How to Set Up a Discord Suggestion Channel: Voting and Approval Guide
Set up a suggestion channel step by step via dashboard or command: bot channel permissions, anonymous suggestions, mandatory reason settings, decision workflows, and silent failure traps.
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In this article
In short
Setting up a suggestion channel takes three steps: create a dedicated text channel where suggestions will land, select and save this channel in the VeyroBot dashboard under the Suggestions tab, and then announce the /suggest command to your members. You can also configure the same setting using the /setsuggestions command.
Once setup is complete, every suggestion appears in the channel as a numbered card with 👍 and 👎 reactions attached below it. Staff members make the decision: either via the Approve and Reject buttons directly on the card or from the pending suggestions list in the dashboard. The decision is then written onto the card along with the name of the staff member who made it and any provided reason.
A separate channel, bot permissions and who decides
- Create a separate channel. The suggestion channel must be a text or announcement channel. If you select a general chat channel, suggestion cards will get lost among regular messages; having a dedicated channel makes both voting and tracking much easier.
- Ensure full bot channel permissions. VeyroBot needs permissions to view the channel, send messages, embed links, and add reactions. If it cannot post the card, the member receives a "Your suggestion could not be sent" response.
- The module must be enabled. If the Suggestions toggle in the Overview is turned off,
/suggest,/setsuggestions, and the buttons on the cards will reply that "the module is disabled." Turn the toggle on first, then run the setup. - Define who can make decisions. The Approve and Reject buttons only work for accounts with the Manage Server permission. When other members click the buttons, they will see a permission warning, and no decision will be recorded.
This topic in VeyroBot:Discord Suggestion System →
Setup via dashboard
- Open the Dashboard → your server → Suggestions tab.
- Select the channel you prepared from the Suggestion Channel dropdown.
- Configure the Allow Anonymous Suggestions and Require Decision Reason toggles based on the decision table below.
- Click the Save Suggestion Settings button.
- Send a
/suggestcommand from your own account to verify that the card appears in the channel and both reactions are added.
The Pending Suggestions list located at the bottom of the same tab displays the last 20 suggestions awaiting a decision along with their vote counts. Decisions made here will also update the Discord card and remove the buttons.
Setup via command
/setsuggestions channel:#suggestions anonymous_allowed:true reason_required:false
- channel: the text channel where suggestions will be posted.
- anonymous_allowed: whether members can submit anonymous suggestions. If omitted, the current value is preserved; if never configured, it defaults to enabled.
- reason_required: whether a reason must be provided when making a decision. Defaults to disabled.
To change only a single toggle without altering the channel, leave the channel option blank and specify only that particular setting.
Which setting to choose and when?
| Anonymous suggestions enabled | Ideal for communities where members hesitate to criticize management or where sensitive topics are proposed. Instead of the author's name, "Anonymous" appears on the card and the dashboard list. The author's account is still tracked in the bot's logs; anonymity only applies to other members and staff. |
| Anonymous suggestions disabled | Best for servers where the same user submits spam suggestions or where you need to ask the author follow-up questions. When disabled, any suggestion submitted with the anonymous option checked will be rejected. |
| Reason required | Use this if you want to publicly explain to the community why rejected suggestions were turned down. A form allowing up to 500 characters pops up for the staff member clicking the button, and decisions cannot be saved without a reason in the dashboard either. |
| Reason optional | Best when most suggestions are short and self-explanatory. Decisions are made with a single click, and reasons can be added via the dashboard if needed. |
If votes look short or a decision cannot be undone
- Running the command without options. If
/setsuggestionsis sent without any options specified, the suggestion system will be disabled. If you only want to change a single setting, make sure to include at least that option. - Forgetting the bot's add reactions permission. Without this permission, the card posts successfully, but 👍 and 👎 are not added. Since vote counts are calculated by subtracting the bot's initial reaction, vote tallies will appear one count lower than actual numbers in this scenario.
- Rushing decisions. Once a suggestion is approved or rejected, its decision cannot be undone. Keep under-discussion suggestions in a pending state.
- Changing the channel while pending suggestions exist. The buttons on the cards in the old channel will continue to function, but decisions made from the dashboard will only update the card in the newly configured channel. Conclude pending suggestions before moving channels.
- Assuming votes make the final decision automatically. 👍 and 👎 are simply counted; there is no automatic approval when a threshold is met. Use voting purely as a signal to guide your decisions.
If you need automatic approval or multi-stage review
Suitable for: Communities collecting ideas for channels, events, or rules from members; management teams looking to transparently show decisions along with their justifications. Allowing members to influence how the server is run fosters engagement; for other formats supporting this, check out our event ideas article.
Not suitable for: Structures requiring automatic approval upon reaching a specific vote count, separate discussion threads per suggestion, or multi-stage review processes. Decisions here are single-step and irreversible. For bug reports, a support ticket channel is much more appropriate: check out ticket system setup.
Frequently asked questions
Can members type directly into the suggestion channel?
They can, but the bot only logs and counts suggestions submitted via /suggest as official cards. Regular chat messages typed directly into the channel are not treated as suggestions; you can restrict send message permissions for members in that channel to prevent confusion.
How long can a suggestion's text be?
/suggest accepts a maximum of 1000 characters. Splitting long suggestions into multiple separate proposals also makes voting much clearer.
Why don't all suggestions show up in the dashboard list?
The list only displays the last 20 suggestions awaiting a decision. Decided suggestions remain on their Discord cards with color-coded status indicators.
How do I turn off the suggestion system?
Simply turn off the Suggestions toggle in the Overview. Older cards in the channel will not be deleted.
For a general overview of the feature, check out the Discord suggestion system page, for a step-by-step list see the suggestions section in the documentation, and for command details visit the /suggest command card.
Last updated: September 17, 2026. The settings, permission checks, and decision workflows in this article have been verified against the suggestion system code in the current version of VeyroBot.
