DOC.01
Getting started
- Add Sift. Use the invite link. It asks only for the permissions it uses: managing messages, timeouts, kicks, bans, channels and roles for lockdown and appeal tickets, webhooks for lorem mode, nicknames for name checks, threads, the audit log for anti-nuke, invites for appeals, and Manage Server. It never asks for Administrator.
- Run
/setup. The server owner picks a log channel for case cards and a mod role. Everything else has a sensible default. - Move Sift's role up. In Server Settings → Roles, drag Sift above the roles it should be able to time out or ban. Discord doesn't let a bot act on anyone ranked above it.
- Leave it running. After a day or two,
/datashows what it caught and how often your mods agreed.
Optional channels in /setup: an event log (edits, deletes, joins, role changes), an urgent channel that pings your mod role for the most serious cases, and a private channel for members who may need support.
DOC.02
What Sift catches
Hover a topic for a quick summary; click to open its guide. Each page covers what triggers it, the default action (block, review, or support), and how to tune it in /settings. The catching index lists the same topics with layer notes.
Instant rules
- Block + strikeCustom blocklistPhrases your mods add in /settings — matched on word boundaries with normalization for spaced-out and leetspeak spelling.
- Block + strikeSlur fast pathKnown slur patterns are removed instantly, before a smart check.
- Block + strikeScam and lookalike linksTyposquat domains and known bait hosts are blocked without using a smart check.
- Block + strikeFloods, repeats, and mass mentionsRate limits and pattern rules for fast posting, duplicate text, @everyone spam, and the same post in many channels.
- ReviewOther servers' invite linksInvites to Discord servers you do not own are sent to review; your own server's invites are allowed.
Smart check
- Block at default thresholdHarassment and personal attacksBullying, demeaning someone, or targeting a person — with context from recent messages when it matters.
- Block at default thresholdHate speechSlurs and contempt toward protected groups, including phrasing the instant slur list might miss.
- Review by defaultSexual content (adults)Explicit sexual content between adults — usually flagged for review first, not instant deletion.
- Block at default thresholdViolence and threatsThreats or glorification of violence against people.
- Review by defaultSpam, ads, and scams (smart check)Unsolicited ads, scams, and phishing wording — including leetspeak and spacing tricks the instant rules might miss.
- Review; urgent page when severeDoxxing and private infoSharing someone else's phone, address, or private contact info without consent — with context so sharing your own number is not treated as doxxing.
- Block at default thresholdIllegal goods and servicesSelling or facilitating drugs, weapons, stolen goods, counterfeits, and similar.
- Block at default thresholdMalicious links (smart check)Phishing and malware promotion when the link or wording is suspicious but not on the instant host list.
- Review by defaultImpersonationPretending to be staff, another user, or an official account to deceive people.
- Block at default thresholdExtremism and terrorismPromotion, glorification, or recruitment for terrorism or hate groups.
- VariesFilter evasionSpaced-out letters, lookalike characters, and words split across messages — joined before scoring.
Always on
- Block; urgent page when severeChild safetyAlways evaluated — grooming, exploitation, or sexual content involving minors. Cannot be turned off in /settings.
- Support DM; page mods when urgentSelf-harm and suicide riskAlways evaluated — from passive hopelessness to immediate danger, with hyperbole filtering and private support DMs.
More
- Block or review (your choice)Custom rules (Sift Max)Up to ten plain-English rules per server — block or review when broken.
- Case for modsMember reports/report and Report message — human queue items, not automatic bans.
- Block or warnNames and thread titlesNicknames, display names, and thread titles — blocklist, slurs, and staff-impersonation patterns.
- Alert / stop abuseRaids, mass deletes, and anti-nukeJoin bursts, channel wipes, and mod-action abuse — alerts and automatic lockdown or rollback.
DOC.03
Running Sift guides
Same hover previews as above — full pages for setup, mod workflow, raids, appeals, tuning, and Max. For moderation categories and triggers, use What Sift catches; use these for operating the bot day to day. Open the guides index.
Setup
- Day oneInvite and first setupAdd Sift with the right permissions, run /setup, and confirm case cards land in the channel you picked.
- SetupRole order and permissionsDiscord only lets Sift act on members below its role — and anti-nuke needs to see audit events.
- SetupLog, urgent, and support channelsSeparate everyday cases from pages that need immediate eyes, and a private lane for member support.
Moderation workflow
- PipelineHow the pipeline worksInstant rules first, then smart checks with context — pass, review, or block.
- ModsCase cards and /modpanelWhat’s on a card, how to approve or escalate, and working the queue one case at a time.
- EscalationStrikes and escalationDefault timeout, kick, and ban ladder; changing points; expiry and rejoin behavior.
- ModsReading /dataCounts, overturn rate, and when to change thresholds instead of arguing in the log.
Server safety
- ServerRaid alerts and lockdownJoin bursts, optional auto-lockdown, and unlocking the server cleanly.
- ServerAnti-nuke and mass deletesStopping channel wipes, role deletes, and ban sprees — including from compromised mod accounts.
Members
- MembersAppeal ticketsDM /appeal, private ticket channels, restricted rejoin for bans, approve or reject.
- MembersMember reports workflow/report, Report message, and how reports differ from automatic flags.
Tuning
- SettingsThresholds and categoriesReview vs action scores, turning categories off, and what always stays on.
- SettingsAllowlist, exemptions, and lorem modeChannels and roles Sift ignores, vouched phrases, and placeholder text instead of deletes.
Sift Max
- Sift MaxServer networksLink up to five owned servers — shared bans, merged blocklists, raid warnings.
