Discord bot permissions, explained
Layup's install prompt requests fourteen permissions. Eight of them do real work — the three it cannot run without are View Channel, Send Messages and Embed Links. You need the Manage Server permission yourself to approve the install.
What each permission is for
| Permission | Why Layup asks for it |
|---|---|
| View Channel | See the channel you run the command in. Without it the bot cannot find the channel to post to. |
| Send Messages | Post the score alerts. This is the whole product. |
| Embed Links | Post alerts as rich embeds — team colours, logos, the score line and the footer. Without it, alerts degrade to plain text. |
| Read Message History | Find its own earlier post for a game so it can edit it in place instead of posting a new message every time the score changes. |
| Manage Webhooks | Deliver posts via a webhook, which is what lets alerts render with per-sport naming rather than as a generic bot message. |
| Create Public Threads | Open a game thread when a feed is configured to keep a busy game out of the main channel. |
| Send Messages in Threads | Post follow-up alerts into that thread. |
| Manage Channels | Create the #layup-support channel at install, which is where setup confirmation and any error notices go. |
Six it asks for and does not use
The install prompt also requests Add Reactions, Manage Events, Manage Threads, Create Guild Expressions, Create Events, Send Polls. None of these has a call site in the bot — they are left over from an earlier scope and are queued to be removed from the install link. We would rather say so here than have you notice the mismatch yourself while deciding whether to trust an unfamiliar bot with your server.
If you untick them in Discord's install prompt, nothing breaks.
What Layup never asks for
No Administrator. No Kick, Ban or Moderate Members. No Manage Roles. No Mention Everyone. No voice permissions of any kind. A scores bot has no business with any of them, and Layup does not request them.
What it stores and what it never collects is covered in the privacy policy.
Permissions FAQ
- Does Layup read my messages?
- No. Read Message History is used to locate the bot’s own previous post for a game so it can edit it rather than spam a new one. Layup does not process member messages and has no message-content intent.
- Why does it ask for Manage Channels?
- To create the #layup-support channel at install, which is where setup confirmations and error notices go. It does not modify channels you already have.
- Can I decline some of the permissions?
- Discord lets you untick permissions in the install prompt. View Channel, Send Messages and Embed Links are the three the bot cannot work without. Removing Read Message History means it posts a new message per update instead of editing one in place.
- What permission do I need to install it?
- Manage Server, on the server you are adding it to. Both slash commands are restricted to that permission, so ordinary members cannot add or remove feeds.
Next
Setup guide · Command reference · College football Discord bot
If you do not have Manage Server yourself, send this page to whoever runs the server — it is written to be forwarded.
Free. You can untick anything you would rather not grant.