diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bdc8b64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2021 Jonah Lawrence
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/bot.py b/bot.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f5d293
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bot.py
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import os
+
+import nextcord
+from nextcord.ext import commands
+
+import config
+
+
+def main():
+    # Allows privledged intents for monitoring members joining, roles editing, and role assignments
+    # These need to be enabled in the developer portal as well
+    intents = nextcord.Intents.default()
+
+    # Required in order to read messages (eg. prefix commands)
+    intents.message_content = True
+
+    # To enable the guilds priveleged intent:
+    # intents.guilds = True
+
+    # To enable the members priveleged intent:
+    # intents.members = True
+
+    # Set custom status to "Listening to ?help"
+    activity = nextcord.Activity(
+        type=nextcord.ActivityType.listening, name=f"{config.BOT_PREFIX}help"
+    )
+
+    bot = commands.Bot(
+        commands.when_mentioned_or(config.BOT_PREFIX),
+        intents=intents,
+        activity=activity,
+    )
+
+    # Get the modules of all cogs whose directory structure is ./cogs/<module_name>
+    for folder in os.listdir("cogs"):
+        bot.load_extension(f"cogs.{folder}")
+
+    @bot.listen()
+    async def on_ready():
+        """When Discord is connected"""
+        assert bot.user is not None
+        print(f"{bot.user.name} has connected to Discord!")
+
+    # Run Discord bot
+    bot.run(config.DISCORD_TOKEN)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/cogs/app_commands/__init__.py b/cogs/app_commands/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42e9366
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cogs/app_commands/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import nextcord
+from nextcord.ext import commands
+from utils import embed_success
+
+
+class ApplicationCommandsExample(commands.Cog, name="App Commands"):
+    def __init__(self, bot: commands.Bot):
+        self.bot = bot
+
+    @nextcord.slash_command(description="Slash command that responds with 'Hello World'")
+    async def my_slash_cmd(self, interaction: nextcord.Interaction):
+        await interaction.send(embed=embed_success("Hello World!"))
+
+    @nextcord.slash_command(description="Slash command that repeats an argument")
+    async def my_slash_cmd_2(self, interaction: nextcord.Interaction, my_arg: str):
+        await interaction.send(embed=embed_success(f"You said: {my_arg}"))
+
+    @nextcord.user_command()
+    async def my_user_cmd(self, interaction: nextcord.Interaction, member: nextcord.Member):
+        await interaction.send(f"Hello, {member.mention}!")
+
+    @nextcord.message_command()
+    async def my_message_cmd(self, interaction: nextcord.Interaction, message: nextcord.Message):
+        await interaction.send(f"Hello, {message.author.mention}!")
+
+
+# This function will be called when this extension is loaded.
+# It is necessary to add these functions to the bot.
+def setup(bot: commands.Bot):
+    bot.add_cog(ApplicationCommandsExample(bot))
diff --git a/cogs/help/__init__.py b/cogs/help/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31aeac1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cogs/help/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+from nextcord.ext import commands
+
+from .help_command import NewHelpCommand
+
+
+class HelpCog(commands.Cog):
+    def __init__(self, bot: commands.Bot):
+        self.bot = bot
+        self._original_help_command = bot.help_command
+        bot.help_command = NewHelpCommand()
+        bot.help_command.cog = self
+
+    def cog_unload(self):
+        self.bot.help_command = self._original_help_command
+
+
+# setup functions for bot
+def setup(bot: commands.Bot):
+    bot.add_cog(HelpCog(bot))
diff --git a/cogs/help/help_command.py b/cogs/help/help_command.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8634b78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cogs/help/help_command.py
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import config
+import nextcord
+from nextcord.embeds import EmptyEmbed
+from nextcord.ext import commands
+
+
+class NewHelpCommand(commands.MinimalHelpCommand):
+    """Custom help command override using embeds"""
+
+    COLOUR = nextcord.Colour.blurple()
+
+    def get_ending_note(self):
+        """Returns note to display at the bottom"""
+        invoked_with = self.invoked_with
+        return f"Use {config.BOT_PREFIX}{invoked_with} [command] for more info on a command."
+
+    def get_command_signature(self, command: commands.core.Command):
+        """Retrieves the signature portion of the help page."""
