How to set up a Discord announcement bot

Before you start

• Have an online bot with Pro, a Discord channel reserved for announcements, and a staff account with Manage Messages for immediate posts. Scheduled announcement management requires Manage Server.
• Check that the bot can view and send messages in the destination channel and can embed links if you plan to send embeds. Draft a short test announcement that is safe for a staff-only channel before notifying members.

1. Enable Announcements and select the server

   From the bot Modules tab, turn on Announcements and open its Settings with the card gear button. Choose the intended server in the Server selector. The Enable Announcement Commands switch governs whether the module accepts its announcement posting commands in that server. Leave it enabled only after you have chosen a channel and decided which staff roles can use Discord’s required permissions. The toggle does not grant anyone Discord permissions; it merely turns this module’s command handling on or off for the selected server.

   This is a Pro feature. Test your workflow before you promise a posting schedule you cannot maintain. The dashboard saves defaults, while real messages are sent when staff use the module or a configured scheduled item becomes due. Keep your channel permission policy in Discord: the safest default is a channel where normal members can read announcements but only trusted staff and the bot can post.

2. Set the default announcement channel

   Select Default Announcement Channel. This is the destination used when a staff member does not specify a channel in a command. Choosing a clear, member-facing channel reduces the chance that a public update lands in a staff room or a test post reaches everyone. A command can provide a permitted channel explicitly, but a dependable default gives your team a predictable place to review. Save the setting and post only a harmless test until you have checked the bot permissions.

   The channel selection is per server, so do not assume a setting follows the bot into a second community. If the picker cannot find a channel, first verify that the bot is online and that it can see the channel in Discord. Avoid treating channel IDs as a shortcut around access checks. An announcement can only be delivered where Discord allows the bot to speak. The module cannot make a locked channel readable, add missing embed permission, or override a channel’s permission overwrites.

3. Choose plain text or embed defaults

   Use the embed switch to decide whether new announcements send as embeds by default. When embeds are on, set Default Embed Title, Default Embed Color, and an optional footer. These values are starting points for the module’s embed announcements; they do not turn an unclear message into a useful one. Keep color and footer consistent with your community’s own style, and write the announcement text so it still makes sense to a member who sees it in a notification preview.

   For a one-off text message, `announce` sends an immediate announcement. `announceembed` sends one as an embed. Both require Manage Messages and accept an optional channel, otherwise they use the configured channel or current channel as the module defines. Test with a brief staff-only note before using a public channel. Do not put credentials, member data, or a promise of future availability into an embed merely because the format looks polished; the module is a delivery tool, not a review process.

4. Decide whether staff can schedule posts

   Turn on scheduling only when your staff has agreed how far ahead to queue posts and who owns revisions. The scheduling control allows queued announcements from the website and Discord schedule commands. The dashboard has an Add Scheduled Announcement area, scheduled date and time, message, optional channel override, and the list of queued announcements. The queue describes what is saved; it does not replace a final human check of dates, time zones, linked destinations, or whether a message is still appropriate when it will be published.

   Set Max Scheduled Announcements to the upper limit you want queued in this server. It is a limit for saved announcements, not a guarantee that every future event is covered. A smaller queue is often easier for a new moderation team to review. If you schedule a test, pick a time while someone is available to observe it, use a private channel, then remove it after confirming the result. This keeps a test from appearing later in front of members as a stale or confusing announcement.

5. Create and review a scheduled test

   In Discord, `schedule` queues an announcement for a time with an optional destination and message. `scheduled` lists queued scheduled announcements. These commands require Manage Server, which intentionally separates schedule management from ordinary immediate posting. Use a test message that names the test channel and the purpose, then confirm it appears in the queue before waiting for it. The command accepts the module’s supported time input; do not assume a shorthand you have not checked will be interpreted as your local calendar date.

   After the test posts, inspect the channel as a member would: title, text, footer, destination, and whether plain text or embed was used. Then use the dashboard remove control or `cancelannounce` with the schedule ID for an item you no longer want. Canceling is preferable to leaving an obsolete message in the queue. If the bot could not post, investigate its channel permissions and the selected destination rather than posting repeatedly. A failed test is valuable because it finds an access issue before a time-sensitive update.

6. Publish with a repeatable staff process

   For ordinary updates, draft the message, have another staff member check its destination and links, then publish through the dashboard queue or an immediate command. When a message needs a different channel, state that choice in your staff handoff rather than relying on memory. The module supports a default channel and optional overrides; that flexibility is useful only when your team distinguishes test, staff, and public destinations. Keep @everyone and @here decisions in Discord permissions and your community policy, not in a rushed last-minute post.

   Review queued posts periodically with `scheduled`, especially after an event changes or a partnership ends. The Announcements module helps a bot post what staff configured; it does not fact-check content, detect an outdated link, or know that a cancellation announcement should replace a prior message. If your account moves to Free, remember that Announcements is Pro-only and plan communications accordingly. You can start with Build Discord Bots from the sign-up flow, configure one safe test, and then adopt the process once it fits your server.