How to set up a Discord welcome message, with or without a bot

What Discord does without a bot

In Server Settings, Overview, you pick a system messages channel and tick the random welcome message on join. It works, but you choose neither the text nor the layout

• The text is picked at random from a list Discord wrote
• No goodbye message when someone leaves
• No role given on join: you need Discord’s Onboarding or a bot
• On a Community server, Onboarding and the Server Guide introduce your channels, but they post nothing in a channel

Setting up a Discord welcome bot with Kotbo

Everything lives on dash.kotbo.fr, in the Welcome and goodbyes page. There is no command to type, and the Discord preview updates as you write

1. 1

   Open the Welcome tab

   Turn the welcome message on and pick the channel, usually #welcome or #arrivals

2. 2

   Write your text

   Start from a template or from scratch, and drop in variables like {user} to mention the newcomer or {memberCount} for the member count

3. 3

   Add the card if you like

   Tick the welcome image: Kotbo draws a banner with the member’s avatar, username and join number on the server

4. 4

   Give a role on join

   In the Auto roles tab, pick the role every new member gets. Kotbo’s role must sit above it in the role list, or Discord refuses

5. 5

   Set up goodbyes and boosts

   The Goodbyes and Boosts tabs work the same way: a channel, a text, and for boosts an optional thank-you card

Welcome message variables

Each tag is replaced when the message is sent. They exist in English and French, so {user} and {utilisateur} give the same result

• {user}

  Mentions the new member, who gets pinged

• {username}

  The Discord account name, without a mention

• {displayName}

  The nickname shown on your server

• {server}

  The server name

• {memberCount}

  The total member count, handy for a “you’re our 500th member” line

• {boostCount}

  The current boost count, mostly useful in the boost message

Going further: the welcome thread

A message in #welcome scrolls away fast on a busy server. The Welcome thread tab opens a thread just for the newcomer, public or private, and talks to them the way a mod would. The thread name is set with variables too, {username} for example

• A sequence of messages sent in order, with a delay and the “is typing” indicator before each
• A name and avatar of your choice for those messages, adjustable per message
• A final menu as buttons or a dropdown: show a message such as the rules, open a channel or give a role
• Menu roles can be exclusive: picking one removes the others in the same group
• Inactive threads can be deleted after a delay so the channel stays clean

Discord autorole on join, and beyond

The join role is the common one, but the Auto roles tab has two more, which follow the member’s Discord profile

• Join Auto-Role

  Given as soon as the member joins, even with the welcome message turned off

• Server Tag Auto-Role

  Given to members who display your server’s official tag next to their name, removed when they take it off

• Presence Keyword Auto-Role

  Looks for a keyword, such as your invite link, in the member’s custom status or activity. Discord doesn’t expose the About Me section to bots

• Rescan members

  The two profile auto roles only see changes made after they’re turned on: the rescan button catches up with existing members

Testing two welcome messages

The A/B tests tab sends each newcomer a random version of your welcome, with a different text, with or without the card, with or without the thread. Kotbo then compares who is still there on day 1, 7 and 30, and who spoke in their first week. When a version wins, you apply it to everyone from the same tab