+        return f"{command.qualified_name} {command.signature}"
+
+    async def send_bot_help(self, mapping: dict):
+        """implements bot command help page"""
+        embed = nextcord.Embed(title="Bot Commands", colour=self.COLOUR)
+        avatar = self.context.bot.user.avatar
+        avatar_url = avatar.url if avatar else EmptyEmbed
+        embed.set_author(name=self.context.bot.user.name, icon_url=avatar_url)
+        description = self.context.bot.description
+        if description:
+            embed.description = description
+
+        for cog, commands in mapping.items():
+            name = "No Category" if cog is None else cog.qualified_name
+            filtered = await self.filter_commands(commands, sort=True)
+            if filtered:
+                # \u2002 = middle dot
+                value = "\u2002".join(f"{config.BOT_PREFIX}{c.name}" for c in filtered)
+                if cog and cog.description:
+                    value = f"{cog.description}\n{value}"
+                embed.add_field(name=name, value=value)
+
+        embed.set_footer(text=self.get_ending_note())
+        await self.get_destination().send(embed=embed)
+
+    async def send_cog_help(self, cog: commands.Cog):
+        """implements cog help page"""
+        embed = nextcord.Embed(title=f"{cog.qualified_name} Commands", colour=self.COLOUR)
+        if cog.description:
+            embed.description = cog.description
+
+        filtered = await self.filter_commands(cog.get_commands(), sort=True)
+        for command in filtered:
+            embed.add_field(
+                name=self.get_command_signature(command),
+                value=command.short_doc or "...",
+                inline=False,
+            )
+
+        embed.set_footer(text=self.get_ending_note())
+        await self.get_destination().send(embed=embed)
+
+    async def send_group_help(self, group: commands.Group):
+        """implements group help page and command help page"""
+        embed = nextcord.Embed(title=group.qualified_name, colour=self.COLOUR)
+        if group.help:
+            embed.description = group.help
+
+        if isinstance(group, commands.Group):
+            filtered = await self.filter_commands(group.commands, sort=True)
+            for command in filtered:
+                embed.add_field(
+                    name=self.get_command_signature(command),
+                    value=command.short_doc or "...",
+                    inline=False,
+                )
+
+        embed.set_footer(text=self.get_ending_note())
+        await self.get_destination().send(embed=embed)
+
+    # Use the same function as group help for command help
+    send_command_help = send_group_help  # type: ignore
diff --git a/cogs/ping/__init__.py b/cogs/ping/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f768c4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cogs/ping/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+from nextcord.ext import commands
+from utils import embed_success
+
+
+class Ping(commands.Cog, name="Ping"):
+    def __init__(self, bot: commands.Bot):
+        self.bot = bot
+
+    @commands.command(name="ping")
+    async def ping(self, ctx: commands.Context):
+        """A command which simply acknowledges the user's ping.
+        Usage:
+        ```
+        ?ping
+        ```
+        """
+        # log in console that a ping was received
+        print("Received ping")
+        # respond to the message
+        await ctx.send(embed=embed_success("Pong!"))
+
+
+# This function will be called when this extension is loaded.
+# It is necessary to add these functions to the bot.
+def setup(bot: commands.Bot):
+    bot.add_cog(Ping(bot))
diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21eb1e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import os
+
+from dotenv.main import load_dotenv
+
+load_dotenv()
+
+# Discord config
+DISCORD_TOKEN = os.getenv("DISCORD_TOKEN", "")
+BOT_PREFIX = "?"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2212c02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+nextcord==2.4.2
+python-dotenv==1.0.0
diff --git a/runtime.txt b/runtime.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..73e24dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+python-3.10.4
diff --git a/utils/__init__.py b/utils/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..387d09a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+from .embedder import *
diff --git a/utils/embedder.py b/utils/embedder.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13a5654
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/embedder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+from typing import Optional
+
+import nextcord
+
+DEFAULT_COLOR = nextcord.Colour.blurple()
+MAX_EMBED_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH = 4096
+MAX_EMBED_FIELD_TITLE_LENGTH = 256
+MAX_EMBED_FIELD_FOOTER_LENGTH = 2048
+
+
+def __trim(text: str, limit: int) -> str:
+    """limit text to a certain number of characters"""
+    return text[: limit - 3].strip() + "..." if len(text) > limit else text
+
+
+def embed_success(
+    title: str,
+    description: Optional[str] = None,
+    footer: Optional[str] = None,
+    url: Optional[str] = None,
+    image: Optional[str] = None,
+    thumbnail: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> nextcord.Embed:
+    """Embed a success message and an optional description, footer, and url"""
+    return build_embed(title, description, footer, url, nextcord.Colour.green(), image, thumbnail)
+
+
+def embed_warning(
+    title: str,
+    description: Optional[str] = None,
+    footer: Optional[str] = None,
+    url: Optional[str] = None,
+    image: Optional[str] = None,
+    thumbnail: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> nextcord.Embed:
+    """Embed a warning message and an optional description, footer, and url"""
+    return build_embed(title, description, footer, url, nextcord.Colour.gold(), image, thumbnail)
+
+
+def embed_error(
+    title: str,
+    description: Optional[str] = None,
+    footer: Optional[str] = None,
+    url: Optional[str] = None,
+    image: Optional[str] = None,
+    thumbnail: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> nextcord.Embed:
+    """Embed an error message and an optional description, footer, and url"""
+    return build_embed(title, description, footer, url, nextcord.Colour.red(), image, thumbnail)
+
+
+def build_embed(
+    title: str,
+    description: Optional[str] = None,
+    footer: Optional[str] = None,
+    url: Optional[str] = None,
+    colour: nextcord.Colour = DEFAULT_COLOR,
+    image: Optional[str] = None,
+    thumbnail: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> nextcord.Embed:
+    """Embed a message and an optional description, footer, and url"""
+    # create the embed
+    embed = nextcord.Embed(
+        title=__trim(title, MAX_EMBED_FIELD_TITLE_LENGTH), url=url, colour=colour
+    )
+    if description:
+        embed.description = __trim(description, MAX_EMBED_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH)
+    if footer:
+        embed.set_footer(text=__trim(footer, MAX_EMBED_FIELD_FOOTER_LENGTH))
+    if image:
+        embed.set_image(url=image)
+    if thumbnail:
+        embed.set_thumbnail(url=thumbnail)
+    return embed