BabelBot DocsBabelBot quick start for Discord translation
Set up automatic Discord translation with BabelBot's guided setup in about two minutes.
Guided setup takes you from the Discord invite to your first automatic translation in about two minutes. It detects your server, applies your choices, and checks your first translation.
Before you start
- You need Manage Server on the target Discord server
- You must add BabelBot to the server, not only to your user account
Get your first translation
Start guided setup
Open guided setup, then add BabelBot to the server you manage. The setup page detects the server after Discord authorizes the bot.
Choose the languages your members read
Choose at least one target language. BabelBot detects the language of each message and translates it into the languages you choose.
Choose how translations appear
Choose replies or threads. You can change this choice and set rules for individual channels later.
Post a test message
Send a short message in a language different from your target. Guided setup watches for the translation and confirms that BabelBot works.
Manual setup
Use the dashboard if you skipped guided setup or want to configure the server yourself:
- Sign in at app.babelbot.xyz/login.
- Select the installed server and click Manage.
- On Overview, turn Translations on.
- Under Settings → Target languages, add at least one language.
- Choose replies or threads, then send a test message in Discord.
You can also run /dashboard in the server to open its dashboard page. You need Manage Server.
If nothing appears
Check these before changing more settings:
- On Overview, translations are enabled for the server
- Under Settings → Target languages, at least one language is listed
- Under Settings → Channel rules, the test channel is not excluded (see the Dashboard Guide for how rules work)
- The message has normal text (not only a URL, emoji, or similar)
Still stuck? Continue with Troubleshooting.
Optional: keep channels clean from day one
Recommended for busy servers
Under Settings → Channel rules, add rules that turn translation off in admin, audit, and bot-command channels. Send a test message in each channel type to confirm behavior matches what you expect.
If one of those channels belongs to a bridge, bridge messages still relay. Remove or disable that bridge to stop traffic between its linked channels.
Verify on Overview
Open Overview for your server and confirm:
- Translation is on
- Plan & usage shows your tier and remaining AI capacity
- Translation activity will populate after real traffic (not required for this guide)
Run /help in Discord for a short recap of commands that still work in chat.
First-week defaults
- Reply preference: reply in channel
- Target languages: start with one
- Channel rules: disable translation in mod/log/bot channels
- Reply preference: reply in threads from day one
- Target languages: only languages your community actually reads
- Billing & upgrades: check usage weekly
What to read next
- How BabelBot Works: why some messages are skipped on purpose
- Voice chat translation: live voice call setup and usage
- Command Reference: member shortcuts in Discord