Setting Up Discord Server Archiving

Comma archives channels in a connected Discord server through a bot. Member-to-member direct messages and group DMs are not archived.

What is captured

• Messages in readable server channels, including announcement channels, forum posts, threads, and the text chat attached to voice or stage channels.
• Supported edit and deletion events received by Comma. The archived original stays intact, with changes recorded separately.
• Attachment bytes when the file is available and within the 100 MB capture limit. Files that cannot be fetched retain metadata and an attachment failure marker.
• Sender identity from Discord. Members can link their Discord identity, or a Comma administrator can map a Discord member to a team member.
• Available message history within the server’s configured import window.

Voice, video, stage audio, call recordings, member DMs, and group DMs are outside this connector’s capture scope. Linking a member’s identity does not grant access to their DMs.

Before you connect

You need a Comma team administrator and a Discord account with Manage Server on the server being connected. Comma must enable Discord for your team. In Configuration > Channels & capture, turn on Discord.

The bot needs View Channels, Read Message History, and Manage Threads. Discord channel overrides can still deny access to individual channels or private threads.

Invite the bot and connect the server

1. Sign in to Comma as a team administrator.
2. Open Integrations, choose Available, and click Connect on the Discord card.
3. Read the capture disclosure and click Connect Discord.
4. In Discord, check the application name shown by Comma, choose your server, and click Continue.
5. Review View Channels, Read Message History, and Manage Threads, then click Authorize. Complete any Discord security challenge yourself.
6. Return to Comma. Wait for the access check. Connected means the check succeeded; Connected with gaps lists channels that need attention.
7. Open Channels and Coverage to review which channels are readable, selected, or excluded, and whether history import has finished.

Start from Comma’s Discord card. The connection needs both Discord’s bot invitation and Comma’s callback to associate the server with your team.

When another person manages Discord

On the connection page, use Send to your Discord server admin to create an install link. Share it with the person who has Manage Server. The link expires after seven days and works once. They can finish the Discord authorization without receiving access to your Comma archive.

Check your first records

Post a synthetic message in a selected channel and a reply in a thread. Edit one message, delete another after its original appears in the archive, and upload a small test attachment. In Comma, verify the sender, original content, change markers, and the downloaded attachment’s contents.

Check Connection Health and the installation’s Coverage tab. Channel permissions, a removed bot, and capture interruptions need attention even when older messages remain visible.

Channels, threads, and history

Readable channels are selected when discovered. Exclude stops new archival for that channel; its threads follow the parent channel’s selection. Previously archived records stay in the archive. Raw gateway events for excluded channels can remain in Comma’s operational event ledger for up to 90 days.

Choose no history, the last 30 days, the last 90 days, the last year, or all available history. The default is all. You can widen the window later; narrowing it is refused. History import cannot recover content Discord has already deleted.

After a capture interruption, Comma attempts to resume the live stream. If Discord refuses the resume, history import can recover messages still available in Discord. Edits and deletions that occurred during the lost interval may remain missing. Coverage records that limitation.

Retention and legal holds

Deleting a source message or disconnecting Discord does not erase its captured original from Comma. Archived records remain subject to your organization’s configured retention and disposition controls. A backfill window controls import scope; it does not set the retention period.

Discord channel records belong to a server service account. A hold scoped only to an individual custodian does not cover those channel records. Agree the appropriate team-wide hold scope with Comma before relying on a Discord hold. A hold cannot recover content that was never captured.

Disconnect and reconnect

On the server’s installation page, click Disconnect Discord and confirm. Capture stops for your team and archived records remain. The bot leaves the server when no other Comma team still archives it; a failed leave is shown for retry.

Use Connect Discord again to reconnect the same server. Channel exclusions, the history window, and member mappings are retained. Recheck coverage after reconnecting.

Next steps

• Channels & capture settings - control which connectors your team can use.
• Get in touch - ask about retention or hold requirements.