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7 Discord automation ideas

How to manage and moderate your Discord server with Zapier

By Krystina Martinez · December 27, 2024
The Discord logo in a large white square, connected by dotted orange lines to squares containing the logos for Twitch, YouTube, and Twitter.

While Discord started as a chat app for gamers, it's grown far beyond that initial use case. (That right there is the sign of a successful app.) 

Although gaming remains a strong part of its DNA, it's now popular with people organizing volunteer efforts, talking about hobbies, and collaborating for work.

Thanks to Discord's voice chat features, permission-based roles, and customization options, it's also a great fit for building and managing an online community. And it works even better when you pair it with automation. 

But while Discord moderators and admins often rely on third-party bots to automate tasks and run commands for them, there's a learning curve to setting them up. If you'd rather find streamlined ways to manage your Discord server with automation and integrate it with other apps, Zapier can help. 

From engaging with your followers to collaborating with teammates, here are a few ways Zaps—what we call automated workflows—can supercharge the way you manage Discord.

You'll need to have a Zapier account and manager or owner permissions in Discord in order to use these workflows. It's free to start.

Table of contents

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Automatically greet new server members

By default, you can set your server to automatically announce when a new member joins your Discord server. But if you run a pretty large community, you'll likely want to direct new members to important places such as announcement channels or places where they can review community rules. 

First, make sure you have a welcome channel set up specifically for new members. Then, use a Zap to automatically greet new members with a custom message. 

Greet new Discord users in a channel message

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Discord
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    Give a personalized welcome to new server members with this integration. Whenever a new user is added to a Discord server, this Zap will automatically send a message in Discord. Just specify which channel you want the message to go. Bring on the welcome wagon!

    Automate Discord messages on a schedule

    Perhaps you run a weekly thread on a specific topic in your Discord, or you're the responsible moderator who reminds the team to prune the members list once a month. Instead of sending those messages manually, you can use a Zap to automatically send those messages on a specific schedule

    Send daily messages to Discord channels

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    Schedule by Zapier + Discord
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      Want to send a recurring reminder or other related message to your Discord server? This integration can help! Set it up to send a daily message in a Discord channel automatically. Just specify your Discord channel, schedule the time, and customize the message. Zapier will handle the rest!

      Send Discord channel messages once a week

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      Schedule by Zapier + Discord
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        When you need to send the same weekly reminder to your friends, this integration can help. Once active, it will send a channel message in Discord with the same text once a week. It's never been easier to remind your friends.

        Send channel messages in Discord every month

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        Schedule by Zapier + Discord
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          This integration sends channel messages in Discord every month.

          Don't want to send the same message each time? You can use a search step on a spreadsheet or Formatter's Pick from list function so you can randomize the language.

          You can also set up reminder messages with a Zap that connects to your calendar app. With this, you can push out reminders for upcoming events. 

          Post Discord messages before events in Google Calendar

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          Google Calendar + Discord
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            Engaging your followers in real time requires planning and forethought, but that also takes time away from your day-to-day responsibilities. Free yourself with this integration, which automatically sends a message on a Discord channel at a specified time before an event starts in Google Calendar. Give followers a heads up without having to worry about tedious manual messaging. Learn more in our

            Send new Google Calendar events to Discord channels

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              Updating your followers about events is important. Make sure you have your Discord followers in the loop with this integration, which automatically sends new Google Calendar events to Discord channels. Letting everyone know about new events has never been easier!

              Automatically assign roles

              One way Discord differs from other team chat apps is how it uses roles. Rather than a traditional community role structure—admins manage the server, moderators manage the conversations, and members can only post—Discord's roles are infinitely customizable. And many admins and moderators use bots to allow members to self-select these roles.

              You can create standardized roles in Discord, such as administrators, moderators, or verified users. You can also create roles that serve cosmetic or informational purposes.

              For example, I co-moderate a crafting Discord community. (Welcome to my secret life.) Other than our two standard roles distinguishing mods and verified users, we also allow members to self-assign other roleslike "knitter," "sewist," or "macrame." If you're using Discord for work, you might set roles for different teams, and see things like "marketing," "sales," "human resources," and "product."

              Other roles in my crafting server allow people to opt in to receiving automatic invites to join events like a group voice chat hangout or a craftalong. Going back to the work example, this could be used to get automatic alerts to all-company meetings or for important deadlines.

              While most folks will use a bot to handle role-setting, you can also use Zapier to automatically assign member roles. 

              Assign Discord roles for new message reactions

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                Streamline assigning Discord roles with this integration. Whenever there's a specific emoji reaction on a message in Discord, this Zap will automatically assign a role to that user. Just specify the role you want to assign.

                Assign Discord roles to new Twitch followers

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                  When someone follows you on Twitch, you can automatically assign them a role in your Discord channel to thank them for following you. Make your fans feel the love and appreciation you have for them!

                  If your server has a separate verification process for new members, you can also use Zapier to connect a form or spreadsheet app to Discord. 

                  Assign Discord roles from new or updated rows in Google Sheets

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                    Do you use a form to review and verify new members to your Discord server? Streamline the process with this integration. Whenever there's a new or updated row in a Google Sheet, this Zap will automatically find the Discord user and assign a role.

                    Create images in Discord with DALL·E

                    Want to create an image generation playground for you and your friends or coworkers inside Discord? With this workflow, you can use OpenAI's DALL·E directly within your Discord conversations and channels. 

