How to set slowmode in a Discord channel with a bot

Before you start

• Use an online bot with Moderation enabled in a disposable server text channel. Your Discord account needs Manage Channels to run slowmode, including its current-setting query.
• Allow the bot Manage Channels in the target channel so it can update slowmode. For prefix commands and their public embed replies, also allow View Channel, Send Messages and Embed Links.
• Use Message Content Intent for prefix commands, following the builder’s checklist. Substitute your bot’s prefix for ! if it differs. Note the original channel slowmode so you can restore it after the test.

1. Enable Moderation and choose the channel carefully

   Open the bot’s Modules tab and enable Moderation. Perform the first test in a text channel created for testing, with the bot online. Slowmode acts on the channel where you run the command. There is no channel argument and no server-wide switch in this command, so typing it in your staff room will change the staff room, not another busy channel.

   The command registration requires the caller to have Manage Channels. Before invoking the handler, the generated dispatcher enforces that permission. The bot separately needs Manage Channels to perform the channel edit. A member’s authority to run the command and the bot’s ability to carry it out are separate checks; review both when permission errors occur.

2. Set a delay with !slowmode 10

   Type !slowmode 10 to set ten seconds in the current channel. Supply a whole number of seconds from 0 through 21600; 21600 seconds is six hours, and 0 disables slowmode. For a one-minute interval, type !slowmode 60. The same handler is available through the grouped slash invocation /mod slowmode with the required seconds option, for example /mod slowmode seconds:10.

   Use plain seconds, not a duration suffix. The prefix handler currently parses the initial integer: 10m is read as 10 seconds and 1.5 as 1 second, rather than ten minutes or one and a half seconds. It rejects a parsed value below 0, above 21600 or without a number. Stick to a whole-number input so the resulting interval matches your intention.

3. Read the current setting and turn slowmode off

   Run !slowmode without an argument to read the channel’s current delay. The reply reports the seconds or says slowmode is disabled. This no-argument query works through a prefix invocation; slash usage requires the seconds option. The query still needs Manage Channels because the permission rule belongs to the command, not just the edit branch.

   To remove the delay, run !slowmode off or !slowmode 0 in that channel. The handler accepts off without regard to capitalization. Both forms write zero to the native setting. To restore a previously configured delay instead, run the command with its original number of seconds and query again to verify the result.

4. Understand how this relates to Discord’s built-in slowmode

   Discord’s channel settings and this bot command control the same slowmode value. The bot calls the channel’s rate-limit setter and its query reads that channel value back. The command gives staff an in-channel way to edit the native setting; it does not stack a second delay on top. If someone changes the native setting later, a new !slowmode query reads the resulting current value.

   The handler changes the interval once and sends a result. It has no expiry timer, automatic reset, traffic threshold or per-role cooldown configuration. Discord applies its own slowmode behavior and permission exemptions; the bot does not add an exemption system. Test the resulting behavior with an ordinary member account, then restore the original delay rather than expecting it to expire on its own.

5. Check errors and keep the plan comparison accurate

   If a command is refused, check the caller’s Manage Channels permission first. If the channel edit fails, inspect the bot’s Manage Channels permission and channel overrides. For a prefix command that receives no reply, verify the bot is online, Moderation is enabled, the prefix is correct and Message Content Intent is enabled. View Channel, Send Messages and Embed Links are needed for its public prefix reply.

   Moderation is available on Free. Pro is not required for this slowmode command, and an upgrade does not add a longer interval or timed reset to this handler. Use the Moderation module page for its other commands and Pricing for plan access. If you also need voice activity messages, the related voice logging guide explains why those events require Pro even though slowmode does not.