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This page is for server owners and administrators setting up Hedwig for the first time.

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1. Invite the bot

Use the Invite Hedwig button in the navigation. The invite in this project requests the permissions used by Hedwig’s moderation, automation, and community systems. You can invite it with fewer permissions, but features will fail until the specific Discord permission is granted. After inviting it, verify:
  • Hedwig can view the channels where it will be used.
  • Hedwig can send messages and embeds.
  • Its role is above roles it needs to assign or moderate.
  • It can connect to and speak in music voice channels.
See Permissions for the hierarchy rules that matter.

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2. Configure a prefix

Slash commands do not depend on a prefix. Prefix message commands do:
The prefix command accepts the value as a message argument, not as a Discord slash option. Use a short, memorable prefix and avoid one that members commonly type in normal conversation. Server-wide set and remove require Administrator; self is available to an individual member.

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3. Choose dedicated channels

Create private staff channels for setup and public channels for member-facing systems. A typical layout looks like this:

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4. Configure protection

Run the setup commands in this order:
logging setup offers an automatic mode that creates a private Hedwig Logs category with message, member, moderation, voice, and server channels. It can also be configured one channel at a time. In both modes, the bot creates webhooks when it has Manage Webhooks. Start automod with only the modules your server needs. Add trusted users, channels, or roles to allowlists only after reviewing who genuinely needs an exception. Antinuke’s enable action creates or updates the Hedwig's Antinuke bypass role; move that role above the roles it must protect if the setup response asks you to.

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5. Configure your member experience

Choose only the systems your server will maintain. Every enabled system should have an owner, a destination channel, and a test plan.
Use /setprofile to customize Hedwig’s server-specific profile, including its avatar, banner, bio, and name style where available. These settings apply only to the current server, so each server can give Hedwig its own identity without changing how it appears elsewhere.
Use /greet setup, /greet test, and /greet variables. Farewell messages use the matching /farewell commands.
Use /ticket setup, add categories with /category add, add support roles with /supportrole add, and publish the panel with /ticket panelsend.
Use /selfrole setup to create a panel, then /selfrole config to edit it later.
Use /leveling setup to choose the level-up channel. Use /leveling config to add or remove roles awarded at specific levels, /leveling style for the card style, and ,leveling rank to check the result.

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6. Test and maintain

Keep a private test channel and test changes there first. Useful health checks include:
External-service commands—such as music resolution, AI, image search, social feeds, and IP/domain lookups—can be affected by provider availability or rate limits.