Developer Guidelines & Listing Rules
Standards and quality requirements for listing, verifying, and maintaining your Discord bot on DBList.
Overview & General Standards
DBList is committed to providing a safe, clean, and reliable directory of Discord bots. To ensure the highest quality experience for server owners and communities, all bots submitted to DBList must comply with these guidelines, as well as Discord's Developer Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
Uptime & Quality Requirements
Before submitting your bot, make sure it is actively hosted and responsive:
- Online Status: Your bot must be online and capable of responding to commands when submitted for review.
- Working Core Features: The features advertised in your description must be functional. Incomplete "work-in-progress" bots without working commands will be rejected.
- Slash Commands or Prefix: The bot must clearly indicate its prefix or support Discord Slash Commands (
/). - Help Command: A working
helpcommand or onboarding message is strongly recommended so new users can understand how to use your bot.
Prohibited Bot Activities
The following practices will result in an immediate permanent ban from DBList:
Malicious Code & Phishing
Bots that attempt to steal Discord tokens, grab IP addresses, run token loggers, or send phishing links.
Server Nuking / Raiding
Bots designed for server mass-deletion, automated mass-bans, raid spam, or mass-channel creation.
Mass Direct Messaging (DM Spam)
Sending unsolicited automated direct messages to server members or advertising without consent.
Fraudulent Monetization
Selling fake Discord Nitro, gift card generators, or scam reward schemes through bot commands.
Promoting Other Bot Lists / Directories
Advertising, linking, or redirecting to competing bot directories in bot descriptions, banners, status, or commands.
Descriptions & Tag Guidelines
Your listing is your bot’s storefront. Make sure it represents your project professionally:
- Accurate Short Description: Keep it concise (under 150 characters) summarizing what makes your bot unique.
- Detailed Markdown Description: Explain setup steps, command lists, permissions required, and unique features. Do not leave placeholder text (e.g., "test", "my bot").
- Relevant Tags: Select up to 5 categories that accurately match your bot’s capabilities (e.g.
Music,Moderation,Economy). Tag spamming or deceptive tagging will be corrected by moderators. - Working Links: Support server URLs, website links, and GitHub links must be valid and directly related to the bot.
Voting & Webhook Integrity
DBList provides a fair voting system where users can upvote their favorite bots once every 12 hours:
You are encouraged to offer in-bot perks (such as bonus virtual currency, premium cooldown reductions, or special badges) to users who vote for your bot using our official Vote Webhooks API.
Approval & Review Lifecycle
Submission
Submit your bot Client ID via Add Bot page. Ensure bot is public and invite URL is valid.
Queue & Staff Testing
Our moderation team will invite your bot to a test server to verify commands, uptime, and safety.
Public Listing & Discovery
Once approved, your bot appears on the homepage, explore page, and search rankings. You will receive an instant in-app notification!
Appeals & Developer Support
If your bot was rejected or if you have questions regarding the approval criteria, you can contact our staff team on our official Discord server. Please provide your bot's Application ID and reason for appeal.