Guide · Moderation
How to set up AutoMod on Discord (built-in filters + BotGG)
Combine Discord’s native AutoMod with BotGG’s rules, automatic escalation, raid lockdowns, nuke alerts and logs, with settings for small and large servers.
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Discord AutoMod setup is the difference between waking up to a clean server and waking up to 400 scam links. The good news: you don’t have to choose one tool. Discord’s built-in AutoMod blocks the obvious stuff before it’s even posted, and a moderation bot like BotGG adds what the native filters can’t do: warnings that add up, raid lockdowns, nuke detection and a full case history. This guide covers both, in that order.
What you need
- Manage Server on your Discord server (for native AutoMod and the BotGG console).
- BotGG in your server (invite it) and the web console.
- A private staff channel for logs and alerts, for example
#mod-log. - BotGG’s role placed above the roles of members it should time out or kick. Discord never lets a bot act on someone with a higher role.
BotGG’s Moderation and Logs are included on the Free plan; see pricing for what Pro adds.
Part 1: Discord’s built-in AutoMod
Discord ships its own AutoMod in Server Settings (under the safety / AutoMod section; the menu has been renamed over time). It’s free, runs on Discord’s side, and blocks a message before anyone sees it. Typical options:
- Custom keyword filters: your own words and phrases, with wildcards.
- Commonly flagged words: Discord-maintained lists (profanity, slurs, sexual content).
- Spam and mention spam: blocks messages that look like spam or mention too many people.
- Responses: block the message, send an alert to a channel, or time out the member.
Turn these on first. They’re fast and cost nothing. What native AutoMod doesn’t give you is memory: a blocked message doesn’t become a warning, repeat offenders aren’t punished harder, and there’s no case history or lockdown button. That’s where the bot comes in.
Part 2: BotGG AutoMod rules
In the console, open your server, enable Moderation in the sidebar, then go through the tabs in this order.
Settings tab
- Add your mod roles. Members with them can use moderation commands even without the matching Discord permission.
- Pick the mod log channel. Every case (warn, timeout, kick, ban) is posted there.
- Decide on DMs: whether members get a message when they’re punished, whether it names the moderator, and an optional appeal line. Templates have a live preview.
AutoMod tab
Start with the global options: exempt staff (on by default), exempt roles and channels (threads inherit their channel), and an AutoMod log channel (falls back to the mod log). Then enable the rules you need. Each rule has its own actions: delete the message, warn (creates a case that counts toward escalation) and timeout for a set time. With every action off, the rule only logs, which is the safest way to test.
| Rule | What it catches | Needs Message Content |
|---|---|---|
| Spam | N messages in T seconds | No |
| Mentions | Too many user/role mentions, optionally counting @everyone | No |
| New account | Messages from accounts younger than N days | No |
| Duplicates | The same message repeated | Yes |
| Caps | Messages over a % of capital letters | Yes |
| Invites | Discord invites (your own server can be allowed) | Yes |
| Links | Domains from a deny-list, or everything outside an allow-list | Yes |
| Bad words | Your word list, * wildcards supported | Yes |
| Zalgo | Stacked “glitch text” characters | Yes |
| Attachments | N files in T seconds | Yes |
About Message Content. Discord hides message text, embeds and attachments from bots unless they have the privileged Message Content intent. When BotGG runs without it, the content rules in the table are skipped and the AutoMod tab shows a banner saying so. Spam, mentions and new-account rules always work. That’s another reason to keep Discord’s native keyword filter on: it doesn’t depend on the intent.
When several rules hit the same burst of messages, BotGG merges them: the messages are deleted, but the member gets one warning and one timeout (the longest), not five.
Escalation tab
This is what makes warnings mean something. Add rows like “3 active warnings within 7 days → timeout 1 hour”. Actions can be timeout, kick, tempban or ban. Set how long warnings stay active (0 = forever). Escalation applies to warnings from AutoMod and from /warn alike, and each automatic action is recorded as its own case.
Protection tab: anti-raid and anti-nuke
Anti-raid triggers when N members join within T seconds. BotGG then starts a lockdown: @everyone loses the right to send messages, create threads and react in the channels you choose (or every public text channel), and the previous permissions are saved and restored exactly afterwards. Accounts younger than your minimum age are kicked; other raiders get a timeout, a kick or nothing. The lockdown ends automatically after the minutes you set, or with /lockdown end. You can also start one by hand with /lockdown start.
Anti-nuke watches for mass channel deletions, role deletions, bans and kicks in a short window. How much it can do depends on permissions. If you grant BotGG View Audit Log, it knows who did it and can strip that person’s roles (and optionally time them out), ignoring the owner and trusted users you list. Without that permission, it counts deletions and bans server-wide and sends an alert only, and kicks can’t be detected at all.
Part 3: Logs and daily moderation
Enable Logs and open the Channels tab. In the moderation category, turn on cases, AutoMod hits and alerts (raids, nukes, lockdown ended). These come from the Moderation feature, so keep it enabled. Add message edit/delete and member join/leave logs if you want the full picture; without Message Content, edit and delete entries still show author, channel and a jump link, but not the text.
Day to day, moderators use /warn, /timeout, /kick, /ban (with an optional duration for a tempban), /purge, /slowmode and /lock. /modlog member shows someone’s history and /case view opens a single case. The full list is on the commands page.
Recommended settings
| Setting | Small server | Large or public server |
|---|---|---|
| Spam rule | Delete + warn | Delete + warn + 5–10 min timeout |
| Invites / links | Invites off except your own | Link allow-list for trusted domains |
| New account rule | Off, or 1–3 days, log only | 3–7 days, delete |
| Escalation | 3 warnings / 7 days → 1 h timeout | Add 5 / 30 days → kick, 7 / 30 days → ban |
| Anti-raid | 10 joins / 10 s | Lower threshold, lock channels, kick very new accounts |
| Anti-nuke | On with alerts | On, View Audit Log granted, trusted users set |
Pair it with verification on public servers: a captcha or rules gate stops most bot accounts before AutoMod ever sees them.
Common mistakes and troubleshooting
- AutoMod ignores bad words or links. Those rules need Message Content. Check the banner in the AutoMod tab, and use Discord’s keyword filter in the meantime.
- Moderators get punished by AutoMod. Keep exempt staff on and add your mod roles in Settings.
- Timeouts fail on some members. Their top role is above BotGG’s. Move BotGG’s role up.
- Everyone got timed out during an event. Your spam threshold is too tight. Raise it or exempt the event channel.
- Anti-nuke only alerts. That’s expected without View Audit Log.
- Logs don’t show AutoMod hits. Moderation must be enabled, and the AutoMod event turned on in Logs → Channels.
FAQ
Should I use Discord AutoMod or a bot?
Both. Native AutoMod blocks content before it’s posted and needs no special intent; BotGG adds warnings, escalation, raid lockdowns, nuke protection and a searchable case history.
Does BotGG AutoMod work without Message Content?
Partly. Spam, mention and new-account rules work; content-based rules are skipped and the console tells you so.
Can I test rules without punishing anyone?
Yes. Turn a rule on with delete, warn and timeout all off. It only logs hits, so you can tune thresholds safely.
How do I stop a raid right now?
Run /lockdown start with an optional reason and duration, then /lockdown end when it’s over. Channel permissions are restored exactly as they were.