Using Buddy in Discord

You set Buddy up on the website, but you don't have to leave Discord to see how things stand. /setup opens a private control panel for your server: a health check, what's set up in each area, and buttons that open the exact settings page you need. /help opens a help center that lists the commands you can use and explains any one of them. This page walks through both, and through the short cards Buddy shows when something's in the way.

Before you start#

Private replies#

Both panels, and every tip or error card on this page, are private replies. Only the person who ran the command sees them, and Discord marks them with "Only you can see this". Nothing is posted in the channel, so you can run /setup or /help anywhere without cluttering the chat.

Discord removes private replies when you click Dismiss message or restart Discord. Run the command again to get a fresh one.

The /setup control panel#

Open the panel#

What you see (your server's name, icon and embed colour are filled in):

Feature area pages#

Pick an area in Open a feature area… and the panel switches to that area. Each feature gets a status line, a Guide link to its page in these docs and an Open button.

• 🟢 means Buddy found the feature's main setting, for example "Posting in #welcome", "Logging to #mod-log" or "3 of 9 log types on".
• ⚪ Not set up means it checked and found nothing set up yet.
• 🛠️ Manage it in the dashboard means Buddy can't check this feature from Discord (for example button and reaction roles, applications, auto responder, timed messages, banner and icon rotation). Click Open to see what's configured.
• ⭐ Premium next to a feature name means it needs Premium and this server is on the free plan.
• Back to overview returns to the main panel and re-runs the health check.

Open a settings page on the website#

Open takes you straight to that feature's page in the dashboard, already pointed at the server you ran /setup in. Open dashboard does the same for the dashboard home.

• If that server is already the one you're managing on the website, the page opens right away.
• If you were managing a different server, the website first asks Switch to Example Server?. Click Yes, manage this server and you land on the page you picked.
• Not logged in on the website? Log in with Discord first. You need Administrator in the server, the same as for the rest of the dashboard.

Quick actions#

Some areas have buttons that do the job right there in Discord:

Run one task directly#

The feature option still works if you already know what you want: /setup feature: XP System skips the panel and runs that task. The choices are listed in First-time setup.

The health check#

The top of the /setup panel checks the two things that break most Buddy features.

When either line has a problem, two buttons appear:

• Fix Buddy's permissions opens Discord's authorize screen for this server with the recommended permissions ticked. Click Authorize. Buddy stays in your server, and Discord adds the permissions to Buddy's role.
• Why this matters opens Permissions & roles.

Click Back to overview (or run /setup again) to re-check after a fix.

The /help help center#

/help opens a private help center for whoever runs it.

The topics are Setup & info, Moderation, Levels & XP, Starboard, Roles, Tickets & support, Announcements, Automation, Banners & icons, Invites & growth, Utilities and Fun & games.

Topic pages#

Picking a topic lists its commands with a one-line description each. Only commands you're allowed to use appear, based on each command's Discord permission. A command roles restriction isn't checked here, so a command can be listed and still say it's limited to certain roles when you run it. Back returns to the start, and the guide button opens that topic's docs.

The standalone XP commands (/xpsettings, /xproles, /xpstats and the rest) aren't listed, because /xp covers the same actions: use /xp settings, /xp roles, /xp stats and so on. The standalone versions still work.

Clickable commands#

Commands in the help center (and in Buddy's tips) are command mentions: they show in blue, like /rank. Click one and Discord puts it in your message bar, ready for you to fill in any options and press Enter. If Buddy can't load its command list at that moment, they show as plain /rank text instead; type them yourself.

Look up one command#

Type /help and fill in command. Suggestions appear as you type (the commands you can use that match), so you can pick one instead of typing the full name. Subcommands work too, for example xp leaderboard.

You get the usage line (<option> is required, [option] is optional), each option with its type, who can use the command (with "(you don't have this permission)" if that's you) and a link to the command in these docs. If the name doesn't match anything, Buddy says No command called "/…" and suggests picking one from the suggestions.

Cards Buddy shows when something's in the way#

When a command can't run, Buddy answers with a short private card saying why, instead of a cryptic error.

Buddy is missing a permission#

Buddy checks the channel you used the command in. If its role (or a channel override) is missing something the command needs, you see:

• Members with Manage Server get the Fix permissions button. It opens Discord's authorize screen for this server with Buddy's recommended permissions ticked.
• Everyone else is asked to tell a server admin.
• If a channel override is what blocks Buddy, re-authorizing won't help: open Edit Channel → Permissions and allow the permission for Buddy's role. See Permissions & roles.

This command is limited to certain roles#

A server admin has restricted the command with Command roles, and you don't have one of the allowed roles. The card says "A server admin has restricted it with Command roles. Ask them if you think you should have access." Members with Administrator or Manage Server are never blocked this way.

Other cards#

Mentioning Buddy#

Buddy works with slash commands, but if someone sends just @Discord Buddy in a channel, Buddy replies with a short pointer to /help (and, for admins, /setup) plus links to the docs. It's a normal reply, so everyone in the channel can see it.

First-time tips#

Buddy shows at most one short tip, privately, after a command's reply:

• New to Buddy? The first time you use any Buddy command you get a "Welcome to Discord Buddy!" card. Show me around turns it into the /help help center, and Support server opens our Discord.
• First time using a command? You get "First time using /command" with what it does, a reminder that /help command: shows every option, and a How it works button that opens the command in these docs.

Commands#

/setup needs Administrator. /help is open to everyone.

Troubleshooting#

I can't see /setup#

It only appears for members with Administrator. Server admins can also hide or show commands for roles in Server Settings → Integrations → Discord Buddy.

/setup says Buddy is missing a permission#

The panel itself only needs View Channel, Send Messages and Embed Links in the channel you're in. Give Buddy those there (check the channel's overrides), or run /setup in another channel. Once the panel opens, its health check lists anything else Buddy is missing.

The Open button asks me to switch servers#

You were managing a different server on the website. Click Yes, manage this server to switch, and the page you picked opens. See Open a settings page on the website.

A feature shows ⚪ Not set up, but I've set it up#

The panel reads the feature's main setting, usually its channel. If you picked a channel that was later deleted, or saved the page without one, it shows ⚪. Click Open, check the setting and save again. Features that show 🛠️ Manage it in the dashboard can't be checked from Discord at all.

Clicking a command in /help doesn't do anything#

Your Discord app may be out of date, or the command is hidden for you in Server Settings → Integrations. Type the command instead.

Related#