- Sift MaxCustom rules and export/rules in plain English, weekly reports, and CSV from /data.
DOC.04
How Sift decides
Every message goes through two layers.
1. Instant rules
Lookalike and known scam links, spam floods, the same link posted across channels, and your own blocklist are handled on the spot. These never use a smart check, so they keep working when your monthly checks run out.
2. The smart check
Everything else is read together with the few messages before it, so friendly trash talk isn't treated like a real attack. Spaced-out letters, lookalike characters and words split across several messages are joined back up first. The result is one of three outcomes:
- Pass. Nothing happens and the message isn't stored.
- Review. Sift isn't sure. The message stays up and a case card goes to your log channel.
- Block. Clearly over the line. The message is deleted, the member gets a strike, and a case is logged.
Members who seem to be in a bad place are never answered in public. Your mods get a private heads-up in the support channel instead.
DOC.05
Cases and the mod panel
Each case card shows the message, why it was flagged, and the member's recent history, with buttons to approve, warn, time out or ban. Use /modpanel to work through open cases one at a time, or /cases to search old ones.
Approving a case tells Sift it got that one wrong. The overturn rate in /data is the quickest way to see whether your thresholds need adjusting.
DOC.06
Strikes
Blocked messages add strike points. By default, 3 points is a timeout, 14 a kick and 20 a ban, and points expire after 30 days. Change the points, the steps or the expiry in /settings. Set a step to 0 to skip it, or all three to handle everything by hand.
Leaving and rejoining doesn't clear a timeout: Sift puts it back when they return.
DOC.07
Raids and mass deletes
When lots of accounts join in a short window (6 in 30 seconds by default), your mods get an alert that lists the new accounts. Turn on auto-lockdown in /settings and Sift also locks every text channel. /lockdown locked:false scope:server puts every channel back exactly as it was.
If anyone other than the owner deletes channels or roles, or bans members, in a rapid burst, Sift stops them, even if they have the permissions to do it.
DOC.08
Appeals
A member who was banned, kicked or timed out can DM Sift and run /appeal. That opens a private ticket channel with your team. Banned members are let back in to a restricted role while the appeal is reviewed, so they can only see their ticket.
Approving lifts the action. Rejecting ends the ticket, and they have to wait before appealing again.
DOC.09
Tuning it for your server
- Too many flags? Raise the review threshold in
/settings, or add the phrase your server keeps using to the allowlist. - Missing things? Lower the thresholds, or add exact phrases to the blocklist for instant deletes.
- Quiet channels. Exempt channels and roles (a staff channel, a bot-command channel) so Sift ignores them.
- Member reports. Members can run
/report, or use Apps > Report message on a message. Reports land in your log channel as a case card with a Dismiss button. They never count against Sift's accuracy. - Categories. Switch individual categories off. Child safety and member-support checks always stay on.
- Lorem mode. Turn it on under Hazard categories in
/settingsand a removed message is swapped for lorem ipsum under the member's name, so the chat still makes sense. Needs the Manage Webhooks permission. Spam and scam links are still just deleted.
DOC.10
Sift Max features
Your own rules
/rules takes a rule in plain English, like "No asking for game account logins". Choose whether a break is flagged for review or deleted with a strike. Up to 10 rules per server.
Server network
Link up to 5 servers you own with /network: start one in your main server, then join it from the others with its code. A ban or kick in any of them, hub or not, is copied to the rest after a short delay, blocklists merge, and a raid on one warns the others. A burst of bans or kicks isn't copied, in case an admin account has been taken over. Unbanning someone where the ban started lifts the copies too.
Deeper context
When a message looks like a problem, re-reads the last 25 messages instead of 6, and double-checks anything flagged or close to the line before acting.
Weekly report and export
A summary lands in your log channel every Monday with a CSV of the week's cases. The Export button in /data downloads any period on demand.
DOC.11
Command reference
Setup
/setupOpens the setup panel: log channels, mod role and the basics.
Server owner/settingsEvery setting in one panel: categories, thresholds, strikes, raid protection, exemptions.
Manage ServerReviewing
/modpanelStep through open cases one at a time.
Mods/casesBrowse cases with filters for status, category, member and time. Look one up by id, or delete the history.
Mods/dataWhat was caught, what was done and how often mods overturned Sift. Weekly report and CSV export (Max) live here too.
Mods/appealsBrowse appeals, optionally by status.
ModsActions
/warn user reasonWarn a member. They get a DM and a case is logged.
Mods/timeout user durationTime out for 60 seconds up to a week.
Mods/untimeout userLift a timeout early.
Mods/kick userKick a member, with a DM and a case.
Kick Members/ban userBan anyone by id, even if they've left. Can also clear their recent messages.
Ban Members/unban userUnban by id.
Ban Members/purge countBulk-delete up to 100 recent messages in this channel.
Manage Messages/slowmode secondsSet slowmode here. 0 turns it off.
Manage Channels/lockdown locked scopeLock or unlock this channel, or every channel.
Manage ChannelsMembers
/report user reasonSend a member to your mods. Right-click a message > Apps > Report message does the same for one message.
Everyone/warningsYour own history. Mods can pick anyone.
Everyone/strikes userA member's strike points, with a button to reset them.
Mods/appealAppeal a ban, kick or timeout. Run it in a DM with Sift.
Everyone/verifyCheck or finish verification.
EveryonePlans
/premiumThis server's plan and smart checks used this month.
Manage Server/rulesAdd or remove your own plain-English rules. Max.
Manage Server/networkStart, join or leave a network of servers you own. Max.
Server owner