Wow, it looks like you’re all having a fabulous time using slash commands! /so /many /cool /things

Apps on Discord have been around for a long time — they’re what assign you roles, give out prizes, alert you on price drops for your favorite games, and pick up your laundry. (Okay, not that last one, but now that we wrote it, our very talented developer community will probably have something built within the hour.)

And now there’s a brand-new page for admins in Server Settings: Command Permissions! Head to a server where you’re an admin and look under the Integrations tab: here, you can customize which commands can be used, in what channels, and by which roles.

...Wait, what are these commands again?

Just over a year ago, we introduced you to slash commands. In the olden days, you used to have to type messages out (a.k.a. text commands) in a public channel to talk to a bot. This meant you needed to know exactly what the right command word was - or worse, you’d need to try a bunch of magic words until you lucked out and found the right one, all of which would clog up that very important chat about which action movies count as holiday movies.

With slash commands, typing a “/” brings up a command picker where you can view all the commands available to you, along with a description of what they do so you can select the one you want. Now it’s as easy as /yippee-kai-yay.

...I’m still using text commands though.

We’re glad you pointed that out. The apps you love are built and managed by very talented persons or teams — if they built it before slash commands were introduced, it means they need to do a little work to make the changes. Moving to new ways of doing things takes time, and we care a lot about our devs who create all these cool and fun things you get to do in your server together.

Developers have had access to slash commands since late 2020, and last summer we shared that slash commands will be the preferred way to handle our message content requirements. This is because, in addition to the aforementioned issue around clogging the chat (/fetch /nothappening /pleasestoptryinggretchen), slash commands strengthen Discord’s privacy protections and provide a more standardized experience across the platform.

If you type “/” you’ll see on the side of the command picker all the apps (that have commands) in that server, so you can jump straight there or use the handy list we keep at the top for you of commands you use most often. Some apps may have similar commands, and the difference between /yipee and /yipee-kai-yay is CRITICAL to get right. The stakes are high.

So if you use any apps and bots today, here are some things to know:

• Currently, your server’s app may have both text commands and slash commands. Be aware that (most*) text commands will go away later this year, so it’s a good idea to get in the habit of using slash commands now! They’re easier to learn for new users, but if you’re in the habit of sending text commands, you might want to train yourself to use slash commands today.
• If your app has no slash commands, that means your developer hasn’t migrated to them yet. You can visit their support server or contact them to let them know - they might be juggling a lot, life can get busy! - but just know that there are only a few months left. After this phase is complete, we’ll be making changes on the backend that might make apps that haven’t updated themselves yet not work properly. This brings us to...
• Apps that don’t evolve may break later if your developer doesn’t switch over — we’re still a ways away, but we wanted you to know! We work with our developer community over on the Discord Developer server and provide tips, tricks, and support.

There are tons of improvements we’ve made to slash commands over the past year and a half: some improvements you may have noticed (attachments!), some you’ll notice very soon. For example, we started rolling out out the ability to start localizing commands on desktop and iOS, so you’ll soon be able to see commands in your preferred language if they’re supported! (/ipeeyay-aikay-ayay... wait, is that not an officially supported language yet?).

Some improvements you’ll never need to see, invisible in the background but important things that make it easier for developers to build, maintain, and do fun things with them!

In the age of text commands, if you wanted a bot to stop cluttering a channel, you could simply turn off its ability to read messages, kind of like putting earmuffs on a bot. With slash commands though, you’re not talking to the bot, you’re using telepathy! You’re magic! This means moderators and admins need a way to make sure they still have their hands on the controls.

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Just head to Server Settings → Integrations and then click ‘Manage’ next to an app, where you will behold a new, shiny, and dare we say dazzling, new surface.

• Use toggles to modify which members can use commands
• Use toggles to modify which channels allow commands

There’s also a command-specific list, where you can make customized permissions for each command.

Command permissions work similarly to channel permissions. Selecting an individual command will bring up the command-specific toggles, where you can make any necessary changes.

The biggest benefit of this new menu is that your admins can add apps to their servers more easily — you won’t need to be as concerned about commands running wild all over town before you have a chance to see what it does.

Add an app, enjoy a moment of peace while you peruse your new app’s commands and customize permissions to your liking, and then you’re good to go. If you have questions, you can check out our help center guide for more details.

If you have any feedback on the new Integrations settings page, please send us your thoughts here! We’ve been testing this page rigorously and would love to hear your input.

A final word for our developers

We will never stop saying this: you all are simply incredible. Many of you migrated when we recommended you to last year. Many continue to give super valuable feedback, which has made our entire command system better for everyone, developers and users alike.

Some of you are still cranking away and working hard to finish migrating. No matter what step towards the future of slash commands you’re in, we thank you so much for coming along with us toward the future of app development on Discord.

/we /appreciate /you /always /<3