Integrations and AI
Discord bot
Add the HackathonRadar bot to your Discord server to auto-post hackathons to channels, search with slash commands and get DM reminders
The HackathonRadar Discord bot brings hackathons into your own server. It posts new events to the channels you choose, answers slash commands, and lets members bookmark events and get a DM before they start. It is free to add, and members do not need a HackathonRadar account. The bot shows the same hackathons free HackathonRadar users see: events running now or starting within the next 7 days. Details and the install button are at /discord-bot.
This page is about adding the bot to a server you run. To join the HackathonRadar community server instead, see Discord community.
Add the bot to your server
Open the install link
Go to /discord-bot and click Add to your server.Pick your server
Discord asks which server to add it to. You need the Manage Server permission there.Authorize it
Keep the requested permissions and confirm. The bot joins with its own role.Subscribe a channel
Go to the channel where you want hackathons and run/subscribe. See the filters below.
Permissions the bot needs
The install link asks for View Channels, Send Messages and Embed Links, plus slash commands. The bot does not read your server's messages. It only receives the commands and button clicks people send to it.
If a channel overrides permissions (a read-only announcements channel, for example), give the bot's role Send Messages and Embed Links in that channel, or posts there fail.
Slash commands
| Command | Options | Who can use it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
/hackathons | category, type | Anyone | Lists up to 10 hackathons happening now or starting within 7 days. |
/hackathon | query (required) | Anyone | Finds up to 5 live or soon-starting hackathons whose name contains your text. |
/subscribe | category, country, format | Manage Server | Posts matching hackathons to this channel from now on. |
/unsubscribe | category, country, format | Manage Server | Stops a subscription in this channel. With no options, removes all of them. |
/subscriptions | none | Manage Server | Lists every subscribed channel in this server and its filters. |
/hackathons and /hackathon reply in the channel for everyone to see. If nothing matches, only you see the reply. For /hackathons, type is Online, In-person or Hybrid, and category is a topic name such as AI.
The management commands work only in a server channel, not in DMs. They are hidden from members without Manage Server or Administrator, and the bot checks again when they run. Their replies are visible only to you.
Subscribe a channel
Run /subscribe in the channel that should receive posts. Every option is optional, and you can combine them. When you combine options, a hackathon must match all of them.
| Example | Posts |
|---|---|
/subscribe | Every hackathon |
/subscribe category:AI | One topic. Start typing and pick from the list. |
/subscribe country:Germany | Hackathons held in one country. Start typing and pick. |
/subscribe format:Online | Online, In-person or Hybrid events |
/subscribe category:AI country:Germany | AI hackathons in Germany only |
A channel can hold several subscriptions, and different channels can have different filters, for example AI in one channel and blockchain in another. A hackathon is posted to a channel at most once, even if it matches more than one of that channel's subscriptions.
Subscribing does not dump the current backlog. Hackathons already in the window are skipped so you start fresh, and the reply offers a Post N now button if you want them posted anyway.
To stop, run /unsubscribe with the same options you subscribed with, or with no options to clear the channel. Run /subscriptions to see what is set up.
Automatic posts
The bot checks hourly and posts each matching hackathon once per channel when it enters the 7-day window. The same window applies to the slash commands.
Each post shows the hackathon's title (linking to its HackathonRadar page), When, Where, and where known Prize, Participants, Good for, Topics and Sponsors. Three buttons sit underneath:
- 🔖 Bookmark saves the event to your Discord account.
- ⏰ Remind me saves it and sends you a DM before it starts.
- Register opens the event's registration page, or its website if there is none.
Reminders
When a member taps ⏰ Remind me, the bot DMs them about a day before the hackathon starts, once per event.
The member must allow DMs from server members, or the bot cannot reach them. If a DM fails, the bot tries again until the event starts. No setup is needed from server admins.
When posts stop
- The bot lacks permission in a channel. The subscription is kept, and the bot tries again on its next check. Fix the channel's permissions as described above.
- The channel was deleted. Its subscriptions are removed automatically.
- Nothing new matches. Narrow filters, such as one topic in one country, can go a while without a match. Run
/hackathonsto see what is in the window right now.
Remove the bot
Run /unsubscribe with no options in each subscribed channel to clear its subscriptions, then remove the bot from your server in Discord. Once it leaves, it posts nothing more.