Discord Bots Explained – Rythm bot, Dyno bot, Mee6 and more

As you may be aware, Discord is the biggest free-to-use VOIP program available online at this time. Though a free application, Discord has various ways in which the user experience can be upgraded through different payment tiers through “boosting” (either Nitro boost or server boosting).

Besides boosting, another way users can improve their experience when using Discord is through the use of bots, which are often free, though many have upgraded ‘premium’ versions you have to pay for to get additional features. The extensive bot functionality on Discord is one of the main advantages it has over other online communication platforms.

What is a Bot?

‘Bot’ is short for robot, and internet or web robots are software applications coded to run relatively simple automated tasks. You may have heard of how bots masquerading as humans on social media have been used to try and sway public opinion, or farm peoples’ data. You are likely to have been regularly asked the question ‘are you a robot?’ whilst surfing the web and asked to do simple picture puzzles in order to access certain pages – this is because more than half of web traffic is generated by bots (i.e. they outnumber real people) and website owners wish to siphon them out lest they slow down their sites or indeed have malicious intent.

Bots on Discord however are fortunately less sinister and aim to make your life easier, either by performing repetitive and boring tasks so you don’t have to, saving time (particularly if you are responsible for running a server), or giving you additional functionality you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Some bots are operated solely by the server owners and moderators, others can be utilized by anyone on the server – often through typing out simple Discord commands.

Whilst the majority of peoples’ needs will be met by the many options already available, it is possible to code your own Discord bot and make it as bespoke as you like. Coding using the Discord API (Application Programming Interface) is a lot more straightforward than most forms of coding, so it is a great introduction for people who have never done anything like this before. Check out our introductory article on how to make your own Discord bot.

What Discord Bots Are There?

Below we have put together a short list of what we consider to be either the most popular or most useful bots for the average Discord user.

Be aware that the following is by no means an exhaustive list – there are thousands of Discord bots out there and new ones are being created all the time, most of them seeking to improve on an existing formula. Though this list covers most of the big names and popular bots out there it may be that you can find one not on this page that is more suited to your needs. We will endeavor to keep this page updated with the best choices available.

We have attempted to categorize the following bots to make it a bit easier to find what you are looking for, but many of them actually span multiple categories in terms of their functionality. Still, we have categorized each bot according to what can be regarded as its main function or chief attraction to the user.

Discord Music Player Bots

One of the most commonly used bot varieties on Discord are those that play music. These come with different levels of functionality and complexity, as well as having additional non-music related features.

 

Discord Rythm Bot

Rythm is a dedicated music bot – i.e. it does not have any features beyond the playing of music – and as a result of this it is optimized to remain as lag-free as possible. Rhythm supports playback from YouTube, including the ability to import playlists and queue songs. Less comprehensive playback is also available from SoundCloud and also of Twitch streams.

Besides using Discord commands, Rhythm can also be controlled through a web dashboard. Usage of the bot can be restricted to a designated “DJ” to avoid any unwanted playlist highjacking, a max queue length can be set and there is a feature to prevent duplicate songs from being queued up.

The Rythm bot is regularly updated with fixes and improvements, making it one of the most reliable and well-favored music bots available.

Discord Octave Bot

In contrast to Rythm, Octave is a much broader “entertainment-focused” bot that also comes with some moderation capabilities. The Octave bot can be used to add and create memes, incorporate excerpts from online comics like XKCD, view information about a game, and create polls. Server mods can use the Octave bot to view stats and details about a user, channel, or server.

Nevertheless, as its name would suggest, one of Octave’s main features is playing music. Playback is available from YouTube, SoundCloud, and also Spotify. Designated moderators have the option to pause or stop the music, or remove any unwanted tracks.

Discord Groovy Bot

Groovy is one of the most long-standing and popular music bots on Discord, chiefly due to its simplicity and ease of use. Another dedicated music-only app, the Groovy bot can pull music from YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify. Functionality allows tracks to be queued and shuffled and have their lyrics displayed. Use of the app can be restricted to certain users only.

Premium versions of the bot give the option to boost bass, pitch shift, and change the speed of tracks as well as apply different sound filters to the music. Groovy’s simplicity and wide usage make it among the most reliable music bots.

Discord FredBoat Bot

In contrast to Rythm Bot and Groovy Bot, FredBoat is more complex but also offers more functionality. FredBoat lets you view the playlist history, repeat, and shuffle tracks, and allows importing and exporting of playlists via Hastebin and Wastebin. The bot has a 3 tier permissions system (admin, DJ, user) giving server owners greater control over who can do what with the app and it also includes a few simple moderation commands letting you kick or ban people, etc. from the server (though we would recommend a more dedicated moderation bot for this).

