Counter channels
Show live member, bot, role, YouTube, Twitch and Bluesky counts as channel names that Buddy keeps up to date automatically.
On this page
- Before you start
- Set it up
- Member and bot counters
- Role counters
- Social media counters (YouTube, Twitch, Bluesky)
- Settings explained
- Member counters and role counters
- Social media counters
- Commands
- Examples
- Troubleshooting
- The counter channel isn't renaming
- My voice channel isn't in the list
- A social counter shows an error or never updates
- The number looks rounded
- Related
Counter channels turn channel names into live stats. Buddy renames a channel to something like
Members » 1.2k and keeps it current, so everyone can see how your server is growing right in
the channel list. You can count members, bots, members with a certain role, and social stats
like YouTube subscribers, Twitch followers and Bluesky followers.
Before you start#
- Use voice channels. Nobody can type in them, so they make tidy, read-only counters. The dashboard pickers on this page only list voice channels.
- The dashboard lists voice channels by category, with any voice channels that aren't in a category under No Category. Putting counters inside a category keeps them tidy.
- Many servers make a "📊 Server Stats" category at the top, with Connect denied for
@everyone. - If a channel or role is missing from the lists, run
/setupin Discord, choose Update Channels and Roles for Website, then refresh the dashboard.
Discord only lets a bot rename the same channel a couple of times every 10 minutes. Buddy batches member and role counter updates (they refresh about 5 minutes after joins, leaves and role changes) and social counters refresh every 5 minutes at the fastest, so counts can lag slightly behind.
Set it up#
Member and bot counters#
It's under Overview in the sidebar.
In Member counters, choose a Members count channel and/or a Bots count channel.
Click Save member counters. Buddy renames the channels within about a minute.
Role counters#
In Role counters, choose the role to count and the voice channel that should show the number.
Click Add. Add as many role counters as you like; each one appears in the table below.
Social media counters (YouTube, Twitch, Bluesky)#
| Platform | Stats you can show |
|---|---|
| YouTube | Subscribers, Total views, Video count |
| Twitch | Followers, Live viewers (0 while offline) |
| Bluesky | Followers |
In Social media counters, set Social counters to Enabled, choose a Default refresh interval (minutes) and Number format, then click Save social defaults.
In Linked accounts, pick the Platform, enter the Handle (see the table below), an optional Display name, and the Account ID (optional). Click Link account.
In Social counter channels, pick the Linked account, the Voice channel, the Stat (the list only shows stats that account's platform supports) and Refresh minutes. Optionally set a Custom prefix, an Icon / emoji and Shorten numbers (12.4K).
Click Add counter. The table shows the current value, status and last update for each counter.
The Account ID is the channel ID that starts with UC (on YouTube: ...more > Share
channel > Copy channel ID). With it, Buddy goes straight to the right channel. With only a
handle, Buddy searches YouTube for it and uses the first result, which can pick the wrong channel.
What to put in Handle:
| Platform | Handle | Account ID |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | The channel handle, e.g. @BuddyDiscord, or the channel URL. | The channel ID (UC...). Recommended. |
| Twitch | The channel name, or the twitch.tv/name link. | Leave empty (or the numeric Twitch user ID). |
| Bluesky | The full handle, e.g. name.bsky.social or your custom domain, or the bsky.app/profile/... link. | Leave empty (or the account's DID, did:plc:...). |
Counters set up earlier for Facebook, X, TikTok or Instagram keep running, but new ones can't be added for those platforms: they don't offer a free, reliable way to read follower counts.
Settings explained#
Member counters and role counters#
| Setting | What it does | Channel name looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Members count channel | Shows your total member count (including bots). | Members » 1.2k |
| Bots count channel | Shows how many bots are in the server. | Bots » 12 |
| Role counters | Shows how many members have the role. | VIP » 1,284 |
Member and bot counts are shortened (1.2k, 3.4m). Role counts show the full number with
separators. To stop a counter, set it back to Disabled (member counters) or delete it from
the table (role counters).
