Custom commands
Canned replies your staff trigger with a short message command: someone types !transfer in Discord and the bot posts the answer you wrote once, on the dashboard.
Where: Dashboard → Content → Custom commands · In Discord: type the prefix and the command name, for example !transfer
#How it works
Every custom command has a name. A staff member types the prefix followed by that name (the name has to come straight after the prefix, with no space) and the bot posts your reply in the same channel.
Reply to a member's message first and the bot answers them directly, quoting their message and pinging them. Otherwise it replies to the command message without a ping. If a member is not allowed to use the command the bot adds a 🚫 reaction, and 🕒 means the cooldown has not finished yet.
#The prefix
The Prefix box at the top of the page sets the character or characters in front of every message command; it defaults to ! and can be 1-10 characters. It is shared with the bot's other message commands, and it is the same setting as Dashboard → Server setup → Core settings → Bot prefix and the /setprefix command. Press Save prefix to apply it: every command on the page updates to show the new prefix.
#Create a command
Fill in New command and press Add command. A server can hold up to 100 custom commands.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command | The name, typed as !name. Lowercase letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores, up to 32 characters. Must be unique across all names and aliases in the server. |
| Aliases | Up to 5 other names that run the same command, comma separated. |
| Description | Up to 120 characters. Only shown on this page, so staff know what the command is for. |
| Response | The reply text, required, up to 1,800 characters. |
| Who can use it | Staff, Specific roles, or Everyone (see below). |
| Roles | Shown when Specific roles is chosen. Pick up to 25 roles; at least one is required. |
| Only in | Limit the command to channels or categories (up to 25). Leave it empty to allow it everywhere; picking a category covers every channel inside it. |
| Reply style | Text for a normal message, or Embed for a card. |
| Embed title | Embed style only. Up to 100 characters. |
| Embed colour | Embed style only. A hex colour; blank uses Discord blurple. |
| Trigger message | Delete it removes the staff member's command message so only the reply stays, or Keep it. |
| Cooldown (seconds) | Per channel, 0-3600. 0 means no cooldown. |
A live Preview under the response box shows what Discord will render, with sample values filled into the placeholders.
#Placeholders
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
{user} | The person the reply is aimed at: the first mention in the command, otherwise the author of the message being replied to, otherwise whoever ran it. |
{author} | Whoever ran the command. |
{args} | Everything typed after the command name. |
{channel} | The current channel. |
{server} | The server name. |
{prefix} | The current prefix. |
#channel-name | A channel name written in the response becomes a clickable channel link. |
Your response text can mention users and roles normally. Text a member types after the command ({args}) has role mentions stripped out, so nobody can use a command to make the bot ping a role.
#Who can use a command
| Choice | Who it covers |
|---|---|
| Staff | Administrators, plus roles in a permission group. See Permissions. |
| Specific roles | Members with at least one of the roles you pick. Administrators and anyone with Manage Server can always use it too. |
| Everyone | Any member of the server. |
#Edit, disable, and delete
Every command in Your commands shows its name and aliases, who can use it, badges for embed style, channel limits, cooldown, and whether it is disabled, plus how many times it has been used and when it was last used.
- Edit opens the same fields inline; Save changes applies them.
- The switch on the right turns a command off without deleting it. A disabled command simply stops responding.
- Delete removes it for good, after a confirmation.
Changes take effect in Discord straight away; there is nothing to reload or re-register.
#How they differ from slash commands
Custom commands are message commands, not Discord slash commands, and the two behave differently:
| Custom commands | Slash commands | |
|---|---|---|
| Typed as | !name (your prefix) | /name, with Discord's autocomplete |
| Where they come from | Written by you on this page | Built into FiveUnity |
| Options | Free text after the name ({args}) | Structured options Discord validates |
| Who can use them | Staff / specific roles / everyone, set per command | Permission groups, set in Permissions |
| Channel limits and cooldowns | Set per command here | Set in Slash commands |
| Visible in the Discord menu | No: staff need to know the name | Yes |
If you want an answer members can discover for themselves, a documentation page is usually the better home; see Documentation.
#Tips
Give long commands a short alias (!transfer with the alias tf) so staff can answer quickly during a busy queue.
Turn on Delete the trigger message for commands used in public channels. The channel then shows only the answer, not the staff member's shortcut.
Set a small cooldown on commands that post large embeds so a single channel cannot be flooded with them.
#Related
- Embeds: one-off rich messages and reusable announcements.
- Documentation: full guides at your own FiveUnity link.
- Permissions: what counts as staff.
- Slash commands: channel limits and cooldowns for the built-in commands.