Troubleshooting

Cause: the install went through without one of the permissions Staffd needs to set up: View Channels, Send Messages, Read Message History, Embed Links, Manage Channels or Manage Roles. Without them it can't create its private channel, so it can't get started. This usually happens when a box gets unticked on Discord's authorization screen.

Fix: check the server owner's DMs. Staffd sends the owner a message naming the server, what's missing, and a one-click link that adds the permissions without removing anything. If the owner's DMs are closed, it posts the same note in the server instead (the system channel or a general-style channel), tagging only the owner. You can also add the permissions by hand in Server Settings, Roles, then Staffd's role.

As soon as the permissions are there, it notices within seconds and sets itself up. If it DMed the owner, it follows up with "All set" there; if it posted in the server, it edits that note to say it's sorted. Running any slash command also tells you privately what's still missing.

• If someone other than the owner installed it, the DM goes to the owner, not the installer.
• If you're not the owner or an Administrator, you can't see its private channel even when setup worked. Ask the owner to add you in the channel's settings.

Cause: something went wrong while it was reading your server, usually a permissions problem on the channels it tried to read. When this happens it says so in its private channel: "I hit a snag while reading your server".

Fix: give Staffd's role View Channel and Read Message History on the channels you want it to learn from, especially your rules channel. Then say "re-read" in its private channel. Or skip the channel reading and paste a link to your rulebook right there.

Cause: it can see your rules channel in the channel list but doesn't have access to open it. The card shows "I can't read #rules" (with your channel's name) and lists a common-sense placeholder baseline, clearly labeled as not your rules.

Fix: give its role View Channel and Read Message History on that channel, then say "re-read" in the private channel. Or paste a link to your rulebook there instead. Both work until you hire it. If you've already hired it, tell it your rules in the private channel instead. See Your rules.

Cause: it found a rulebook link in your rules channel but couldn't read the page. It reads only Google Docs and GitBook. A Google Doc must be shared as "Anyone with the link", and a GitBook must be public on a gitbook.io address. Links to other sites aren't read.

Fix: change the sharing setting and paste the link in its private channel, and it reads that instead (before you hire it; afterwards, tell it your rules directly). If your rulebook lives somewhere else, write the rules into a Discord channel and say "re-read".

Cause: Discord shows each person only the commands they're allowed to run. /help and /rules are for everyone. Owner commands need the Manage Server permission, and staff commands (/history, /warn, /note) need Moderate Members. A server admin can also restrict commands in Server Settings, Integrations.

Fix: check your role's permissions and the Integrations page for Staffd. If you should have access and still see nothing, restart your Discord app so it reloads the command list. See Commands.

Most messages are fine, and it's tuned to stay quiet when unsure, so a quiet queue is normal. If you expected a flag, check these causes in order:

• It isn't hired yet. Watching starts only after you pick its name on the First impressions card.
• It can't see the channel. It only reads channels its role can view. Check that channel's permissions.
• It was in its private channel. Messages there are for your employee, not for moderation.
• It hasn't got to it yet. A flag can take up to about a minute.
• It's off the clock. After the trial ends without a hire, it stops watching. See below.
• It reached its monthly capacity. It will have told you in the private channel. Watching resumes when the next month starts.

Cause: it judges against your rules, your server's culture and the calibrations you've given it. If those don't match how your community really talks, its judgment won't either.

Fix: tell it in the private channel, in plain words. "OOC trash talk is fine here" or "flag anyone advertising other servers". It proposes a calibration with Confirm and Cancel buttons, and judges with it once you confirm. If a rule itself is off, ask it to change the rule. Dismiss any wrong flags as you go. See Talking to your employee.

When Delete message or Timeout is blocked, Staffd tells whoever clicked in a private reply, and the flag card stays open so you can try again after fixing it. The usual causes:

• Delete message needs Manage Messages. Timeout (1h) needs Moderate Members. If you left these off at install, add them to Staffd's role.
• It can't time out the server owner, an Administrator, or anyone whose highest role sits at or above its own. Drag Staffd's role higher in Server Settings, Roles.
• The member already left the server, so there's no one to time out.
• If the card says the warning was logged but it "couldn't post in-channel", the warning is on the member's record but the reply wasn't posted. Give it Send Messages in that channel.
• Warn and Delete message only reach messages in regular text channels. For a message in a thread, a forum post or an announcement channel, use Jump and handle it yourself. The card may say the message was already gone even though it's still there.

Cause: the 14-day trial ended without a hire, so after a reminder and a goodbye it went off the clock. It stays in your server with everything it learned, but it doesn't watch, report or welcome, and answers @mentions with a short "off the clock" line. Commands reply the same way.

Fix: run /upgrade, the one command that still works. It gives you the checkout link for your server's plan. Once the payment goes through, it's back on the job within about a minute, memory intact. See The trial, hiring and billing.

Welcomes are off until you turn them on. Check these causes:

• They're not on. Run /welcome on:true, optionally with a channel.
• It can't post in the welcome channel. It needs View Channel and Send Messages there. If the channel you picked stops working, it picks another channel it can post in.
• Membership screening. If your server uses it, the welcome waits until the new member passes screening.
• A sudden flood of joins, like a raid. It holds back welcomes so your channel doesn't flood.
• It's off the clock. Welcomes stop after an unhired trial ends.

Ask it. In its private channel you can describe what you're seeing in plain words. The FAQ covers the most common questions, and Permissions lists exactly what each permission is for. /testwelcome posts a sample welcome aimed at you, which is a quick way to check welcomes end to end.