Banner playlists and overlays
Group banners into playlists like seasonal sets and switch between them, and draw a transparent logo overlay on top of every rotating banner.
On this page
- Before you start
- How playlists work
- Set up a playlist on the dashboard
- Set up a playlist from Discord
- The playlist panel
- Commands
- Overlays
- How overlays are applied
- Overlay statuses
- Examples
- Premium
- Troubleshooting
- I switched playlists and nothing rotates
- "Playlist ... does not exist yet"
- "Playlist limit reached"
- "Banner overlays are not included in this server's plan"
- The overlay doesn't show
- "You need the Manage Messages permission to change banners, icons or playlists"
- Related
Once your rotating banners are working, playlists and overlays take them further. Playlists let you keep separate sets, like a summer set, a Halloween set and your everyday set, and switch which one rotates in a click. Overlays are transparent images, such as your logo or server name, that Buddy draws on top of every banner automatically.
Before you start#
- Playlists on the dashboard need Premium. The
/rotation_playlistcommand and the playlist buttons in Discord work without it. - Overlays need Premium and a plan that includes them. Without that, overlays can't be enabled and are skipped.
Playlists and overlays work on top of the basics: a banner only rotates if it's Active and in the Active playlist. If you haven't set that up yet, start with Banners.
How playlists work#
- Every banner belongs to exactly one playlist. New uploads go into default.
- Only one playlist is active at a time. Rotation uses the Active banners in that playlist and ignores everything else.
- You can have up to 10 playlists, including default.
- Names are tidied up automatically: lowercase, spaces become dashes, and only letters, numbers,
_and-are kept.Summer 2026!becomessummer-2026. - The default playlist can't be renamed or deleted. Deleting another playlist moves its banners back to default.
Set up a playlist on the dashboard#
It's under Branding in the sidebar.
In Playlists, type a name under New playlist (up to 32 characters) and click Create playlist.
In Banner images, change each banner's Playlist to the new one. Make sure their Status is Active.
In Active playlist, choose it under Playlist and click Save active playlist.
Use the actions in the Playlists table to rename a playlist (Rename playlist, then Save changes) or delete it. If the Active playlist has no Active banners, the Banner images card warns you that nothing will rotate.
Set up a playlist from Discord#
Run /edit_banners and page to the banner you want.
Pick an existing playlist from the menu, or choose Create New Playlist and enter a Playlist name (for example april-2026).
Run /rotation_playlist and pick it under Active playlist, or click Change Playlist under /banner_status and pick it from the menu.
The playlist panel#
Run /rotation_playlist (add type:Icons for icons) to open a private panel:
- Every playlist is listed with how many images it has and how many are Active. The one rotating now is marked, and the panel warns you when it has no Active images.
- Active playlist switches which playlist rotates.
- Pick an image from the menu to see it, then choose another playlist under Playlist, or press Move to a new playlist and type a name (for example
april-2026) to create one. - Show icons / Show banners switches between the two.
Moving an image never changes its status: a Pending image stays Pending.
Commands#
/rotation_playlist [type] Manage MessagesChoose which playlist rotates and move banners or icons between playlists.
typeis Banners (the default) or Icons, so the same command manages icon playlists too.- To take an image out of a custom playlist, move it back to default.
- You can have up to 10 playlists for banners and 10 for icons, including default.
Overlays#
An overlay is an image Buddy draws on top of each banner before uploading it, like a logo, your server name or a seasonal frame. You design one overlay and every banner gets it.
Design it at 960x540 (16:9) with a transparent background, so the banner shows through around your logo.
Run /upload_banner_overlay and attach the file. It arrives as Pending.
Run /edit_banner_overlays status:Pending Banners, find your overlay and click Enable.
The overlay is added to the next banner Buddy uploads.
/edit_banner_overlays <status> Manage MessagesEdit server banner overlays by status.
/upload_banner_overlay <image_file> Manage MessagesStaff submit a new server banner image overlay.
How overlays are applied#
- The overlay is scaled to fit inside the 960x540 banner without stretching, and centred.
- It works on PNG and JPG banners (a PNG overlay on a JPG banner is fine).
- Overlays are not drawn on animated GIF banners; those are uploaded as they are.
- If you have more than one Active overlay, Buddy uses the next one at each rotation, cycling through them.
- Overlays need at least one Active banner underneath. On their own they never show.
- If an overlay's file goes missing, Buddy removes it and keeps rotating the banners without it.
Overlay statuses#
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Uploaded but not enabled yet. |
| Active | Drawn on banners. Counts toward your plan's overlay limit. |
| Disabled | Kept but not used. |
Examples#
A holiday switch-over. Keep your everyday banners in default and make a winter
playlist with five snowy banners. On December 1st, run /rotation_playlist and set
Active playlist to winter. In January, set it back to default.
A consistent brand. Upload a transparent PNG of your server logo in the bottom-left corner as an overlay. Every banner in every playlist now carries your logo, so community-submitted banners still look on-brand.
Premium#
| Free | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Playlists on the dashboard | Locked | Yes |
| Playlists from Discord | Yes | Yes |
| Banner overlays | Not included | Included, with a limit that depends on your plan |
See Premium to compare plans.
Troubleshooting#
I switched playlists and nothing rotates#
The new Active playlist has no Active banners. Open Banner images on the dashboard (or
/edit_banners) and set some banners in that playlist to Active. /banner_status shows
Active Banners In Selected Playlist, which must be at least 1.
"Playlist ... does not exist yet"#
set_active needs a playlist with at least one image. Assign a banner to it first.
"Playlist limit reached"#
You can have 10 playlists, including default. Delete one you don't use.
"Banner overlays are not included in this server's plan"#
Your plan doesn't include overlays, or the server doesn't have Premium. Compare plans on the Premium page.
The overlay doesn't show#
- Check it's Active in
/edit_banner_overlays. - The server needs Premium; overlays are skipped without it.
/banner_statuswarns you about this. - The banner underneath may be a GIF. Overlays aren't drawn on GIFs.
- It appears with the next rotation, not instantly.
"You need the Manage Messages permission to change banners, icons or playlists"#
Ask an admin to give your role Manage Messages, or make the change on the dashboard.