Setting Up DiscordSRV

DiscordSRV is a plugin that links your Minecraft server to a Discord channel, so chat messages flow between the two. Players in Discord can see what people are saying in game, and Minecraft players see messages from Discord in their chat. It is a great way to keep your community connected, especially for staff who want to moderate from their phone.

This guide walks you through the full setup, including creating a Discord bot (the most complex part).

Installing the Plugin

The easiest way to install DiscordSRV is through the built-in Plugin Installer in the Game Panel:

Log in to the Game Panel
Select your server
In the left menu, click Game then Plugins
Search for DiscordSRV and click install
Restart your server

Alternatively, you can download DiscordSRV manually from SpigotMC and upload the .jar file to your plugins folder.

On first startup, DiscordSRV creates a plugins/DiscordSRV/ folder with its configuration files. The plugin will not actually do anything yet because it needs a Discord bot to connect to, which we will create next.

Creating a Discord Bot

DiscordSRV needs a Discord bot account to send and receive messages. You will create one using Discord's Developer Portal.

Step 1: Create a New Application

Go to discord.com/developers/applications
Click New Application in the top right
Give it a name (usually your server name works well)
Accept the terms and click Create

Step 2: Configure the Application

In the left sidebar, click Installation
Disable the User Install option
Set the Install Link to None

This prevents people from accidentally adding your bot as a personal app.

Step 3: Create the Bot

In the left sidebar, click Bot
Scroll down to Privileged Gateway Intents and enable:
- SERVER MEMBERS INTENT
- MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT
Scroll up and make sure Public Bot is unchecked (this stops other people from inviting your bot)
Click Reset Token and confirm
Copy the token that appears - you will need this in a moment

Important: The bot token is like a password for your bot. Do not share it with anyone, and do not paste it in Discord, screenshots, or public places. If someone gets your token, they can control your bot.

Step 4: Invite the Bot to Your Discord Server

On the application's General Information page, copy the Application ID
Go to scarsz.me/authorize and paste the Application ID
Select your Discord server from the dropdown
Click Authorize

Alternatively, you can build an invite link manually by replacing APPLICATION_ID in this URL with your application ID:

https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?scope=bot+applications.commands&client_id=APPLICATION_ID

Step 5: Give the Bot Permissions

The simplest setup is to give the bot the Administrator role in your Discord server. If you prefer more restricted permissions, the bot needs at least View Channel and Send Messages in the channel you want to link.

In your Discord server, go to Server Settings then Roles
Create a new role (for example, "Bot")
Give it the permissions you want - Administrator is the easiest
Go to Members, find the bot, and assign the new role to it

Getting Your Channel ID

DiscordSRV needs to know which Discord channel to use for the chat link. To get a channel ID, you first need to enable Developer Mode in Discord.

Open Discord and click the User Settings cog in the bottom-left
Go to Advanced
Turn on Developer Mode
Right-click the channel you want to use for the Minecraft chat link
Click Copy Channel ID

Keep this ID handy for the next step.

Configuring DiscordSRV

Now you need to tell DiscordSRV to use your bot and link it to your Discord channel.

Open plugins/DiscordSRV/config.yml in the File Manager
Find the BotToken line and paste your bot token between the quotes:

BotToken: "your-bot-token-here"

Find the Channels line and replace the placeholder channel ID with the one you copied:

Channels: {"global": "your-channel-id-here"}

The word global refers to your Minecraft chat. Leave it as global unless you are using a chat plugin with multiple channels.

Save the file
Restart your server (a full restart is required for the bot token to take effect)

Testing Your Setup

Once your server is back up:

Send a message in Minecraft chat - it should appear in your Discord channel
Send a message in the Discord channel - it should appear in Minecraft chat

If it works, congratulations - your server is now linked to Discord.

Optional: Console Channel

You can also stream your server console output to a Discord channel, which is useful for monitoring the server remotely.

Create a private channel in Discord that only staff can see (your console contains sensitive information)
Copy the channel ID
In plugins/DiscordSRV/config.yml, find DiscordConsoleChannelId
Paste the channel ID between the quotes
Save and run /discordsrv reload in game or the console

You can now see your server's console in Discord, and even run commands from it. Keep this channel private - anyone who can see it can potentially run commands on your server.

Reloading DiscordSRV

After making most config changes, you can reload DiscordSRV without restarting the server:

/discordsrv reload

However, changes to the bot token or Discord intents require a full server restart.

Common Issues

Discord Messages Are Not Appearing in Minecraft

The most common cause is that MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT is not enabled in the Discord Developer Portal. Go back to Step 3 of creating the bot and make sure it is turned on, then restart your server.

The Bot Shows as Offline

Check that you copied the full bot token correctly into config.yml
Make sure the token is wrapped in quotes
Make sure you restarted the server (not just reloaded) after setting the token
If the token has leaked or been regenerated, reset it in the Discord Developer Portal and update config.yml

Minecraft Messages Are Not Appearing in Discord

Check that the channel ID in config.yml matches the Discord channel you want to use
Make sure the bot has joined your Discord server and has permission to send messages in that channel
Try /discordsrv reload to apply config changes

The Bot Is in the Server but Cannot See the Channel

Check the channel's permission overrides in Discord. Even if the bot has Administrator on the server, channel-level overrides can still block it. Right-click the channel, go to Edit Channel then Permissions, and make sure the bot's role can view and send messages.

I Lost My Bot Token

Go back to the Discord Developer Portal, find your application, click Bot, and click Reset Token. Copy the new token into config.yml and restart your server. The old token will stop working.

Having Trouble Setting Up DiscordSRV?

Creating Discord bots and configuring channels can be tricky the first time. Feel free to reach out to us and we can help:

Support Ticket
Discord Server - use the /support command
Email: [email protected]