My Discord Server Was Nuked: What to Do in the First 30 Minutes

The first 30 minutes: Order of operations

1. Revoke permissions. Go to Server Settings → Members and remove the authorized roles from the account performing the action. If this is a bot, kick the bot from the server.
2. Verify who did it. Go to Server Settings → Audit Log to see the recent deletion actions and the account responsible for them.
3. Close backdoors. Delete any unfamiliar webhooks and bots under Integrations.
4. Check bans. Unban any members who were wrongfully banned.
5. Secure the account. Get in touch with the owner of the compromised account.
6. Rebuild and announce. Once the attack has stopped, set up channels and roles, and inform your community.

1. Revoking permissions

The primary goal is to stop the damage, not to find the culprit. Removing the account's roles is a faster and reversible step compared to banning the account. If the account belongs to a friend and their password was stolen, banning them penalizes them as well.

To do this, your role must be higher than that account's role. On Discord, a role can only manage members positioned below it. If the attacker's role is higher than yours, only the server owner can do this.

If the action is being performed by a bot, the bot's token may have been leaked. Kicking the bot stops the attack immediately; notify the bot's owner as well.

2. Reading the Audit Log

The Audit Log records every deletion, ban, role change, and webhook creation, along with the account that performed the action. You can filter by user and action type. You will also use the log when rebuilding after the incident: the names of deleted channels and roles appear here.

If multiple accounts are performing actions, look for their common point: the same role, a bot added on the same day, or permission granted by the same person.

3. Webhooks, bots, and bans

Attackers often leave traces to return later. Delete any unfamiliar webhooks in the Integrations screen; a webhook allows anyone who knows its URL to send messages to that channel. Remove any bots added during the incident and check for new roles that have been granted Administrator permissions.

Mass banning is also common. Go to Server Settings → Bans and revoke the bans issued during the time of the incident. Banned members will need a new invite link to return.

4. Securing the compromised account

The owner of the account must take the following steps: change their password, enable two-factor authentication, and remove access for unfamiliar applications under User Settings → Authorized Apps. Accounts are mostly compromised via fake "free Nitro" links, QR code login traps, or downloaded files.

If the account cannot be recovered, report it to Discord via the support form. Do not give back its authorized role until the account is fully secured.

5. Rebuilding

When setting up channels and roles, you also need to reconfigure permissions. This is the most common mistake: a channel comes back with the same name, but its authorized channel permissions remain public. Check the permissions of every private channel after rebuilding.

Bot settings are also affected. When a channel is deleted and recreated, its ID changes; bot settings tied to that channel, such as welcome, verification, and notification systems, do not automatically transfer to the new channel.

What VeyroBot does in this situation

VeyroBot's Anti-Nuke Protection automates the first two steps. It monitors the Discord Audit Log, and if an account deletes more channels or roles than your specified limit within a set timeframe, performs mass bans or kicks, creates webhooks, or adds bots, it strips that account of its dangerous administrative roles. It logs the incident to the moderation log channel, detailing the account responsible and a list of actions taken.

Deleted channels, categories, and roles are stored in the incident log. With a single click from the dashboard, they are recreated with their original permissions, categories, and order; roles are returned to their members, and VeyroBot's channel-specific settings are migrated to the new channel.

Its limitations are also clear. The bot cannot take action against the server owner or members whose roles are higher than the bot's role. Actions leading up to the threshold will have already occurred. Messages and pinned messages are not restored; channel IDs change. Protection is disabled by default and must be enabled by the server owner.

How to prevent it from happening again

Keep the number of Administrator permissions low, mandate two-factor authentication for moderation, and place the protection bot's role above all staff roles. You can find the full checklist of settings in the 12-point security audit guide.

Who is this suitable for, and who is it not?

Suitable for: Server administrators currently experiencing or having recently experienced an attack, and communities with a staff team that want to plan ahead.

Not suitable for: Situations where the server owner's account has been compromised. The owner is above everything; no staff member or bot can stop them. In this case, the only path is recovering the account via Discord.

Frequently asked questions

Can Discord recover my deleted channels?

Discord does not provide a tool to restore deleted channels and messages. Channel names appear in the Audit Log, but you must rebuild their permissions and contents manually.

Should I ban the attacking account?

If the account belongs to a staff member and their password was stolen, revoke their permissions first. Make a decision after speaking with the owner and ensuring the account is secured. Banning is the correct course of action for an unrecognized account or bot.

Is it better to remake my server from scratch?

Generally, no. Members, invite links, server boosts, and community settings are tied to the existing server. If you still own the server, repairing it results in fewer losses.

Can an attack be detected before channels are deleted?

Discord does not halt operations before a threshold is reached. Protection bots can only react after witnessing that an action has taken place; therefore, keeping the threshold low reduces losses but does not eliminate them entirely.

Why is deleting a webhook important?

A webhook is not a user account; it continues to function even after you revoke permissions. Anyone who knows its URL can continue sending messages to that channel later.

Last updated: September 20, 2026. The Discord menus described are based on the interface at that time. For role order and permission layers, refer to the role and permission system reference, and for protection setup, check the documentation.