Permissions

Banwatch needs the right Discord permissions to do its job, and the people who configure it need the right permissions too. This page covers both.

Bot permissions

When you invite Banwatch it requests a set of permissions. You can invite it here:

https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id=1047697525349564436

The bot uses two OAuth2 scopes:

• bot — lets Banwatch join your server and act as a member.
• applications.commands — lets Banwatch register its / slash commands.

What each permission is for

Permission	Why Banwatch needs it
Ban Members	Core function. Without it Banwatch cannot read your server's ban list, ban a user, or apply network bans. If this is missing the bot effectively cannot work.
Kick Members	Used by /tools kick and by automated warning punishments that kick.
Manage Server	Required to set the bot up, read server information, and access the server's invites.
Create Instant Invite	Lets Banwatch generate an invite back to the server a user was banned from, so staff can review context.
Send Messages	Required to post ban notifications and moderation logs into your mod channel.
Embed Links / Use Embedded Activities	Required to send the rich embeds Banwatch uses for ban info, lookups, and onboarding.
Attach Files	Used to attach evidence and to deliver exports (e.g. /tools export_bans).
Manage Messages	Used by /utility clean_messages to tidy Banwatch's own messages from a channel.
View Audit Log	Lets Banwatch attribute bans/unbans to the moderator who performed them.
Read Messages / View Channel	Required in the mod channel so the bot can operate there.

Banwatch will never automatically ban your members without you being informed. The Ban Members permission is used to read bans and to act only when you or your staff choose to.

Checking the bot's permissions

Run /config permissioncheck in your server. Banwatch replies with a checklist (✅ / ❌) of every permission above, plus whether it can post in your configured mod channel. Run this first whenever something isn't working before contacting support.

If a permission shows ❌:

1. Go to Server Settings → Roles → Banwatch and enable the missing permission, or
2. Check channel-level permission overrides on your mod channel — a channel override can block the bot even when the role grants the permission.

Who can configure Banwatch (user permissions)

Configuration and moderation commands are gated by Discord permissions on the person running them:

Command area	Permission the user needs
/config change, /config appeals, /config visibility	Manage Server
/invite (set channel / regenerate)	Manage Server
/tools ban, /tools mass_ban, /tools reban	Ban Members
/tools unban, /tools mass_unban	Ban Members
/tools kick	Kick Members
/warnings warn, /warnings manage, /warnings punishments	Moderation permissions (Kick/Ban as appropriate)
/config permissioncheck, /lookup, /help, /support	No special permission
/dev ..., /staff ...	Bot owner / Banwatch staff only — not available to regular servers

If you try a command without the required permission, Discord (or the bot) will refuse it. Give yourself or your moderators the appropriate role permission to use it.

First-time setup checklist

1. Invite Banwatch with the link above and approve the requested permissions.
2. Run /config permissioncheck and resolve any ❌.
3. Set your mod channel: /config change → option Mod Channel → pick the channel. Banwatch will import your existing bans on first setup (expect a burst of messages).
4. (Optional) Enable appeals with /config appeals, set an invite channel with /invite set_channel, and configure warning punishments with /warnings punishments.
5. You're done — Banwatch runs in the background and will alert you when a flagged user joins.