Governance
Personal Account or Team: Where to Create Your Discord Bot
Choosing where a Discord bot lives shapes who can manage it later, and how easily.
Is this your situation?
You are deciding whether to create a Discord bot under your personal account or under a developer team. You want to know who could manage the bot if your involvement changes.
Where teams go wrong
- Skipping collaborator invites A developer team lets users invite collaborators to their project.Why it happens: You build the bot alone and do not think to add others.
- No shared ownership structure Developer teams let users share ownership of their Discord applications.Why it happens: You assume ownership will stay with you by default.
- Multiple apps, no central management Having a developer team gives centralized management for multiple applications.Why it happens: You create each bot separately without a shared team.
- Treating the owner role as replaceable There can only be 1 owner per developer team.Why it happens: You do not think about who takes over when the team is first created.
What good practice looks like
| Approach | What it supports | What it limits |
|---|---|---|
| Personal account | Not stated by Discord | Not stated by Discord |
| Developer team | A developer team is the foundation for building and managing apps on Discord, and helps maintain continuity if members of the working team change over time. | Not stated by Discord |
| Verified app plans | Developer teams are required for app verification. | Not stated by Discord |
| Team roles | Appropriate permission levels should be used for each team member. | The Developer team role cannot manage team settings. |
| Team ownership | There can only be 1 owner per developer team. | Not stated by Discord |
How Discord handles this
- A developer team is the foundation for building and managing apps on Discord.
- Developer teams let users invite collaborators to their project.
- There can only be 1 owner per developer team, and team owner credentials should be kept secure as a security best practice.
- The Admin team role can manage team settings and applications.
- Ownership of a developer team can be transferred when circumstances change.
Before you start
- Confirm who else needs access Developer teams let users invite collaborators to their project.Verify: List the people who should be able to manage the bot.
- Check verification plans Developer teams are required for app verification.Verify: Decide whether the bot will need verification.
- Review team roles available Developer teams let users share ownership of their Discord applications.Verify: Match each collaborator to an appropriate permission level.
- Secure the owner credentials Team owner credentials should be kept secure as a security best practice.Verify: Confirm the owner account has strong account protection.
- Plan for multiple applications Having a developer team gives centralized management for multiple applications.Verify: Check whether more than one app will need the same team.
Which scenario is yours?
- Will more than one person ever need to manage this bot? Developer teams let users share ownership of their applications.
- Does the bot need to be verified by Discord? Developer teams are required for app verification.
- Will the working team change over time? Developer teams help maintain continuity if members of the working team change over time.
- Will you manage several applications at once? Having a developer team gives centralized management for multiple applications.
- Does the bot's ownership ever need to move to someone else? Ownership of a developer team can be transferred, though there can only be 1 owner per developer team at a time.
Keeping this working over time
- Appropriate permission levels should be used for each team member.
- Team owner credentials should be kept secure as a security best practice.
- Ownership of a developer team can be transferred, as described in how to transfer ownership of a Discord bot application.
- There can only be 1 owner per developer team.
If control is already lost — Reclaim a Discord Server Owned by a Former Team Member
Keeping track of who has access
Deciding where a bot lives is one part of managing access clearly, across people and time. You weigh which option makes it easier for someone else to step in when circumstances shift. Delvia gives a way to see that structure at a glance. That makes the choice easier to revisit as a project grows.
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