Where Discord sends join messages and how to move them
Discord sends join messages — the notifications that appear when someone enters your server — to a channel you designate in your server settings. By default, Discord does not send these messages anywhere unless you turn the feature on. Once enabled, you choose which channel receives them, and you can change that channel at any time. The setting lives in your server's moderation tools, not in individual channel settings.
Join messages are useful for welcoming new members or keeping track of who enters a large server. They appear as a single line in the channel you pick, showing the member's name and the time they joined. You can turn the feature off entirely if you do not want these notifications, or move them between channels without losing any settings.
Key Takeaways
- Join messages are turned off by default and must be enabled in your server settings under the Moderation tab.
- You pick which channel receives join messages when you enable the feature, and you can change it later without re-enabling anything.
- Only server owners and members with the Manage Server permission can change where join messages go.
- Join messages appear in the channel you choose as a simple notification line, not as a full message you can edit or delete.
How to enable join messages for the first time
Open Discord and go to the server where you want join messages to appear. Click the server name at the top left to open the dropdown menu, then select Server Settings. On the left sidebar, click Moderation. Scroll down until you see the System Messages section.
In System Messages, you will see a dropdown labeled Join Messages. Click it and choose the channel where you want these notifications to appear. Once you pick a channel, join messages are turned on. New members who join the server will now trigger a notification in that channel. You do not need to do anything else — the setting saves automatically.
How to move join messages to a different channel
If you already have join messages enabled and want to move them to another channel, the process is the same. Go to Server Settings > Moderation > System Messages, then click the Join Messages dropdown. Select the new channel you want to use. The change takes effect immediately, and future join messages will appear in the new channel instead.
You do not lose any history or settings when you move join messages. The old channel will simply stop receiving new notifications, and the new channel will start receiving them. If you want join messages to appear in multiple channels at once, you will need to use a bot or a webhook, since Discord's built-in system only supports one channel per server.
What permissions you need to change this setting
Only members with the Manage Server permission can change where join messages go. This permission is usually held by the server owner and any moderators or admins you have assigned it to. If you do not see the Moderation tab in Server Settings, you do not have this permission and will need to ask someone who does to make the change.
If you are the server owner, you have this permission by default. You can check who else has it by going to Server Settings > Roles and looking at which roles have the Manage Server permission enabled.
How to turn off join messages
Go to Server Settings > Moderation > System Messages. Click the Join Messages dropdown and select No Channel. Join messages will stop appearing immediately. You can turn them back on at any time by returning to the same dropdown and picking a channel again.
Turning off join messages does not delete the old messages that were already posted in your server. Those remain in the channel where they appeared. If you want to remove them, you will need to delete them manually or use a bot that can bulk-delete messages.
Why join messages might not be appearing
If you have enabled join messages but they are not showing up, check that the channel you selected still exists. If you deleted the channel after setting it as the join message destination, Discord will stop sending messages there. Go back to Server Settings > Moderation > System Messages and pick a different channel that is still active.
Another reason messages might not appear is if the bot or system that sends them does not have permission to post in that channel. Make sure the channel is not set to private or restricted in a way that blocks the server's system messages. If the channel has specific role permissions, check that the @everyone role or the role that handles system messages has permission to send messages there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send join messages to a private channel?
Yes, as long as the channel exists and the system message permissions are not blocked. Private channels work the same way as public ones for join messages. If members cannot see the channel, they will not see the join message, but it will still be posted there.
Do join messages show up for bots that join the server?
Yes, join messages appear for both human members and bots. If you want to exclude bots from triggering join messages, you will need to use a bot or webhook that filters them out, since Discord's built-in system does not have this option.
Can I customize what the join message says?
No, Discord's join messages are fixed and show only the member's name and join time. You cannot change the text or format. If you need custom join messages, you can use a bot like UnbelievaBoat or Dyno that lets you write your own message format.
What happens to old join messages if I move them to a new channel?
Old join messages stay in the original channel where they were posted. Only new join messages will appear in the new channel you select. If you want to clean up the old channel, you will need to delete those messages manually.
Can I have join messages in multiple channels at once?
Discord's built-in system only supports one channel per server. To send join messages to multiple channels, you would need to use a bot or webhook that can duplicate the message across channels.