Social media counters#
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Social counters | Master switch. When Disabled, no social counter channels update. | Disabled |
| Default refresh interval (minutes) | How often counters refresh unless a counter sets its own. Minimum 5. | 15 |
| Number format | Short (12.4K) or Full (12,400). Used by counters that don't have Shorten numbers ticked. | Short |
| Platform | YouTube, Twitch or Bluesky. | YouTube |
| Handle | The account's handle or profile link. See the table above. | Empty |
| Display name | Used as the label in the channel name if you don't set a Custom prefix. | Empty |
| Account ID (optional) | YouTube: the channel ID (UC...), recommended. Twitch and Bluesky: leave empty. | Empty |
| Linked account | Which linked account the counter shows. | None |
| Voice channel | The channel to rename. Must be a voice channel. | None |
| Stat | What to show. Only the stats the linked account's platform supports are listed. | The first stat for that platform |
| Refresh minutes | How often this counter refreshes. Minimum 5. | 15 |
| Custom prefix | Text before the number. If empty, Buddy uses the Display name, then the handle. | Empty |
| Icon / emoji | An emoji at the very start of the name, like 📈 or 🔴. | Empty |
| Shorten numbers (12.4K) | Always shorten this counter's number. Untick it to use the server's Number format. | On |
A social counter's name is built as [icon] [prefix] » [number], for example
📈 YouTube Subs » 12.4k.
Use Edit on any row to change it, Pause / Resume to stop and start updates, and Delete to remove it. The Status summary above the linked accounts shows how many counters are healthy, paused or have issues.
Commands#
You can also manage social counters from Discord. /socialstats needs Manage Server.
Run /socialstats to open the social counters panel. Only you can see it, and every change saves
straight away. It lists your counters with their status, channel, platform, stat, handle and last
value or error.
- New counter opens a form for the platform, handle, voice channel, stat and refresh minutes. If the account isn't linked yet, Buddy links it for you.
- Pick a counter from the menu to edit it: the Running toggle (to pause or resume updates), Short numbers, the voice channel, the stat (only stats that platform supports, including Video count for YouTube), Prefix, icon & refresh, a preview of the channel name, its Linked account, and Delete counter.
- Linked accounts lists your accounts. Link account adds one (platform, handle, display name and account ID). Pick an account to edit its display name or account ID, or to Unlink account. You can't unlink an account while a counter uses it.
/socialstats counter:<number>opens one counter directly.
Counters must be voice channels, Buddy needs Manage Channels on the channel, each channel can only have one counter, and the refresh is at least 5 minutes. The panel warns you if Social counters is switched off on the dashboard. New counters can use YouTube, Twitch or Bluesky.
/socialstats [counter] Manage ServerOpen the social counters panel: voice channels that show social media stats.
Examples#
A stats category with five counters:
| Channel | Shows |
|---|---|
| Members count channel | Members » 1.2k |
| Bots count channel | Bots » 12 |
| Role counter for Server Booster | Server Booster » 14 |
YouTube Subscribers, prefix YouTube Subs, icon 📈 | 📈 YouTube Subs » 12.4k |
YouTube Views, prefix Total Views, icon 👀, Shorten numbers off, format Full | 👀 Total Views » 1,204,377 |
Twitch Live viewers, prefix Live now, icon 🔴 | 🔴 Live now » 87 |
Bluesky Followers, no prefix, display name Buddy | Buddy » 3.1k |
Troubleshooting#
The counter channel isn't renaming#
- Check Buddy has View Channel and Manage Channels on that channel. Missing permissions are recorded on the dashboard Error Log.
- Give it time: member and role counters update about 5 minutes after a change, and Discord limits how often a channel can be renamed.
- Make sure the channel still exists. If you deleted and recreated it, pick the new one and save.
My voice channel isn't in the list#
The pickers list voice channels by category (channels with no category are under No Category).
If a new channel is missing, run /setup and choose Update Channels and Roles for Website,
then refresh the dashboard.
A social counter shows an error or never updates#
- Make sure Social counters is set to Enabled and saved.
- Check the counter's Current column for the error message.
- "Twitch API not configured": Twitch counters need Buddy's Twitch connection to be set up. Contact support if you see this.
- "Twitch account not found" or "Bluesky account not found": check the handle. Bluesky handles need the full name, like
name.bsky.social. - Add the Account ID to a YouTube account (Edit > Account ID > Save) if Buddy can't find the channel from the handle.
- If the counter shows Channel missing or Needs permission, fix it (pick an existing voice channel, or give Buddy Manage Channels). Buddy keeps re-checking at the counter's normal refresh interval and goes back to Active on its own, so you don't need to delete and re-add it.
- A counter keeps its last good number when the platform can't be reached, so the channel never shows a made-up value.
The number looks rounded#
YouTube only shares rounded subscriber counts publicly (for example 1,230,000 instead of the exact number), so large channels won't show every single new subscriber.