BabelBot dashboard setup and settings guide

Use the dashboard at app.babelbot.xyz to configure BabelBot for your server. Discord slash commands do not add languages or bridges. They open this dashboard and give members short translation shortcuts. For how translation behaves in Discord, read How BabelBot Works.

Access the dashboard

Goal: Open settings for a server you manage.

1. Sign in at app.babelbot.xyz/login with Discord.
2. Your Discord role must include Manage Server on that server.
3. BabelBot must be Installed on that server. Use Invite on the server list if it is missing.

You can also run /dashboard in Discord. That command requires Manage Server.

Turn translation on or off for the server

Goal: Stop or start all automatic translation without removing the bot.

1. Open the server, then open Overview.
2. Toggle Translations.

When Translations is off, bridges and automatic message translation do not run. Context menus and slash commands may still work.

Fix channel permission warnings

Goal: Restore delivery when Discord blocks BabelBot in a channel.

1. Open the server, then open Overview.
2. If a permission warning lists a channel, open Discord channel permissions for that channel.
3. Grant BabelBot the permissions named in the warning.
4. Post a short test message in that channel.

The warning clears after BabelBot successfully delivers a translation there. The dashboard never shows message content or webhook secrets in these warnings.

Set target languages

Goal: Choose which languages automatic translation produces.

1. Go to Settings, then Target languages.
2. Add the languages your community needs.
3. Stay within your plan's language count. See Billing and Limits.

Each extra target language adds more translated output per message. Start with a small set. Add more when usage is stable.

Languages with an AI only label need AI quota. Languages without this label can use BabelBot's in-house translator after AI quota runs out. The same label appears during onboarding, in channel rules, and in bridge language selection.

Set up custom words

Goal: Control how BabelBot translates specific words. Use this for your server name, game terms (for example "gank" or "nerf"), brand names, slang, or terms that should stay untranslated.

1. Go to Settings, then Custom words. This needs Pro or higher.
2. Add a word: the word, the language, what to translate it as, and an optional note for your team.
3. Choose All Languages when the same custom word should apply to every target language.
4. BabelBot uses your translation when it translates into the selected language, or into any language for All Languages entries.

Matching ignores capitalization and matches whole words or phrases. A rule for cyn matches CYN. A rule for cat does not match catalog. BabelBot keeps the exact spelling and capitalization from Translate it as. It leaves code and web addresses unchanged.

Examples:

• Keep your server tag the same in every language.
• Map a product codename to the official name.
• Set how a game ability should read in Spanish.
• Leave an acronym untranslated.

Custom words work only with AI translation. When a message includes one of your custom words, BabelBot always uses AI for that message. Pro servers get 25 custom words. Ultra, Legacy Ultra, and Founder Access get 100. Notes are reminders for your team. The bot does not follow them. See Billing and Limits for the per-plan counts.

Skip automatic translation from source languages

Goal: Stop BabelBot from translating messages that were written in a language your server already understands.

1. Go to Settings, then Don't translate from.
2. Add one or more source languages to skip.
3. Keep those languages in Target languages if you still want other languages translated into them.

For example, add English here when English chat should stay as written, while French, Spanish, or other languages still translate into English. Skips are silent and do not count toward usage. If BabelBot cannot detect the source language with confidence, it translates as usual.

Translate messages from other bots

Goal: Let BabelBot translate messages and embeds posted by another bot, such as a rules or announcements bot.

By default BabelBot ignores every other bot. To allow specific bots:

1. Go to Settings, then Translate other bots.
2. Choose a bot from the list. The picker shows bots already in your server, with names and icons. You do not paste IDs.
3. Remove a bot any time with the X on its chip.

Whitelisted bots are translated like a normal member, including text inside their embeds (titles, descriptions, fields, and footers). This works on every plan and counts the same as a normal translation. BabelBot always ignores its own messages and cannot be added to the list. Set Target languages as well, or there is nothing to translate into.

Choose delivery style and thread retention

Goal: Control whether translations appear as replies or live in threads.

1. Open Settings, then Reply preference.
2. Choose Reply in channel or Reply in threads.
3. In thread mode, set Thread retention (days). 0 keeps threads until you delete them yourself. The default auto-deletes old BabelBot translation threads after a set number of days.

Use threads for busy or multi-language servers. Use reply for quiet channels with one target language.

When a message is already inside a Discord thread, BabelBot replies inside that thread. It does not create another translation thread. Forum and media posts follow the same rule because Discord treats each post as a thread.

Turn flag reaction translation on or off

Goal: Allow or block country-flag emoji shortcuts on messages.

1. Open Settings, then the flag reaction section (Allow flag reactions).
2. Toggle the setting on or off for the whole server.
3. Set Translation visibility to Public or Private DM.

Flag translations use AI and count toward your usage. Channel rules can also allow or block flag reactions. A rule with Translation status off only stops automatic translation when Flag reactions stays on.

With Public visibility, flag reactions inside a Discord thread follow the same rule as automatic translation. BabelBot replies inside the existing thread. It does not create another thread.

With Private DM visibility, BabelBot sends the clean translation result only to the member who added the reaction. The source message and reaction remain visible in the channel. If Discord blocks the DM, BabelBot does not post the translation publicly.

Enable media translation

Goal: Translate supported PDFs, images, videos, and audio files on supported plans.

1. Open Settings, then Media translation.
2. Turn on Media translation. This requires a paid plan.

The free plan supports unlimited text translation for languages supported by BabelBot's in-house translator. Languages marked AI only need AI quota. Media translation needs Pro, Ultra, or Founder Access.

