Rotating server banners
Upload server banners and let Buddy rotate them on a schedule. Covers boost level, statuses, intervals, the watermark and banner commands.
On this page
- Before you start
- Set it up
- How rotation works
- Banner statuses
- Settings explained
- Commands
- Examples
- Premium
- Animated banners
- Troubleshooting
- The banner never changes
- My GIF banner is skipped
- A banner switched itself to Disabled
- "This server has reached max number of active banners"
- The dashboard settings are greyed out
- Part of my banner is cut off
- Related
The banner manager keeps your server looking fresh. Upload a set of banners, approve the ones you like, and Buddy swaps your server banner on a schedule. Members can even submit their own banners from Discord for staff to approve, which makes it a fun community feature.
Before you start#
Discord only allows server banners from Boost Level 2. Below that, Buddy can't change the banner. It sends a one-time notice to your community updates channel and the server owner, then starts rotating as soon as you reach Level 2.
The Banner manager page on the dashboard is a Premium feature. Without Premium, its settings are locked, but you can still upload and approve banners with the Discord commands below. They rotate every 4 hours and carry a small "Discord-Buddy.com" watermark. See Premium for what changes.
Image size: use 960x540 images (16:9). JPEG, PNG and GIF are supported, up to 10 MB. Other sizes are scaled to fill 960x540 and the edges are cropped evenly, so keep important details near the middle.
Set it up#
It's under Branding in the sidebar.
Scroll to Banner images, choose a file under Upload a banner and click Upload banner. New uploads start as Pending.
In the Banner images table, change the banner's Status to Active. Changes save as soon as you pick an option. Only Active banners rotate.
Every banner starts in the default playlist, which is the active one unless you change it. Only Active banners in the Active playlist rotate. Playlists are covered in Banner playlists and overlays.
In Rotation interval, pick how often to Change banner, then click Save interval.
When you activate your first banner from Discord, Buddy uploads it to your server right away. After that, it moves to the next Active banner at each interval.
If something isn't right, the Banner images card shows a warning, for example when none of your banners are Active, or the Active playlist has no Active banners in it. The How banners work card on the same page sums up the rules.
How rotation works#
- Buddy cycles through the Active banners in the Active playlist, in the order they were uploaded, then starts again from the first.
- Changes happen on the clock: every 4 hours on the hour, every hour on the hour, or every 15 or 30 minutes, depending on your interval.
- If the next banner would be the same as the one already showing (for example you only have one), Buddy leaves it alone.
- Run
/banner_statusto see the current banner, the rotation frequency and when the next change is due.
Banner statuses#
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Uploaded but not approved yet. Every new upload starts here. Never rotates. |
| Active | Approved and part of the rotation (if it's in the Active playlist). |
| Disabled | Kept, but skipped. Buddy also disables a banner automatically if its file is over Discord's 10 MB limit. |
Deleting a banner removes it and its image for good.
Settings explained#
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Change banner (Rotation interval) | How often Buddy switches to the next Active banner. Free servers rotate every 4 hours; Premium unlocks shorter intervals (see below). | Every 4 Hours |
| Playlist (Active playlist) | Which playlist rotates. | default |
| Status (Banner images) | Active, Disabled or Pending for each banner. | Pending |
| Playlist (Banner images) | Which playlist each banner belongs to. | default |
| Upload a banner | Upload a JPEG, PNG or GIF (up to 10 MB) from your computer. | — |
Commands#
/banner_status EveryoneView Banners Status.
/edit_banners [status] Manage MessagesEdit server banners by status.
Right-click a message → Apps → Get Images EveryoneRight-click a message → Apps → Get Images
/upload_banner <image_file> EveryoneSubmit a new server banner image.
/upload_banner_staff <image_file> Manage MessagesStaff submit a new server banner image.
/view_banners EveryoneView active server banners.
| Command | Who can use it | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
/upload_banner | Everyone | Members submit a banner. It arrives as Pending for staff to review. |
/upload_banner_staff | Manage Messages | Staff upload a banner and get Enable, Disable and Delete buttons right away. |
| Get Images | Everyone | Right-click a message, Apps > Get Images, to submit every image attached to it as a Pending banner. |
/view_banners | Everyone | Browse the Active banners. |
/edit_banners | Manage Messages | Review banners by status. Use Active, Disabled and Pending to switch lists, and Enable, Disable, Delete and Add To Playlist on each banner. |
/banner_status | Everyone | See the boost level, rotation frequency, next update, the selected playlist, banner counts, the current banner and tips for common setup problems. |
The paged viewers (/view_banners, /edit_banners) have first, previous, next and last buttons.
Only the person who ran the command can use its buttons.
Each member can have up to 3 banners waiting for review (25 per server), and must wait 30 seconds between submissions. Members with Manage Messages aren't limited. Images can be up to 10 MB and at most 4096×4096 pixels.
Make a #banner-submissions channel, tell members to use /upload_banner there, and review
new entries with /edit_banners status:Pending Banners. Click Enable on the winners.
Examples#
A seasonal setup:
- Upload five autumn banners with
/upload_banner_staffand click Enable on each. - Set Change banner to Every Hour.
- Run
/banner_status. It should show 5 active banners in the selected playlist and the time of the next update.
What /banner_status reports, roughly:
Premium#
| Free | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Banner manager on the dashboard | Locked | Full access |
| Active banners | 5 | More, depending on your plan |
| Fastest rotation | Every 4 hours | Every hour, 30 minutes or 15 minutes, depending on your plan |
| Discord-Buddy.com watermark | Added to banners | Removed on plans with Remove Discord Buddy watermark |
| Animated (GIF) banners | Not rotated | Rotated on plans without the watermark |
| Playlists | From Discord commands only | On the dashboard and in Discord |
| Overlays | Not included | Included, depending on your plan (see Banner playlists and overlays) |
The Banner manager page shows how many active banners you're using against your limit. Compare plans on the Premium page.
Uploading from Discord with /upload_banner stays available on free servers (only the dashboard uploader needs Premium). The one exception is a plan that includes no banners at all: there, uploads are refused with a private message.
Animated banners#
GIF banners are uploaded as they are (no cropping, watermark or overlay). Buddy only rotates them in when:
- your plan includes Remove Discord Buddy watermark, and
- Discord lets your server use animated banners (a Boost Level 3 perk).
Otherwise Buddy skips the GIF and moves on to the next banner, so rotation never gets stuck.
Troubleshooting#
The banner never changes#
- Your server must be Boost Level 2 or higher.
/banner_statustells you if it isn't. - At least one banner must be Active, and it must be in the Active playlist. New uploads are Pending.
- Buddy needs Manage Server.
- With only one Active banner, there's nothing to rotate to.
- Run
/banner_statusand read the Heads Up section; it points out the most common problems.
My GIF banner is skipped#
See Animated banners. GIFs need a plan without the watermark and a server that supports animated banners.
A banner switched itself to Disabled#
The file was 10 MB or larger, which Discord rejects. Upload a smaller version.
"This server has reached max number of active banners"#
You've hit your plan's active banner limit. Disable a banner you don't need, or upgrade.
The dashboard settings are greyed out#
The Banner manager page needs Premium on this server. If you already subscribed, open Account > Premium on the website and assign one of your Premium server slots to this server.
Part of my banner is cut off#
Banners are scaled to fill 960x540 and cropped evenly on the long side. Use a 16:9 image, or keep important details near the centre.