The potential playback sources with the FredBoat bot are extremely broad and include YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Twitch, Vimeo, Bandcamp, Mixer, and Wastebin. The bot allows you to use playlists from either YouTube or SoundCloud.

Discord Moderation Bots

A necessary part of running even the most liberal Discord servers is moderating, lest things descend into absolute chaos. There are various Discord bots available to help you manage and moderate the users on a server and to control the kinds of posts they make.

Dyno Bot

Dyno is a popular moderation bot with 35 different Discord commands that allow server mods to mute, deafen, warn, mute, kick, or ban members, etc. With this app, admins can take the extreme measure of locking a channel, allowing moderators the breathing space to regain control, discipline several users, and clean up the channel where necessary. The Dyno Bot can also interface with Discord Role Bot to assign different permissions and limitations to specific users who may be causing trouble.

Dyno bot has the capability to save the messages of banned users rather than them being auto-deleted (useful if needed for evidence of misconduct at a later date). The premium version of Dyno bot adds the ability to set “auto-purge” settings to automatically delete messages, post customizable embedded messages, and special text channels. All such actions taken by the bot are recorded in a log, to which notes can be added.

Finally Dyno bots’ non-moderation features include some music playing functionality, finding statistics, finding pictures, poll making, and a “coin flip” to help decide things.

MEE6 Bot

MEE6 is the most well-known moderation bot on Discord. MEE6 can scan your server for rule violations automatically, saving moderators from having to do so manually (e.g. spam, outside links, spoilers, or swearing/discriminatory language). When instances of such infractions are found the MEE6 bot can be set to either warn, mute, kick, or ban someone if they reach a predefined threshold of violations over a set time frame.

The MEE6 bot can be programmed to display custom messages in the channel, or sent as private messages to individual users. Custom roles can be assigned to different users, giving them more or less access to the server. In the premium version of the app, server members can also be “leveled up” to a higher role by the admin as a reward, giving them greater functionality within the server, and earning them a higher place on the ad-free leaderboard banner.

Non-moderating functionality for MEE6 includes music playback, a music quiz plugin, and audio recording.

Sentinel Bot

Sentinel is a Discord Global Ban Bot that alerts you to known troublemakers that may have entered your channel, through accessing a global database. The idea of the bot is to stop trouble before it starts and in addition to the Sentinel Early Warning System that alerts you to banned accounts that may have joined your server, it features an Autoban function that automatically removes the account in question without you having to lift a finger.

Discord Bots To Improve Organization

Running an active Discord server can be tough, particularly when there are a lot of members relying on you. The following bots help to make that process somewhat easier.

Discord Sesh Bot

Sesh is a calendar bot for Discord that enables you to schedule tasks and set reminders. You can create events for members, create polls to canvass each member for the most suitable time an event should take place, get them to RSVP via reactions, and automatically send them reminders. Sesh automatically adjusts any events for each user’s timezone, meaning the event creator can set an event to their local timezone without having to worry about adjusting it for other members. Sesh can also link to your personal digital calendar outside of Discord to set reminders for you so you never miss an event.

Discord Xenon Bot

Xenon is a bot that takes away the stress of losing data by backing up your server so you can quickly restore it to full working order if anything goes wrong. The backup process can either be configured manually or set up to occur automatically in the event of a crash.

Additionally, Xenon offers the capability to transfer messages between several different channels and upload server templates for different types of communities over several different languages.

Other Discord Bots

There are many different Discord bots for many different uses. Below are some of the best which do not fall into the above niches.

Discord Translator Bot

The Discord Translator Bot is a true example of how the internet can connect people from all over the world. The translator bot helps people speaking different languages have conversations on the same server, either through specific server commands, through highlighting the message and marking it with a flag emoji for the corresponding language, or via an automatic translation function. Admins and moderators can also choose to auto-translate certain channels or specific users.

The Discord Translator Bot supports over 100 languages and also comes with additional basic moderation options.

Discord tip.cc Bot

Tip.cc allows users to send cryptocurrency tips on Discord, either to your favorite streamers, content providers, friends, or whoever you think deserves it! No fees are charged by the app, the app itself is free, and there is no minimum value attached. The receiver of the tip does not need to have a cryptocurrency wallet and you can tip multiple users simultaneously. The Tip.cc bot supports over 127 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether, and also lets you transact deposits and withdrawals from within Discord.

Discord Dank Memer Bot

Where would internet culture be without the dank meme? The Dank Memer Discord Bot basically helps make your server as fun a place as possible. There are over 100 commands enabling you to search for the perfect meme in any situation, and also give options for customizing and manipulating your own meme, adding music, and an interesting currency management system. Unfortunately, no one can truly be told what the Dank Memer Bot is, you have to experience it for yourself.