the lightning framework

Lightning is a framework for building cross-platform bots, allowing you to make bots that support multiple platforms without having to worry about platform-specific code. The framework is built in Go, making it easy to work with, and is designed to handle things like commands, events, rate-limits, attachments, and more, all while being battle-tested in Bolt, which has handled over half-a-million messages during just the summer of 2025.

The framework consists of the core library, which is platform-agnostic, and plugins, which add support for specific platforms, such as Discord, Stoat, and Telegram. The only platform-specific code is in the plugins, making it possible to support new platforms without modifying your bot's core logic.

architecture

The framework is built around a few key concepts:

• package lightning: The core library, with the platform-agnostic stuff, such as commands, events, and the definition of the plugin interface.
• plugins: The platform-specific code, which implements the plugin interface. Each plugin is a separate package, which can be imported and used.
• event handlers: Functions that are called when specific events occur, like a sent message. These can be registered with the AddHandler method.
• commands: Actions that users can trigger, like /ping, or !help. These can be registered with the AddCommand method.

features

• Cross-platform: the framework is designed to be cross-platform, with support for multiple platforms, including Discord, Stoat, and Telegram. More platforms can be added by creating new plugins.
• Attachment support: the framework deals with attachments, allowing you to send and receive files, images, and other media by URL.
• Embed handling: embeds are supported across platforms, even if the platform doesn't support them natively.
• Emoji handling: emojis are supported across platforms, with custom emoji handled natively where possible.