catapi

Random cat GIF API for Discord. Every request returns a fresh, random cat GIF with no-cache headers so your Discord webhook always gets a different cat.

Usage

https://catapi.vercel.app/
https://catapi.vercel.app/catapi
https://catapi.vercel.app/api/catapi

Returns a image/gif response — drop the URL directly into a Discord webhook or an <img> tag.

Discord /cat slash command

Unlike the link above (which Discord can cache as a stale embed), a slash command uploads a fresh file attachment every time — nothing for Discord to cache, so /cat always gives a new gif.

1. Deploy this project to Vercel first (so you have a live URL).
2. Go to the Discord Developer Portal → create (or open) an application.
3. On the General Information page, copy the Application ID and Public Key.
4. Set these as environment variables on your Vercel project:
   • DISCORD_PUBLIC_KEY — from step 3
   • DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID — from step 3
5. Set the Interactions Endpoint URL (also on General Information) to:

   https://<your-vercel-domain>/api/interactions
   

   Discord pings this immediately on save to verify it — it'll only succeed once the env vars above are deployed.
6. Go to the Bot tab, create a bot, and copy its token.
7. Register the /cat command once, locally:

   DISCORD_APPLICATION_ID=xxx DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=xxx node register-commands.js
   

8. Install the app (works in DMs by default, or add ?type=server for a server):

   https://catapi-lac.vercel.app/catbot
   

9. Type /cat in any DM with the bot or in any server it's in.

Deploy

Structure

api/catapi.js    # Serverless function
vercel.json      # Rewrite rules
package.json     # Dependencies