Enable voice chat translation

Goal: Let members translate live voice calls from Discord.

This needs Ultra or Founder Access, at least one target language in server settings, and the right bot permissions in your voice channels.

1. Open Settings, then Voice chat translation.
2. Turn on Allow voice chat translation.
3. Pick Voice message style (clean speaker messages or detailed embeds).

The dashboard controls whether voice chat translation is allowed and how translated messages look. Members start and stop live sessions with /voice start, /voice stop, and /voice status. Each session starts right away and translates eligible speakers into the target languages set for that voice channel. If the only target matches the detected speaker language, BabelBot does not post a message for that speech.

Voice chat translation is separate from audio attachments (voice notes and audio clips in text channels). For the full admin setup, member steps, and limits, see Voice chat translation.

Configure channel rules

Goal: Exclude channels or set different behavior per channel in the dashboard.

1. Open Settings, then Channel rules.
2. Add a rule, select channels, and override settings. You can turn translation off, set different target languages, change Don't translate from, reply mode, flag reactions, or media translation where your plan allows.
3. Drag rules to change priority. The first matching rule wins.
4. Use Preview a channel to check the effective settings before you test a message.

To keep moderation or log channels out of automatic translation, create a rule with Translation status off. You can still leave Flag reactions on in that rule for on-demand translation. Channels in a bridge still relay bridge messages when this setting is off. Remove the bridge if you want to stop traffic between linked channels. To translate English in one channel while the rest of the server skips English, add a rule. Set Don't translate from to an empty list.

Create a channel bridge

Goal: Link two or more language-specific channels.

1. Open Settings, then Bridges.
2. Create a pair (two channels) or hub (one main channel plus spokes).
3. Assign each channel its language.
4. Post test messages in both directions.

Each two-channel bridge counts as one bridge toward your plan limit. In a hub bridge, each spoke counts as one bridge. A hub can have up to 25 spokes. A channel cannot belong to overlapping bridges.

If you delete a linked Discord channel, BabelBot removes the affected pair or spoke from your bridge settings. Deleting a hub, or the only remaining spoke, removes the whole hub bridge.

Bridge messages that contain only numbers, emoji, timestamps, punctuation, or similar content are mirrored unchanged. Attached images and supported videos use Discord's normal preview. Spoilered images and supported videos stay hidden in linked channels until a member opens them. Other files appear as labeled cards that link to the original Discord attachment. Custom server stickers also cross linked channels. PNG, APNG, and GIF stickers keep their preview. Other formats stay available through an original link. You do not need to enable Media translation for mirroring. BabelBot only uses AI usage when it translates message text or supported attachment content.

Edits to a source message update BabelBot's copies in linked channels for 30 days after the original post. Messages that contain text follow the normal translation usage rules. Sticker-only messages and edits without text do not use AI usage.

If you delete the original during that 30-day period, BabelBot removes its copies from the linked channels. If you delete it while BabelBot is translating, the copies will not appear later. If you delete only one linked copy, the original and the other copies stay in place. BabelBot does not recreate the copy you removed.

Reactions added to any linked copy appear on the copies in the other channels for the same 30-day period. Custom and animated emoji keep their image even when they belong to another server. Discord shows BabelBot as the reacting account on those copies. Remove the last matching member reaction to clear BabelBot's copied reactions.

Manage billing and upgrades

Goal: See usage, change plan, or open the subscription portal.

1. Open Billing & upgrades in the sidebar.
2. Review usage, limits, and checkout options.

For an active paid subscription, only the account that completed checkout can open the customer portal, view invoices, or change the subscription. Other server managers can still manage server settings. If a canceled monthly subscription has ended, any current server manager can start a new checkout.

Run /upgrade in Discord for a quick plan summary and a link to the same billing page.

Transfer Founder Access between servers

Goal: Move Founder Access to another eligible server.

1. Open Founder Access transfer from the dashboard sidebar when your account is eligible.
2. Follow the flow to move access from one installed server to another.

Your first Founder Access transfer is available immediately. A verified purchaser can choose an eligible server they manage. For legacy access without a verified purchaser, the person starting the transfer must own the destination server. After a transfer, you must wait 90 days before moving it again.

After the move, BabelBot emails the verified purchaser. The email lists the old server, new server, who started the transfer, and a support link. Transfers apply only to Founder Access and legacy one-time entitlements. They do not apply to monthly subscriptions.

Ignored users

Goal: Skip automatic translation for specific members (for example bots you cannot exclude another way).

BabelBot skips messages from Discord user IDs on the server's ignored users list. Open Settings, select Ignored users, then add or remove the person's Discord user ID.

Members cannot opt themselves out. A server manager must add their Discord user ID in Settings.

Server overview at a glance

Use Overview for:

• Master translation toggle and suggested next steps
• Plan, usage, and remaining AI capacity
• 30-day activity (automatic, bridge, flag reaction)
• Shortcuts into settings and billing

Manage settings from an AI assistant

Open Integrations, then AI assistant (MCP) to connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, or another app with remote HTTP MCP and OAuth support. Copy the server address there, then follow the AI assistant integrations guide for setup, permissions, and disconnecting an app.

Common dashboard issues

Related pages

• Quick Start: first-time setup
• AI assistant integrations: connect an assistant to view or change settings
• Playbooks: recommended combinations of these settings
• Command Reference: what still works in Discord chat