Otto Guard guide
Generated from the bot itself, so it is always up to date
Otto Guard keeps a record of what happens, steps in when something goes wrong, and keeps backups of how your server is put together. Start with two things: a protection level and a log channel. The rest is already set by the level.
Protection levels
One choice sets everything below it. Change a single option under Advanced settings and the level becomes Custom.
- Light: Logs what matters, warns you about griefers and raids, but never steps in by itself.
- Standard: Stops griefers and raids by itself, flags brand-new accounts. Right for most servers.
- Strict: Steps in early: smaller thresholds, new accounts are muted for an hour, two warnings mean a timeout.
| Light | Standard | Strict | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Griefers | Warn me only | Warn me and remove the person's permissions | Warn me and remove the person's permissions |
| Griefing alarm at | 8 | 5 | 3 — strict |
| Raids | Warn me only | Warn me and lock the server | Warn me and lock the server |
| Raid: new members a minute | 20 — relaxed | 10 | 6 — strict |
| Hacked accounts | Warn me only | Mute them and remove those messages | Mute them and remove those messages |
| Hacked account muted for | 1 hour | 1 hour | 12 hours |
| Brand-new accounts | Don't check | Younger than 3 days | Younger than 7 days |
| Brand-new accounts then | Only log it | Only log it | Mute them for an hour |
| Timeout after | 5 warnings | 3 warnings | 2 warnings |
| Warning timeout | 1 hour | 1 hour | 6 hours |
| Backup after | 10 changes | 5 changes | 3 changes — careful |
| Day-to-day log (blue) | Off | On | On |
This table comes straight from Otto Guard, so it is always up to date.
Protection level
One choice sets everything below: what gets logged, backups, griefers, raids, brand-new accounts and warnings. Change any single option and it becomes Custom.
Light: logs and warns, never steps in. Standard: right for most servers. Strict: steps in early.
Moderation log
Where the log goes. Red lines can have a channel of their own, so one warning does not drown in two hundred ordinary ones.
Pick a channel only your staff can see.
Leave empty to keep everything in one channel.
Backups
A copy of how your server is put together: channels, ranks and permissions. Messages are not in it — Discord cannot give those back.
I keep the last ten. Switching this off does not delete the ones you already have.
Counts channels, ranks and permissions being changed — not people joining or leaving. Never more than one backup per ten minutes, and one a day if anything changed at all.
Tickets
A panel where members open a private ticket with the staff: pick a type, get a channel only you and the staff can see. Closing locks it and moves it to 🎫 Closed; the staff can reopen or delete it. Two ticket types are free; premium servers get up to ten.
I create the categories 🎫 Tickets and 🎫 Closed and post the panel.
Where the 'Open a ticket' panel goes. Empty: I look for #support, #tickets or #help, or make #support.
A channel is easy to find and has its own permissions. A thread keeps your channel list clean: tickets live as private threads under the panel channel and the staff sees them in the Threads list.
Hacked accounts
A hacked account posts the same thing in many channels within seconds. I notice that without reading anyone's messages. Staff accounts and the owner are never muted, only reported.
They get a DM telling them to secure their account; a moderator can lift it with /untimeout.
Raids
Many new members in one minute is usually a raid. Locking the server pauses invites and asks new people for a verified phone, until a moderator runs /lockdown off (or after the time you pick under Automatic lockdown).
Accounts younger than this get a yellow line in the log.
Griefing
Someone deleting channels, kicking people or stripping protection in quick succession. I count it per person. Never against the server owner, never against bots.
Removing permissions means taking away every rank I can reach. A false alarm locks out a moderator for as long as it takes you to give the ranks back, so pick what you can live with.
Deleting a channel or rank, kicking or banning counts 1. Pruning members or deleting an AutoMod rule counts more. Handing out powerful permissions counts too.
Automatic lockdown
When Guard may lock the whole server by itself. Raids are set under Raids. For everything here I only pause invites: members already in the server notice nothing. A moderator can always open it sooner with /lockdown off.
Two or more hacked accounts within 10 minutes usually means a scam wave. Pausing invites stops more accounts from coming in while you clean up.
When the griefing alarm goes off (see Griefing).
For raids, hacked accounts and griefers.
For example at night, when no moderator is awake. It opens again by itself at the end time.
Warnings
/warn gives a warning with a reason. After this many within 30 days, Guard times the member out.
What gets logged
Red is always logged: someone gaining power or security being removed. A log you can switch off is no longer proof.
Kicks, bans, timeouts, deleted channels, and permissions being handed out.
Who joined and left, new channels, new ranks. Switch this off if your log gets busy.
Commands
/banstaffmember: Whoreason: Whydelete_messages: Also delete their recent messages (No, Last hour, Last day, Last week)/casestaffnumber: The case number from the log/historystaffuser: Who/kickstaffmember: Whoreason: Why — this is what your team reads back later/lockstaffreason: Whychannel: Which channel (default: this one)/lockdownstaffstate: On or off (On, Off)reason: Why/purgestaffamount: How many of the last messages to look at (1–100)member: Only messages from this member/slowmodestaffdelay: Wait time between messages (Off, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours)channel: Which channel (default: this one)/timeoutstaffmember: Whoduration: How long (10 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 4 weeks)reason: Why/unbanstaffuser: Who (pick from the list, or paste their id)reason: Why/unlockstaffchannel: Which channel (default: this one)/untimeoutstaffmember: Whoreason: Why/warnstaffmember: Whoreason: Why — they see this in a DMSomething not clear? Ask us. About Otto Guard · All guides