Add Linky to your Discord server

This adds the hosted Linky bot. You do not need to download code, create a bot account or run a server.

1. Add Linky to Discord, choose your server and authorize it.
2. Open Discord and go to a text channel in that server, such as #general.
3. Click or tap the message box where you normally chat. Type /setup, then select the command listed under Linky in the suggestions.
4. Send the command without options: press Enter on desktop or tap Send on mobile. Linky opens a panel that only you can see.
5. Choose specific channels or All channels, select Reply or Replace, and choose the platforms you want. Select Enable server when ready.
6. Check the panel's readiness summary. If X or YouTube is enabled, Test here can send one labeled sample. Then share your own supported link. Use /diagnose link: if something does not work.

The command is simply /setup. Open it again to change your choices. The older /setup enabled:true shortcut still works and preserves saved channel restrictions. Changing preferences alone never enables a server. Anyone can use /help to check their current channel; admins can use /diagnose for details.

Linky sends nothing when it joins. Setup, settings, help and diagnostics reply privately. Discord may show its own system join notice.

The hosted bot stays online independently of your computer. Hosting and updates are handled by Linky's operator. Self-hosting is an optional alternative for people who want to run their own copy.

Who can do this? #

You must own the server or have Administrator or Manage Server permission. These permissions belong to your Discord account's server roles. If you do not have them, ask the server owner or an admin to enable Linky for you.

Linky itself does not need Administrator. See the permissions it uses.

I cannot find Linky's /setup command #

Check that you are in the server where you added Linky. The setup command is only available in server channels.

If Linky is installed but its command is missing, ask an admin to check your role's Manage Server permission, the channel's Use Application Commands permission and any command restrictions for Linky under Server Settings > Integrations. Discord can hide commands you are not allowed to use.

If the command appears under another bot's name, select Linky's entry instead. Discord's guide to using app commands shows how the command menu works.

What enabling changes #

Choose All channels to include current and future accessible channels and threads, or select specific channels in the panel. A selected parent channel includes its accessible threads. Clear the selection to pause all channels without losing other preferences. The choices survive bot restarts. Channel permissions still apply; private threads must be accessible to Linky.

Existing operator-configured installations may have exact-channel restrictions. The panel shows the effective scope. Saved channel selections narrow that scope; changing posting preferences does not expand it.

Choose how Linky posts #

Type /settings in Discord's message box and select Linky's command. You need Manage Server permission. Send it without options to see the current choices privately.

Choose Reply for mode to keep people's original messages and have Linky reply with the fixed link. Choose Replace to use the default behavior, which removes the original after checking the repost. Reply mode leaves attachments on the original and does not require Manage Messages.

On fresh automatic posts, Shared by can notify the original sharer in both modes. Replace also allows recognized user tags from the source; Reply allows only the sharer. Linky respects @silent, and Discord's recipient settings still apply. See how mention notifications work.

The completed command looks like /settings mode:reply. Platform switches include instagram, tiktok, x, youtube, bluesky, reddit, twitch, facebook and articles. The facebook switch is on by default, including for existing servers. The erome option is available only on an instance whose operator provides it; public hosted Linky does not. Set one to False to stop processing it. Set translate_tweets to False to stop English tweet translation. Choose True to restore an option that the bot operator has made available.

For public article cards, choose Articles in the setup panel's Platforms menu or use /settings articles:true. Share article URLs separately from social and other links, with up to three articles in a message. Linky uses the publisher's headline and excerpt when usable article metadata is available; it does not generate or translate the text. Article support and limits.

For YouTube, youtube_display offers Preview only, Counts, and Counts and top comment. Preview only leaves native YouTube video messages untouched. Counts skips comment requests. These choices do not affect community text/image cards. Existing servers keep counts and top comment unless an admin changes the choice.

Erome requires self-hosting. Adding the public Linky bot does not provide Erome previews, and /settings cannot turn on an operator-disabled feature. If you run your own instance, see Erome media limits and the self-hosting guide. Your own instance supports Replace or Reply mode and optional album loading within its configured limits. Replace requires successful preview and attachment checks. Manual fixes and Retry keep the source message.

On self-hosted instances, slow Erome jobs show their current stage while the bounded media queue takes turns between servers. Repeated requests can reuse a validated original when media hosting is configured. Preparation can still take more than a minute.

When a public preview has Details, channel members can open its outcome and stage timings in a reply visible only to themselves. Private-response and DM Details remain requester-only. Records last up to seven days; these controls do not promise a completion time or confirm playback on every device.

These preferences survive restarts and take effect immediately. They do not enable a disabled server or change selected channels. Use /setup to manage enablement and channels.

The setup card shows the saved channel selection, effective scope and missing permissions. Test here is an explicit public test, available when X or YouTube is enabled. It sends one labeled sample with a requester-only Remove button and reports preview confirmation privately. It does not test replacement deletion or prove video playback. Opening setup and saving options never posts a sample.

Choose /settings instagram_presentation:standard, compact or media-first. Standard keeps translated captions within 300 characters; Compact uses 120. Media-first requests a caption-free provider preview and skips caption translation. Native captions in Standard or Compact when translation is unavailable remain controlled by the provider. Attribution, Original post and owner-only Remove remain in every mode.

Add Linky to your account #

You can try Linky without asking a server admin or hosting a bot. Add Linky's commands to your account, then choose Add to My Apps in Discord.

Type /fix, select Linky, paste a supported URL in link, and send it. On desktop, you can also right-click a message and choose Apps → Fix with Linky. On mobile, press and hold the message to open its menu. Discord's app and channel restrictions still apply.

These actions keep the original and post a preview where permitted. If you cannot send messages in that server channel, the response is private. YouTube videos use native previews without API statistics; supported community posts show text and images. Manual requests handle up to three ordinary supported links, three articles or five community posts, within Discord's shared card limits. Share article URLs together in their own message, and community posts separately from other supported links: Discord does not combine their custom cards with native previews in one response. Only the person who invoked the command can use Remove on its output.

Personal installation only handles the link or message you explicitly select. It does not monitor DMs or enable automatic fixing in servers. For automatic replies or replacements, an admin must add Linky to the server and enable it.

Control your own posts #

Use /autofix enabled:false to stop automatic fixing of your messages in this server, including its threads. The response is private and the preference survives restarts. /autofix enabled:true restores automatic fixing wherever the server allows it. Manual /fix, Apps → Fix with Linky and an explicit Retry remain available; turning automatic fixing back on does not scan old messages.

Include !nolinky as a separate word to skip automatic fixing for one message. Links inside angle brackets, code or spoilers also stay unchanged. Anyone who can view a public preview can use Original post to open the source. Remove stays limited to the original sharer for automatic previews or the requester for manual fixes. Other members can use public preview controls, including Retry preview when they can view and send messages and are not timed out. Moderators retain Discord's native message-deletion tools.

In Reply mode, Linky's reply follows edits and deletions of the source while its ownership record is retained, for up to 30 days. Linky does not scan history or begin reposting an unrelated old message just because it was edited.

Turn it off #

Run /setup and select Disable server in the private panel. This stops reposting in the entire server. The shortcut /setup enabled:false also works. Removing Linky stops its access. Settings and messages already sent are not automatically erased; see Privacy.

Nothing happened #

Run /diagnose link: with the affected URL in that channel. It checks enablement, selected channels, permissions, URL support and recent provider observations. The troubleshooting guide explains what the result means.