tab-bot/docs/guide/choose-a-track.md

Choose a track

Every TabBot bot is Visual or Code. The runner only executes the active track. Official modules, the vault, intents, and the runner tab are shared.

You pick a track in Studio → New bot. Settings can switch later; the unused tree is kept but not run.

Visual

No-code. Studio shows Builder, not Code. The runner:

• registers /ping plus slash commands (and their option children) from the visual IR
• interpret()s command trees, gateway event roots, and modal submits
• does not compile TypeScript

Start: Visual builder tour.

Code

Multi-file TypeScript in the Code studio. Studio shows Code, not Builder. The runner:

• bundles index.ts and relative imports with esbuild-wasm (no npm install)
• calls export default async function main(client)
• registers export const commands plus enabled module commands
• does not interpret IR and does not auto-register /ping

You write discord.js names (Events, SlashCommandBuilder, EmbedBuilder). TabBot still constructs new Client({ intents }) and calls login(token). Do not put the token in source. new Client() in your files is unsupported.

Start: Code studio.

Modules

Modules register on the same Client in both tracks. Disable overlapping slash names if your code also handles them — the module wins registration.

Switching

Settings → Switch to Code / Visual. Visual → Code writes the IR into ejected.ts and into index.ts if the file tree has no entry. Eject to code on Builder / Modules / Code studio does the same without requiring a track switch when you are already on Code (index.ts is left alone). Code → Visual leaves the IR as-is.