
  anti_spam_enabled: true
  message_rate_limit: 5           # Max messages per window
  message_rate_window: 5          # Window in seconds
  duplicate_threshold: 3          # Duplicates to trigger
  mention_limit: 5                # Max mentions per message
  mention_rate_limit: 10          # Max mentions per window
  mention_rate_window: 60         # Window in seconds

# AI moderation settings
ai_moderation:
  enabled: true
  sensitivity: 80                  # 0-100 (higher = stricter)
  nsfw_only_filtering: true        # Only filter sexual content
  max_checks_per_hour_per_guild: 25  # Cost control
  max_checks_per_user_per_hour: 5    # Cost control
  max_images_per_message: 2          # Analyze max 2 images/msg
  max_image_size_mb: 3               # Skip images > 3MB
  check_embed_images: true           # Check Discord GIF embeds
  check_video_thumbnails: false      # Skip video thumbnails
  url_image_check_enabled: false     # Skip URL image downloads

# Known NSFW video domains (auto-block)
nsfw_video_domains:
  - pornhub.com
  - xvideos.com
  - xnxx.com
  - redtube.com
  - youporn.com

Key Configuration Options

AI Moderation (NSFW Image Detection):

• sensitivity: 0-100 scale (higher = stricter detection)
• nsfw_only_filtering: Only flag sexual content (violence/harassment allowed)
• max_checks_per_hour_per_guild: Cost control - limits AI API calls
• check_embed_images: Whether to analyze Discord GIF embeds

Spam Detection:

• message_rate_limit: Max messages allowed per window
• duplicate_threshold: How many duplicate messages trigger action
• mention_limit: Max @mentions allowed per message

Cost Controls: The bot includes multiple layers of cost control:

• Rate limiting (25 AI checks/hour/guild, 5/hour/user by default)
• Image deduplication (tracks last 1000 analyzed messages)
• File size limits (skip images > 3MB)
• Max images per message (analyze max 2 images)
• Optional embed checking (disable to save costs)

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
GUARDDEN_DISCORD_TOKEN	Your Discord bot token	Required
GUARDDEN_DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection URL	postgresql://guardden:guardden@localhost:5432/guardden
GUARDDEN_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level	INFO
GUARDDEN_AI_PROVIDER	AI provider (anthropic/openai/none)	none
GUARDDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic API key (if using Claude)	-
GUARDDEN_OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key (if using GPT)	-

Owner Commands

GuardDen includes a minimal set of owner-only commands for bot management:

Command	Description
!status	Show bot status (uptime, guilds, latency, AI provider)
!reload	Reload all cogs
!ping	Check bot latency

Note: All configuration is done via the config.yml file. There are no in-Discord configuration commands.

Project Structure

guardden/
├── src/guardden/
│   ├── bot.py                  # Main bot class
│   ├── config.py               # Settings management
│   ├── cogs/                   # Discord command groups
│   │   ├── automod.py          # Spam detection
│   │   ├── ai_moderation.py    # NSFW image detection
│   │   └── owner.py            # Owner commands
│   ├── models/                 # Database models
│   │   └── guild.py            # Guild settings
│   ├── services/               # Business logic
│   │   ├── ai/                 # AI provider implementations
│   │   ├── automod.py          # Spam detection logic
│   │   ├── config_loader.py    # YAML config loading
│   │   ├── ai_rate_limiter.py  # AI cost control
│   │   ├── database.py         # DB connections
│   │   └── guild_config.py     # Config caching
│   └── __main__.py             # Entry point
├── config.yml                  # Bot configuration
├── tests/                      # Test suite
├── migrations/                 # Database migrations
├── docker-compose.yml          # Docker deployment
├── pyproject.toml              # Dependencies
└── README.md                   # This file

How It Works

Spam Detection

1. Bot monitors message rate per user
2. Detects duplicate messages
3. Counts @mentions (mass mention detection)
4. Violations result in message deletion + timeout

NSFW Image Detection

1. Bot checks attachments and embeds for images
2. Applies rate limiting and deduplication
3. Downloads image and sends to AI provider
4. AI analyzes for NSFW content categories
5. Violations result in message deletion + timeout
6. Optionally checks known NSFW video domain links

Cost Management

The bot includes aggressive cost controls for AI usage:

• Rate Limiting: 25 checks/hour/guild, 5/hour/user (configurable)
• Deduplication: Skips recently analyzed message IDs
• File Size Limits: Skips images larger than 3MB
• Max Images: Analyzes max 2 images per message
• Optional Features: Embed checking, video thumbnails, URL downloads all controllable

Estimated Costs (with defaults):

• Small server (< 100 users): ~$5-10/month
• Medium server (100-500 users): ~$15-25/month
• Large server (500+ users): Consider increasing rate limits or disabling embeds

Development

Running Tests

pytest
pytest -v                           # Verbose output
pytest tests/test_automod.py        # Specific file
pytest -k "test_scam"               # Filter by name

Code Quality

ruff check src tests                # Linting
ruff format src tests               # Formatting
mypy src                            # Type checking

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Issues: Report bugs at https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues
• Documentation: See docs/ directory
• Configuration Help: Check CLAUDE.md for developer guidance

Future Considerations

• Per-guild sensitivity settings (currently global)
• Slash commands
• Custom NSFW category thresholds
• Whitelist for trusted image sources