Discord Scheduled Messages Playbook

Deliver reminders exactly when your community needs them. This playbook explains native scheduling, popular bot options, content templates, and quality checks.

Shortcut: Prepare timestamps with the Timestamp Generator so scheduled messages display correctly once they go live.

Native Scheduling (Community Servers)

If you run a community server with announcements enabled:

Open the announcement channel, draft your message with timestamps.
Click the clock icon → choose the publish time (up to 7 days ahead).
Double-check the preview embed; Discord shows the final layout before you confirm.
Use the “Send a test to my server” option when available to validate formatting.

Bot-Based Scheduling

Sesh / Event Bots

Use the bot command to create recurring events with timestamps automatically inserted into notifications.

/event create "Design Review" --start 2025-02-20T20:00Z --announce true

Custom Webhooks

curl -X POST $WEBHOOK_URL \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "content": "Launch reminder is live at !",
    "allowed_mentions": {"parse": []}
  }'

Trigger this request from your CI/CD pipeline or automation platform.

Quality Assurance Checklist

Preview on desktop and mobile to confirm line breaks and emoji spacing.
Include both absolute (<t:unix:F>) and relative (<t:unix:R>) timestamps for clarity.
Ensure role mentions are intentional; disable @everyone if not needed.
Log the snowflake ID of the scheduled message for auditing via the Snowflake Converter.
Set a manual backup reminder five minutes before launch in case automation fails.

Content Templates

Feature Launch

🚀 **Feature Launch Reminder**
We ship in <t:1689637200:R>!
Join voice chat <#1234567890> at <t:1689637200:t> for live Q&A.

Meeting Recap Follow-Up

📝 **Retro Recap**
Recording: 
Next session: <t:1689900000:F> (set a reminder with ✅ reactions).

Troubleshooting

Scheduled messages fail to send

Check bot permissions (Manage Webhooks / Send Messages) and confirm the scheduled time has not already passed.

Timestamp renders incorrectly

Verify the Unix timestamp is in seconds and that your automation maintains UTC. Recalculate using the Unix Converter.

Members want calendar invites

Attach an .ics file or Google Calendar link. Include the Discord timestamp inside the invite description for cross-reference.

Never miss a post again

Pair scheduled messages with precise timestamps, countdowns, and post-launch snowflake logs.

Generate Timestamp Writing Guide