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Triggers — No-Code If-Then Automation for Your Group

Build if-then automations with a click: match a condition, run an action — auto-replies, auto-deletes, warnings, mutes, kicks and escalations, with no code.

8 min read
In short

Triggers are point-and-click if-then rules: a match condition plus an action. They run before the anti-spam engine, so your own rules always take priority. Match by keyword, command, mention, exact text, contains or regex; act with reply, delete, warn, mute, ban or kick; layer on extra conditions like new member, has links, is forward or message count; and add options such as inline buttons, admin notification, channel logging, a mute duration and delete-the-original. No code, no developer.

Active Triggers — your keyword-to-action automations.

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1What triggers are

A trigger is a rule you assemble in the dashboard: when a condition is met, do an action. It is the no-code way to automate the moderation and the replies your community needs, without a developer.

Triggers run before the anti-spam engine — the owner's rules always take priority. That means a trigger can wave a message through or act on it before any automatic check touches it, which makes triggers the right tool for hard overrides and for automated responses, not just moderation.

Built-in help for writing triggers.

2Match modes — when a trigger fires

You pick how the trigger recognises a message:

  • all — any message (use with conditions to build behaviour like announcements-only).
  • commands — only slash commands (/...).
  • mentions — only messages that mention someone (@...).
  • exact — the text matches exactly.
  • contains — the text contains a phrase.
  • regex — a regular expression, for full pattern control.

3Actions — what a trigger does

When a trigger fires it runs one primary action:

  • reply — post a response, optionally with inline buttons and placeholders.
  • delete — remove the message.
  • warn — issue a warning that counts toward the group's warning threshold.
  • mute — mute the sender for a set duration.
  • ban — ban the sender.
  • kick — remove the sender without a permanent ban, so they can rejoin.

4Extra options on any trigger

On top of the primary action, a trigger can carry these options — so a single trigger can, for example, reply with buttons, delete the original and ping admins all at once:

  • Delete the original — remove the triggering message even when the primary action is a reply.
  • Notify admins — alert the admin team when the trigger fires.
  • Log the action — record the trigger firing to a channel.
  • Mute duration — how long a mute action lasts, in seconds.
  • Inline buttons — attach clickable buttons to a reply (a docs link, a channel map, a rules button).
  • Placeholders — {username}, {user_id}, {group_id} and {message_id} are substituted into the reply text.

5Extra conditions

You can combine additional conditions to make a trigger precise. Stack them to describe exactly the situation you want — for example new member AND has links:

  • New member only — the author is a newcomer.
  • Message count range — the author's total message count is above or below a threshold.
  • Content type — text, photo, video, document and so on.
  • Has media / has links — the message does or does not contain each.
  • Is forward / is reply — whether the message is a forward or a reply.
  • From a bot — whether the sender is a bot.

6Ready-made recipes

Some patterns groups build most often:

  • FAQ auto-answer — contains how do I set up → reply with the instructions and a docs button.
  • Competitor shield — contains a rival's domain or brand → delete plus warn.
  • New-member link guard — new member AND has links → delete plus mute.
  • Welcome navigator — contains where do I start → reply with a channel map and buttons.
  • Escalate to admins — contains urgent or payment not working → reply plus notify admins.
  • Announcements-only — mode all with a not-admin condition → delete, so only admin posts remain.

7Triggers, custom rules and order of play

Triggers and custom rules overlap but sit at different points. Triggers run first, before the anti-spam engine, and are best for automated responses and hard overrides. Custom rules run as part of the anti-spam scoring and are best for adding weight to a spam decision.

Because triggers run first, a trigger that clears or acts on a message settles it before any automatic check — so use triggers when you need certainty about what happens, and rules when you want to contribute to the engine's judgement.

8Best practices and common mistakes

Keep triggers reliable with a few habits:

  • Give sharper triggers a higher priority so a broad one does not fire first.
  • Test regex triggers on real phrases; contains is often enough and easier to reason about.
  • Be careful with all mode — pair it with a condition, or it will act on every message.
  • Remember triggers run before the engine, so an overly broad delete trigger can remove good messages the engine would have allowed.
  • Use the journal to see which trigger fired on a given message.
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