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lang: en
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# Discord

Discord is Cactus in your Discord server. Teammates mention @Cactus or type `/cactus ask` to get answers, and handoffs go to one channel. A teammate who links their Discord account gets answers as themselves in servers your team connected.

> Verified against the product on 2026-11-14

## Connect a server

Until a server is connected, the Discord page says what Connect sets up: the handoffs channel, `#cactus-escalations`.

1. On [Discord](https://app.heycactus.ai/deploy/discord), select **Connect**.
2. Pick the server and approve the bot. Discord shows the permissions Cactus asks for on its approval screen.
3. Cactus brings you back to the page and sets up the handoffs channel. It uses `#cactus-escalations` if the server already has one, and creates it if not.

Once connected, the page shows **Where handoffs go**, where you can pick a different channel for handoffs.

## Link your Discord account

Each teammate links their own Discord account, so Cactus can answer them as themselves.

1. In the server, type `/cactus link`. Cactus replies with a link, and only you see that reply.
2. Open the link. If you are not signed in, you sign in first and come back to the same page.
3. Read the name on the page. It asks whether to link that Discord account, and says to confirm only if you typed `/cactus link` yourself.
4. Select **Confirm**. The page then reads **Linked as** your Discord name, with **Back to Discord** to return to the server.

*Where you confirm the link*

Discord link

- **Confirm** (4)

> **Note:** A link works for ten minutes, and each link works once.

Once linked, Cactus answers you as yourself, with everything your team can see, in servers your own team connected.

## Ask Cactus in a server

Two ways to ask, in any channel of a connected server:

- Mention @Cactus in a channel, and it answers in a thread on your message.
- Type `/cactus ask` and your question, up to 6000 characters.

If your account is on the team that connected the server, Cactus answers you as a teammate. If it is on another team, you get the published pages. Until your account is linked, each answer ends with a line asking you to type `/cactus link` to be answered as yourself.

In a direct message, Cactus does not answer questions. It says it answers in a server it is connected to.

### Check the server's status

`/cactus status` shows what Cactus knows about the product bound to this server right now. It works only for a linked teammate, and otherwise Cactus says "Link your account with /cactus link first."

### Reply inside a handoff thread

In a handoff thread, `/cactus reply` sends your words to the customer, and `/cactus resolve` marks the handoff resolved. Anything else said in the thread stays private. [Handoffs](https://cactus.heycactus.ai/handoffs) explains how a handoff is claimed.

## If linking doesn't finish

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Linked, but not on this team" | Your Cactus account is not on the team that connected this server, so you get the published pages here | Ask in a server your own team connected to get answers as yourself |
| "That Discord account is linked to someone else." | Another Cactus account already holds this Discord account | Sign in as the Cactus account that linked it, or link a different Discord account |
| "That link has already been used." | Each link works once | Type `/cactus link` in Discord for a fresh one |
| "That link expired." | The link is older than the time it lasts | Type `/cactus link` in Discord for a fresh one |
| "That link is not valid." | The link was changed, or was not made by Cactus | Type `/cactus link` in Discord for a fresh one |

## If a server won't connect

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "That server is already connected to another Cactus team." | Another Cactus team already has this server, and nothing was saved | Ask the team that connected the server to disconnect it first |
| "Handoffs have no channel yet." | Cactus was refused permission to make or list channels in the server, so no handoffs channel is set | Give Cactus Manage Channels in the server, then select **Create #cactus-escalations** |

## Disconnect

On [Discord](https://app.heycactus.ai/deploy/discord), select **Disconnect**. Cactus stops posting this product's handoffs to the server. The server stays connected to your team while another product still uses it.