Discord: bot is online but doesn't reply in server channels

Symptoms

• The Discord bot appears online, but it never replies in a server channel.
• DMs may work, but guild channels are silent.

Cause

Usually one of:

• The bot is missing channel permissions (View Channel / Send Messages / Read Message History).
• The bot is not actually in that channel/server (or can’t see the channel).
• Your config requires mentions, but you’re not mentioning the bot.
• Message Content Intent is disabled (see the dedicated intents solution if you see “Used disallowed intents”).

Fix

1) Confirm OpenClaw sees Discord as healthy

On the gateway host:

openclaw channels status --probe

2) Verify bot permissions in the target channel

In Discord, ensure the bot role has at least:

• View Channel
• Send Messages
• Read Message History

If you’re using private channels, explicitly grant access.

3) Mention the bot (quick sanity test)

In a guild channel, send a message that mentions the bot (@YourBot hello).

If replies only work when mentioned, adjust your config to allow always-on replies in that channel (or keep mention-only to avoid spam).

4) If you use allowlists, confirm your user/channel is allowed

If channels.discord.guilds is configured, any channel/user not allowed there can be silently ignored.

Verify

• Mentioning the bot in the channel triggers a reply.
• openclaw channels status --probe shows Discord healthy.