Every bot comes with an install link. Paste it into your browser, choose Add to server, pick your server and follow the prompts, approving the permissions the bot asks for. Once it's added, the bot shows up in your server's member list. Choose the server install rather than your own account, or the bot can only respond to commands.
The choice that matters most is where you install it: into a server, or onto your own account. They're two different install types, and they behave differently afterwards.
If you're still deciding which bot to add, start with the most useful Discord bots. New to the platform altogether? It helps to know what people use Discord for first.
Before you open anything, have three things settled:
- The bot's install link, copied and ready to paste.
- Which server it's going into, if it's a server install.
- Who the bot is for: everyone in a server, or only you.
Adding a bot to your Discord server
This is the install most people want: a bot that lives in the server, joins the member list and can act there.
- Get the bot's install link. Every Discord app or bot has one.
- Paste the link into your browser and press enter.
- In the installation prompt, choose Add to server.
- Pick the server you want and follow the installation prompt.
- Check your server's member list: the bot appears there once it's added.
Look after several servers? Step four is where to slow down. The prompt asks which server, and the bot goes only into the one you pick, so check the name before you carry on.
During the prompt you'll be asked to approve what the bot can do. Read the list and make sure it fits the job you're adding the bot for, rather than clicking straight past it.
Installing an app to your own Discord account
The same install link can install the app to your own account instead of a server. That's a different install type, and it suits a different need: an app you carry around with you rather than one that sits inside a community.
- Open the same install link in your browser.
- Choose the option to install it to your own account.
- Follow the prompt and approve the app.
What you get is narrower than a server install. That makes it a good choice when the bot is a personal helper you call on, not something the rest of a community needs to see or use.
Deciding which permissions to approve
On a server install, the permissions you approve during the prompt are what the bot works with. Go through them one at a time and ask whether the job you're adding the bot for needs each one.
A welcome bot and a moderation bot, for example, are there for different jobs. Approve what the job in front of you calls for, and question anything that seems to go beyond it.
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If someone else looks after the server day to day, tell them which permissions you approved, so nobody is surprised by what the bot can do later.
The catch: the wrong install type leaves you with half a bot
Here's the trap. Discord has two install types. A server install gives the bot its permissions and puts it in the member list. A user-account install means the app can only respond to commands.
So if you meant to add a moderation or welcome bot to your server and picked your own account by mistake, it won't behave like a server bot, because it isn't one.
A quick way to check which you've got: look at the member list. If the bot is there, it's a server install. If it isn't, the install didn't finish or it went to your account.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find a bot's install link?
Every Discord app or bot has its own install link; that's what you paste into your browser.
Does the bot need my approval to do anything?
Yes. Apps need approval from the person installing them before they can perform actions in Discord.
Can I change a bot's permissions after it's installed?
Yes. The permissions approved at install can be changed later in server settings or with permission overwrites, so you can add or trim access without reinstalling.
I installed a bot to my account by mistake. How do I fix it?
Run the install again from the start, and at the prompt pick Add to server instead of your account.
Should I use a server install or an account install?
Ask who the bot is for. If it's for everyone in the server, install it to the server; if it's only for you, the account install fits and you avoid handing it access to a whole community.
