DiscordChatExporter/.docs/Using-the-CLI.md

Using the CLI

Guide

Note: Make sure you have .NET Core installed before attempting to run the commands below. Docker users, please refer to the Docker usage instructions.

Step 1

After extracting the .zip, open Command Prompt, aka cmd (Terminal on macOS and Linux).

Step 2

Change the current directory to DCE's folder with cd C:\path\to\directory, then press ENTER to run the command.

Windows users can quickly get the directory's path by clicking the address bar while inside the folder.

macOS users can select the .exe, hit Command+I (⌘I), and copy what's after Where: to get the directory

You can also drag and drop the folder on every platform.

Step 3

Now we're ready to run the commands. The examples on this page follow the Windows file path format, change the file paths according to your system.

Type the following in Command Prompt (Terminal), then press ENTER to run it. This will list DCE's options.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll

Docker users, please refer to the Docker usage instructions.

CLI commands

Command	Description
export	Exports a channel
exportdm	Exports all direct message channels
exportguild	Exports all channels within the specified server
exportall	Exports all accessible channels
channels	Outputs the list of channels in the given server
dm	Outputs the list of direct message channels
guilds	Outputs the list of accessible servers
guide	Explains how to obtain token, guild, and channel ID

To use the commands, you'll need a token. For the instructions on how to get a token, please refer to this page, or run dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll guide. To get help with a specific command, please run:

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll command -h

export

With this command, you can export server channels and direct messages.

	Option	Description
*	-c	Channel ID(s)
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-o	Output file or directory path
	-f	Output file format. Default: HtmlDark
	--after	Only include messages sent after this date
	--before	Only include messages sent before this date
	-p	Split output into partitions, each limited to this number of messages (e.g. 100) or file size (e.g. 10mb)
	--filter	Special notation for filtering the messages that get included in the export
	--media	Download assets referenced by the export (user avatars, attached files, embedded images, etc.). Default: false
	--reuse-media	Reuse previously downloaded assets to avoid redundant requests. Default: false
	--media-dir	Directory to store assets from all exported channels in the same place
	--locale	Format used when writing dates. Default: en-US
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

Basic usage

You can quickly export with DCE's default settings by using just -t token and -c channelid.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555

Changing the format

You can change the export format to HtmlDark, HtmlLight, PlainText Json or Csv with -f format. The default format is HtmlDark.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -f Json

Changing the output filename

You can change the filename by using -o name.ext. e.g. for the HTML format:

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -o myserver.html

Changing the output directory

You can change the export directory by using -o and providing a path that ends with a slash or does not have a file extension. If any of the folders in the path have a space in its name, escape them with quotes (").

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -o "C:\Discord Exports"

Changing the filename and output directory

You can change both the filename and export directory by using -o directory\name.ext. Note that the filename must have an extension, otherwise it will be considered a directory name. If any of the folders in the path have a space in its name, escape them with quotes (").

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -o "C:\Discord Exports\myserver.html"

Generating the filename and output directory dynamically

You can use template tokens to generate the output file path based on the guild and channel metadata.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -o "C:\Discord Exports\%G\%T\%C.html"

Assuming you are exporting a channel named "my-channel" in the "Text channels" category from a server called "My server", you will get the following output file path: C:\Discord Exports\My server\Text channels\my-channel.html

Here is the full list of supported template tokens:

• %g - guild ID
• %G - guild name
• %t - category ID
• %T - category name
• %c - channel ID
• %C - channel name
• %p - channel position
• %P - category position
• %a - the "after" date
• %b - the "before" date
• %% - escapes %

Partitioning

You can use partitioning to split files after a given number of messages or file size. For example, a channel with 36 messages set to be partitioned every 10 messages will output 4 files.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -p 10

A 45 MB channel set to be partitioned every 20 MB will output 3 files.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 -p 20mb

Downloading assets

If this option is set, the export will include additional files such as user avatars, attached files, images, etc. Only files that are referenced by the export are downloaded, which means that, for example, user avatars will not be downloaded when using the plain text (TXT) export format. A folder containing the assets will be created along with the exported chat. They must be kept together.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --media

Reusing assets

Previously downloaded assets can be reused to skip redundant downloads as long as the chat is always exported to the same folder. Using this option can speed up future exports. This option requires the --media option.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --media --reuse-media

Changing the media directory

By default, the media directory is created alongside the exported chat. You can change this by using --media-dir and providing a path that ends with a slash. All of the exported media will be stored in this directory.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --media --media-dir "C:\Discord Media"

Changing the date format

You can customize how dates are formatted in the exported files by using --locale and inserting one of Discord's locales. The default locale is en-US.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --locale "de-DE"

Date ranges

Messages sent before a date Use --before to export messages sent before the provided date. E.g. messages sent before September 18th, 2019:

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --before 2019-09-18

Messages sent after a date Use --after to export messages sent after the provided date. E.g. messages sent after September 17th, 2019 11:34 PM:

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --after "2019-09-17 23:34"

Messages sent in a date range Use --before and --after to export messages sent during the provided date range. E.g. messages sent between September 17th, 2019 11:34 PM and September 18th:

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --after "2019-09-17 23:34" --before "2019-09-18"

You can try different formats like 17-SEP-2019 11:34 PM or even refine your ranges down to milliseconds 17-SEP-2019 23:45:30.6170! Don't forget to quote (") the date if it has spaces! More info about .NET date formats here.

exportdm

This command exports all your direct messages.

