Using-the-CLI.md

Using the CLI

Step 1

After extracting the .zip archive, open your preferred terminal.

Step 2

Change the current directory to DCE's folder with cd C:\path\to\DiscordChatExporter (cd /path/to/DiscordChatExporter on MacOS and Linux), then press ENTER to run the command.

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

macOS users can press Command+Option+C (⌘⌥C) while inside the folder (or selecting it) to copy its path to the clipboard.

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

Step 3

Now we're ready to run the commands.

Type the following command in your terminal of choice, then press ENTER to run it. This will list all available subcommands and options.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli

Note: On Windows, if you're using the default Command Prompt (cmd), omit the leading ./ at the start of the command.

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, server, 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 ./DiscordChatExporter.Cli guide.

To get help with a specific command, run:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli command --help

For example, to figure out how to use the export command, run:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli export --help

Export a specific channel

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

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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 (").

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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 (").

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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 server and channel metadata.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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 - server ID
• %G - server 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
• %d - the current 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.

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

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

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

Filtering messages

Use --filter to filter what messages are included in the export.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli export -t "mfa.Ifrn" -c 53555 --filter "from:Tyrrrz has:image"

Documentation on message filter syntax can be found here.

Export channels from a specific server

To export all channels in a specific server, use the exportguild command and provide the server ID through the -g|--guild option:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli exportguild -t "mfa.Ifrn" -g 21814

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.

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli 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.

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

Export all channels

To export all accessible channels, use the exportall command:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli exportall -t "mfa.Ifrn"

Excluding DMs

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

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

List channels in a server

To list the channels available in a specific server, use the channels command and provide the server ID through the -g|--guild option:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli channels -t "mfa.Ifrn" -g 21814

List direct message channels

To list all DM channels accessible to the current account, use the dm command:

./DiscordChatExporter.Cli dm -t "mfa.Ifrn"

List servers

To list all servers accessible by the current account, use the guilds command:

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