Message Components

Message components—we'll call them "components" moving forward—are a framework for adding interactive elements to the messages your app or bot sends. They're accessible, customizable, and easy to use.

There are several different types of components; this documentation will outline the basics of this new framework and each example.

What is a Component

Components are a new field on the message object, so you can use them whether you're sending messages or responding to a slash command or other interaction.

The top-level components field is an array of Action Row components.

Component Object

Component Structure

Field	Type	Description	Valid For
type	integer	component type	all types
custom_id?	string	a developer-defined identifier for the component, max 100 characters	Buttons, Select Menus
disabled?	boolean	whether the component is disabled, default `false`	Buttons, Select Menus
style?	integer	one of button styles	Buttons
label?	string	text that appears on the button, max 80 characters	Buttons
emoji?	partial emoji	`name`, `id`, and `animated`	Buttons
url?	string	a url for link-style buttons	Buttons
options	array of select options	the choices in the select, max 25	Select Menus
placeholder?	string	custom placeholder text if nothing is selected, max 100 characters	Select Menus
min_values?	integer	the minimum number of items that must be chosen; default 1, min 0, max 25	Select Menus
max_values?	integer	the maximum number of items that can be chosen; default 1, max 25	Select Menus
components?	array of components	a list of child components	Action Rows

Component Types

Type	Name	Description
1	Action Row	A container for other components
2	Button	A button object
3	Select Menu	A select menu for picking from choices

Example Component

{
  "content": "This is a message with components",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": 1,
      "components": []
    }
  ]
}

Action Rows

An Action Row is a non-interactive container component for other types of components. It has a type: 1 and a sub-array of components of other types.

You can have up to 5 Action Rows per message
An Action Row cannot contain another Action Row

{
  "content": "This is a message with components",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": 1,
      "components": [
        {
          "type": 2,
          "label": "Click me!",
          "style": 1,
          "custom_id": "click_one"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Responding to a Component Interaction

Responding to a user interacting with a component is the same as other interaction types, like application commands. You can simply ACK the request, send a followup message, or edit the original message to something new. Check out Responding to An Interaction and interaction response for more.

Custom ID

Components, aside from Action Rows, must have a custom_id field. This field is defined by the developer when sending the component payload, and is returned in the interaction payload sent when a user interacts with the component. For example, if you set custom_id: click_me on a button, you'll receive an interaction containing custom_id: click_me when a user clicks that button.

custom_id must be unique per component; multiple buttons on the same message must not share the same custom_id. This field is a string of max 100 characters, and can be used flexibly to maintain state or pass through other important data.

Buttons

Buttons are interactive components that render on messages. They can be clicked by users, and send an interaction to your app when clicked.

Buttons must be sent inside an Action Row
An Action Row can contain up to 5 buttons
An Action Row containing buttons cannot also contain a select menu

Button Object

Button Structure

Field	Type	Description
type	integer	`2` for a button
style	integer	one of button styles
label?	string	text that appears on the button, max 80 characters
emoji?	partial emoji	`name`, `id`, and `animated`
custom_id?	string	a developer-defined identifier for the button, max 100 characters
url?	string	a url for link-style buttons
disabled?	boolean	whether the button is disabled (default `false`)

Buttons come in a variety of styles to convey different types of actions. These styles also define what fields are valid for a button.

Non-link buttons must have a custom_id, and cannot have a url
Link buttons must have a url, and cannot have a custom_id
Link buttons do not send an interaction to your app when clicked

Button Styles

Name	Value	Color	Required Field
Primary	1	blurple	`custom_id`
Secondary	2	grey	`custom_id`
Success	3	green	`custom_id`
Danger	4	red	`custom_id`
Link	5	grey, navigates to a URL	`url`

When a user clicks on a button, your app will receive an interaction including the message the button was on:

Component Interaction Object

Sample Component Interaction

{
  "version": 1,
  "type": 3,
  "token": "unique_interaction_token",
  "message": {
    "type": 0,
    "tts": false,
    "timestamp": "2021-05-19T02:12:51.710000+00:00",
    "pinned": false,
    "mentions": [],
    "mention_roles": [],
    "mention_everyone": false,
    "id": "844397162624450620",
    "flags": 0,
    "embeds": [],
    "edited_timestamp": null,
    "content": "This is a message with components.",
    "components": [
      {
        "type": 1,
        "components": [
          {
            "type": 2,
            "label": "Click me!",
            "style": 1,
            "custom_id": "click_one"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "channel_id": "345626669114982402",
    "author": {
      "id": 53908232506183680,
      "username": "mason",
      "global_name": "Mason",
      "avatar": "a_d5efa99b3eeaa7dd43acca82f5692432",
      "discriminator": "0",
      "public_flags": 131141,
      "avatar_decoration_data": null,
      "primary_guild": null
    },
    "attachments": []
  },
  "member": {
    "user": {
      "id": "53908232506183680",
      "username": "mason",
      "global_name": "Mason",
      "avatar": "a_d5efa99b3eeaa7dd43acca82f5692432",
      "discriminator": "0",
      "public_flags": 131141,
      "avatar_decoration_data": null,
      "primary_guild": null
    },
    "roles": ["290926798626357999"],
    "premium_since": null,
    "permissions": "17179869183",
    "pending": false,
    "nick": null,
    "mute": false,
    "joined_at": "2017-03-13T19:19:14.040000+00:00",
    "deaf": false,
    "avatar": null
  },
  "id": "846462639134605312",
  "guild_id": "290926798626357999",
  "data": {
    "custom_id": "click_one",
    "component_type": 2
  },
  "channel_id": "345626669114982999",
  "application_id": "290926444748734465"
}

Select Menus

Select menus are another interactive component that renders on messages. On desktop, clicking on a select menu opens a dropdown-style UI; on mobile, tapping a select menu opens up a half-sheet with the options.