	Option	Description
*	-c	Channel ID(s)
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-o	Output file or directory path
	-f	Output file format. Default: HtmlDark
	--after	Only include messages sent after this date
	--before	Only include messages sent before this date
	-p	Split output into partitions, each limited to this number of messages (e.g. 100) or file size (e.g. 10mb)
	--filter	Special notation for filtering the messages that get included in the export
	--media	Download assets referenced by the export (user avatars, attached files, embedded images, etc.). Default: false
	--reuse-media	Reuse previously downloaded assets to avoid redundant requests. Default: false
	--media-dir	Directory to store assets from all exported channels in the same place
	--locale	Format used when writing dates. Default: en-US
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

exportguild

This command exports all channels of a server.

	Option	Description
*	-g	Server ID
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-o	Output file or directory path
	-f	Output file format. Default: HtmlDark
	--after	Only include messages sent after this date
	--before	Only include messages sent before this date
	-p	Split output into partitions, each limited to this number of messages (e.g. 100) or file size (e.g. 10mb)
	--filter	Special notation for filtering the messages that get included in the export
	--media	Download assets referenced by the export (user avatars, attached files, embedded images, etc.). Default: false
	--reuse-media	Reuse previously downloaded assets to avoid redundant requests. Default: false
	--media-dir	Directory to store assets from all exported channels in the same place
	--locale	Format used when writing dates. Default: en-US
	--include-threads	Specify whether to include threads (and which type) in the export. By default, threads are not included. It has possible values of none, active, or all, indicating which threads should be included. To include both active and archived threads, use --include-threads all.
	--include-vc	Include voice channels in the export. Default: true
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

Including threads

By default, threads are not included in the export. You can change this behavior by using --include-threads and specifying which threads should be included. It has possible values of none, active, or all, indicating which threads should be included. To include both active and archived threads, use --include-threads all.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll exportguild -t "mfa.Ifrn" -g 21814 --include-threads all

Including voice channels

By default, voice channels are included in the export. You can change this behavior by using --include-vc and specifying whether to include voice channels in the export. It has possible values of true or false, to exclude voice channels, use --include-vc false.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll exportguild -t "mfa.Ifrn" -g 21814 --include-vc false

exportall

This command exports all accessible channels, including server channels and DMs.

	Option	Description
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-o	Output file or directory path
	-f	Output file format. Default: HtmlDark
	--after	Only include messages sent after this date
	--before	Only include messages sent before this date
	-p	Split output into partitions, each limited to this number of messages (e.g. 100) or file size (e.g. 10mb)
	--filter	Special notation for filtering the messages that get included in the export
	--media	Download assets referenced by the export (user avatars, attached files, embedded images, etc.). Default: false
	--reuse-media	Reuse previously downloaded assets to avoid redundant requests. Default: false
	--media-dir	Directory to store assets from all exported channels in the same place
	--locale	Format used when writing dates. Default: en-US
	--include-threads	Specify whether to include threads (and which type) in the export. By default, threads are not included. It has possible values of none, active, or all, indicating which threads should be included. To include both active and archived threads, use --include-threads all.
	--include-vc	Include voice channels in the export. Default: true
	--include-dm	Include direct messages in the export. Default: true
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

Excluding DMs

To exclude DMs, add the --include-dm false option.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll exportall -t "mfa.Ifrn" --include-dm false

channels

This command outputs a server's channels in the following format: Channel ID | Channel Name To save the output to a file, run the command below. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.

	Option	Description
*	-g	Server ID
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	--include-threads	Specify whether to include threads (and which type) in the output. By default, threads are not included. It has possible values of none, active, or all, indicating which threads should be included. To include both active and archived threads, use --include-threads all.
	--include-vc	Include voice channels in the output. Default: true
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

To save the output to a file, run the command with > C:\path\… like the example below. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll channels -t "mfa.Ifrn" -g 21814 > C:\path\to\output.txt

dm

This command outputs a list of your direct messages.

	Option	Description
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

To save the output to a file, run the command with > C:\path\… like the example below. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll dm -t "mfa.Ifrn" > C:\path\to\output.txt

guilds

This command outputs a list of your servers.

	Option	Description
*	-t	Authorization token. Environment variable: DISCORD_TOKEN
	-h	Shows help text

Note: Options with an asterisk (*) are required. The order of the options doesn't matter.

To save the output to a file, run the command with > C:\path\… like the example below. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.

dotnet DiscordChatExporter.Cli.dll guilds -t "mfa.Ifrn" > C:\path\to\output.txt

guide

This command explains how to get your token, guild, and channel IDs.