                    Whether you want to drop your prompts in a Discord channel to generate a specific image, or you want to see what other folks want to create with AI, you can bring the power of visual AI to your workspace. 

                    Generate AI images with DALL-E from new Discord messages

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                    Discord + OpenAI (GPT-4, DALL-E, Whisper)
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                      Create your own AI image playground! With this workflow, when a new message is posted in Discord, it will automatically be sent as a prompt to OpenAI to generate a new image with DALL-E, which will then post in your Discord channel. Easily generate AI images in a collaborative environment.

                      Auto-respond to frequently asked questions

                      Tired of answering the same question in chat constantly? You can create your own auto-responder bot in Discord using Zapier.

                      Add new, specified messages posted in Discord to other Discord channels

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                      Discord + Filter by Zapier
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                        Manage your Discord messages effortlessly with this Zap. Whenever there's a new Discord channel message that contains a specified text, this Zap will automatically add it to a different channel in Discord.

                        You can use a filter—available on our paid plans—to trigger an automated response when someone uses a specific phrase. 

                        Filters help you tailor your Zaps so they only run when you need them to. You can learn about setting up filters  in our help doc. Want even more inspiration? Check out this blog post about making your Zaps as efficient as possible.

                        Send messages from spreadsheets or tasks

                        If you use Discord primarily for work, it's highly probable you're collaborating with teammates in different channels. 

                        Whether you're working together on specific projects or in charge of assigning work-related tasks to people, you'll need to spend some time coordinating within your project management and workspace tools—which can be a drain when you have to keep hopping between them. 

                        Instead, you can set up Zaps that will automatically send messages in Discord about new projects that get added to tools like Notion or when rows are added to Google Sheets. That way, you can keep your team up-to-date on everybody's to-dos. 

                        Send Discord channel messages with new Google Sheets rows

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                        Google Sheets + Discord
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                          Need to send some bulk messages but don't want to waste time copying and pasting again and again? We have a solution! Create a Google Sheets spreadsheets for all the messages you need to send. Then set up this integration and new rows will send Discord channel messages automatically. Get all your messages out in one simple step.

                          Send channel messages in Discord with new database items in Notion

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                          Notion + Discord
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                            This Zap automatically triggers a custom message to a specified channel in Discord as soon you add a new item to a Notion database. This lets you keep your communities in the loop without having to leave Notion to craft and send manual messages.

                            Send Discord messages with new Trello cards

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                            Trello + Discord
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                              Keeping your followers engaged in a project is important, but it also requires a lot of time-consuming communication. Save yourself some effort when you use this integration, which automatically posts a message to a specified Discord channel when a new card is added in Trello. Make sure everyone stays in the know, hands free!

                              Connect Discord with other social channels

                              Discord is popular with Twitch streamers and other content creators who want to build a deeper relationship with their followers. If you want to keep your community updated on what you're producing, you can use these Zaps to notify a Discord channel. 

                              Send Discord channel messages about Twitch live streams that reach viewer count thresholds

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                              Twitch + Discord
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                                Don't miss an opportunity to share on Discord that a Twitch stream is live and has more than 1,000 viewers watching it. (When setting up the template, you can choose the viewer count threshold.) This is a perfect way to let people know what's trending instantly.

                                Send new YouTube videos in Discord channel messages

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                                YouTube + Discord
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                                  Don't worry about forgetting to post videos to Discord again! Zapier helps you handle the busywork so you can focus on making better content. In a few clicks, use this Zap to automatically post new YouTube videos to a channel on your Discord server.

                                  Send Discord messages with new Instagram media

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                                  Instagram for Business + Discord
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                                    You need to reach your followers wherever they live, which typically means a lot of app switching and platform juggling. Skip a step with this integration, automatically sending a message on a specified Discord channel as soon as a photo or video is posted to your Instagram account. Drive traffic without driving yourself crazy with manual messaging tasks.

                                    Post new RSS items to Discord channels

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                                    RSS by Zapier + Discord
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                                      Want to view an RSS feed on your Discord server? Activate this Zap to share new RSS items to your Discord channel automatically. You can also customize the message to show the author, source, link to the article, or a personalized greeting.

                                      Not publishing content?  You can also use Zapier to send information into Discord about transactions, new bugs, or even updates to your Spotify playlists.

                                      Send channel messages in Discord for new tracks added to lists in Spotify

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                                        Thins integration sends channel messages in Discord for new tracks added to lists in Spotify.

                                        Send Discord channel messages for new commits in Github

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                                        GitHub + Discord
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                                          Someone just made a new commit in your software development tool, you'll want to make sure you and your team get notified. Zapier helps by sending a channel message in Discord when there is a new commit in GitHub. You and your team will be up to date on any new commits going forward.

                                          Manage your Discord community with automation

                                          Moderating your Discord server doesn't have to be a full-time job. With automation, you can streamline moderation tasks so you can spend more time participating in the fun.  

                                          These workflows are just the start of all that you can do with Discord and Zapier. Zapier supports thousands of apps, so you automate almost any task. Start building your Zap now and see what you can create.

                                          New to Zapier? It's workflow automation software that lets you focus on what matters. Combine user interfaces, data tables, and logic with thousands of apps to build and automate anything you can imagine. Sign up for free to use this app, and thousands more, with Zapier.

                                          This article was originally published in July 2021. It was most recently updated in December 2024.

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