Discord Modals in Open Guard

⚠️ DEPRECATED SKILL

This skill has been replaced by the new Components v2 skills:

• components-v2-modals - Modals with Labels
• components-v2-buttons - Button components
• components-v2-selects - Select menus
• components-v2-action-rows - Action row layouts

Please use the new skills for updated, concise guidance on Discord Components v2.

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What this skill does

Provides guidance on creating Discord modals with labels, text inputs, select menus, and file uploads using the Serenity library in the Open Guard bot.

When to use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create interactive popup forms in Discord
• Collect structured user input through modals
• Implement modal components with labels (text inputs, selects, file uploads)
• Handle modal submissions in the bot

Modal Concepts

What is a Modal?

A modal is an interactive popup form that can contain various input components. Modals are triggered in response to interactions and allow collecting multiple pieces of information from users in a structured way.

What is a Label?

A Label is a top-level layout component that wraps modal input components with descriptive text, providing context for what the user should enter.

Creating Modals

Basic Modal Structure

use poise::serenity_prelude as serenity;

// Create a modal response
let modal = serenity::CreateModal::new()
    .custom_id("my_modal")
    .title("Modal Title")
    .components(vec![
        // Label components go here
    ]);

Using Labels (Recommended Approach)

Labels wrap input components and provide better organization:

use poise::serenity_prelude as serenity;

let label = serenity::CreateLabel::input_text(
    "Field Label",
    serenity::CreateInputText::new(
        serenity::InputTextStyle::Short,
        "input_field_custom_id"
    )
    .placeholder("Enter text here...")
    .required(true)
);

Supported Label Components

1. Text Input

serenity::CreateLabel::input_text(
    "Email Address",
    serenity::CreateInputText::new(
        serenity::InputTextStyle::Short,
        "user_email"
    )
    .placeholder("user@example.com")
    .min_length(5)
    .max_length(100)
    .required(true)
)

Text input styles:

• InputTextStyle::Short - Single line
• InputTextStyle::Paragraph - Multi-line

2. String Select

serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
    "Choose an option",
    serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
        "select_custom_id",
        serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::String {
            options: Cow::Borrowed(&[
                serenity::CreateSelectMenuOption::new("Option 1", "opt1"),
                serenity::CreateSelectMenuOption::new("Option 2", "opt2"),
            ])
        }
    )
    .placeholder("Select an option")
    .required(true)
)

3. User Select

serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
    "Select Users",
    serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
        "user_select_id",
        serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::User {
            default_users: None
        }
    )
    .min_values(1)
    .max_values(3)
    .required(true)
)

4. Role Select

serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
    "Select Roles",
    serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
        "role_select_id",
        serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::Role {
            default_roles: None
        }
    )
    .required(true)
)

5. Channel Select

serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
    "Select Channels",
    serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
        "channel_select_id",
        serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::Channel {
            channel_types: Some(Cow::Borrowed(&[
                serenity::ChannelType::Text,
                serenity::ChannelType::Voice
            ])),
            default_channels: None
        }
    )
)

6. File Upload

serenity::CreateLabel::file_upload(
    "Upload Files",
    serenity::CreateFileUpload::new("file_upload_id")
    .min_values(1)
    .max_values(5)
    .required(true)
)

7. Mentionable Select (Users + Roles)

serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
    "Select Users or Roles",
    serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
        "mentionable_select_id",
        serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::Mentionable {
            default_users: None,
            default_roles: None
        }
    )
)

Complete Modal Example

use poise::serenity_prelude as serenity;
use std::borrow::Cow;

async fn show_feedback_modal(ctx: &serenity::Context) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let modal = serenity::CreateModal::new()
        .custom_id("feedback_modal")
        .title("Feedback Form")
        .components(vec![
            serenity::CreateLabel::input_text(
                "Your Feedback",
                serenity::CreateInputText::new(
                    serenity::InputTextStyle::Paragraph,
                    "feedback_text"
                )
                .placeholder("Write your feedback here...")
                .required(true)
            ),
            serenity::CreateLabel::select_menu(
                "Rating",
                serenity::CreateSelectMenu::new(
                    "rating",
                    serenity::CreateSelectMenuKind::String {
                        options: Cow::Borrowed(&[
                            serenity::CreateSelectMenuOption::new("Excellent", "5"),
                            serenity::CreateSelectMenuOption::new("Good", "4"),
                            serenity::CreateSelectMenuOption::new("Average", "3"),
                        ])
                    }
                )
                .placeholder("Select a rating")
                .required(true)
            )
        ]);

    // In a command handler, show the modal
    interaction.create_response(
        ctx,
        serenity::CreateInteractionResponse::Modal(modal)
    ).await?;

    Ok(())
}

Handling Modal Submissions

Modal submissions arrive as interactions with InteractionType::MODAL_SUBMIT (type 5).

async fn handle_modal_submit(
    ctx: &serenity::Context,
    interaction: &serenity::ModalSubmitInteraction,
    data: &Data
) -> Result<(), Error> {
    let custom_id = &interaction.data.custom_id;

    if custom_id == "feedback_modal" {
        // Extract values from labels
        for component in &interaction.data.components {
            if let serenity::ActionRowComponent::InputText(input) = component {
                let custom_id = &input.custom_id;
                let value = &input.value;

                match custom_id.as_str() {
                    "feedback_text" => {
                        println!("Feedback: {}", value);
                    }
                    _ => {}
                }
            }
        }

        // Send confirmation
        interaction.create_response(
            ctx,
            serenity::CreateInteractionResponse::UpdateMessage(
                serenity::CreateInteractionResponseMessage::new()
                    .content("Thank you for your feedback!")
            )
        ).await?;
    }

    Ok(())
}

Best Practices

1. Keep labels concise: Maximum 45 characters for better display
2. Use descriptions wisely: Provide helpful context without overwhelming users
3. Set appropriate required flags: Only require fields that are truly necessary
4. Use placeholder text: Guide users on expected input format
5. Validate min/max values: Set appropriate limits for text length and selection counts
6. Clear custom_ids: Use descriptive identifiers to easily process submissions
7. Modals can only be shown in response to interactions: They cannot be triggered proactively

Limitations

• Modals can only be shown in response to interactions (button clicks, slash commands)
• Each modal can contain multiple Label components
• You cannot currently disable components in modals (disabled fields will cause errors)
• The required field defaults to true for most components

Resources

See docs/MODALS.md for comprehensive documentation and the Serenity implementation examples.