A select menu open on desktop

Select menus support single-select and multi-select behavior, meaning you can prompt a user to choose just one item from a list, or multiple. When a user finishes making their choice by clicking out of the dropdown or closing the half-sheet, your app will receive an interaction.

Select menus must be sent inside an Action Row
An Action Row can contain only one select menu
An Action Row containing a select menu cannot also contain buttons

// This is a message
{
  "content": "Mason is looking for new arena partners. What classes do you play?",
  "components": [
    {
      "type": 1,
      "components": [
        {
          "type": 3,
          "custom_id": "class_select_1",
          "options": [
            {
              "label": "Rogue",
              "value": "rogue",
              "description": "Sneak n stab",
              "emoji": {
                "name": "rogue",
                "id": "625891304148303894"
              }
            },
            {
              "label": "Mage",
              "value": "mage",
              "description": "Turn 'em into a sheep",
              "emoji": {
                "name": "mage",
                "id": "625891304081063986"
              }
            },
            {
              "label": "Priest",
              "value": "priest",
              "description": "You get heals when I'm done doing damage",
              "emoji": {
                "name": "priest",
                "id": "625891303795982337"
              }
            }
          ],
          "placeholder": "Choose a class",
          "min_values": 1,
          "max_values": 3
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Field	Type	Description
type	integer	`3` for a select menu
custom_id	string	a developer-defined identifier for the button, max 100 characters
options	array of select options	the choices in the select, max 25
placeholder?	string	custom placeholder text if nothing is selected, max 100 characters
min_values?	integer	the minimum number of items that must be chosen; default 1, min 0, max 25
max_values?	integer	the maximum number of items that can be chosen; default 1, max 25
disabled?	boolean	disable the select, default false

Select Option Structure

Field	Type	Description
label	string	the user-facing name of the option, max 100 characters
value	string	the dev-define value of the option, max 100 characters
description?	string	an additional description of the option, max 100 characters
emoji?	partial emoji object	`id`, `name`, and `animated`
default?	boolean	will render this option as selected by default

{
  "application_id": "845027738276462632",
  "channel_id": "772908445358620702",
  "data": {
    "component_type": 3,
    "custom_id": "class_select_1",
    "values": ["mage", "rogue"]
  },
  "guild_id": "772904309264089089",
  "id": "847587388497854464",
  "member": {
    "avatar": null,
    "deaf": false,
    "joined_at": "2020-11-02T19:25:47.248000+00:00",
    "mute": false,
    "nick": "Bot Man",
    "pending": false,
    "permissions": "17179869183",
    "premium_since": null,
    "roles": ["785609923542777878"],
    "user": {
      "id": "53908232506183680",
      "username": "mason",
      "global_name": "Mason",
      "avatar": "a_d5efa99b3eeaa7dd43acca82f5692432",
      "discriminator": "0",
      "public_flags": 131141,
      "avatar_decoration_data": null,
      "primary_guild": null
    }
  },
  "message": {
    "application_id": "845027738276462632",
    "attachments": [],
    "author": {
      "id": "845027738276462632",
      "username": "interactions_test",
      "global_name": "Interactions Test",
      "avatar": "a_d5efa99b3eeaa7dd43acca82f5692432",
      "discriminator": "0",
      "public_flags": 131141,
      "bot": true,
      "avatar_decoration_data": null,
      "primary_guild": null
    },
    "channel_id": "772908445358620702",
    "components": [
      {
        "components": [
          {
            "custom_id": "class_select_1",
            "max_values": 1,
            "min_values": 1,
            "options": [
              {
                "description": "Sneak n stab",
                "emoji": {
                  "id": "625891304148303894",
                  "name": "rogue"
                },
                "label": "Rogue",
                "value": "rogue"
              },
              {
                "description": "Turn 'em into a sheep",
                "emoji": {
                  "id": "625891304081063986",
                  "name": "mage"
                },
                "label": "Mage",
                "value": "mage"
              },
              {
                "description": "You get heals when I'm done doing damage",
                "emoji": {
                  "id": "625891303795982337",
                  "name": "priest"
                },
                "label": "Priest",
                "value": "priest"
              }
            ],
            "placeholder": "Choose a class",
            "type": 3
          }
        ],
        "type": 1
      }
    ],
    "content": "Mason is looking for new arena partners. What classes do you play?",
    "edited_timestamp": null,
    "embeds": [],
    "flags": 0,
    "id": "847587334500646933",
    "interaction": {
      "id": "847587333942935632",
      "name": "dropdown",
      "type": 2,
      "user": {
        "id": "53908232506183680",
        "username": "mason",
        "global_name": "Mason",
        "avatar": "a_d5efa99b3eeaa7dd43acca82f5692432",
        "discriminator": "0",
        "public_flags": 131141,
        "avatar_decoration_data": null,
        "primary_guild": null
      }
    },
    "mention_everyone": false,
    "mention_roles": [],
    "mentions": [],
    "pinned": false,
    "timestamp": "2021-05-27T21:29:27.956000+00:00",
    "tts": false,
    "type": 20,
    "webhook_id": "845027738276462632"
  },
  "token": "UNIQUE_TOKEN",
  "type": 3,
  "version": 1
}