I moderate 7 subreddits, and none of them would be survivable by hand. In r/Smokingmeat alone, 956 posts and 3,600 comments were removed in moderation over the past 12 months, in a community that grew by 36,800 members in that time. A bot that never sleeps does a lot of the boring work, and AutoModerator is that bot.
This guide covers what it is, where its settings live, how a rule is written, and a set of examples. Every piece of syntax below is checked against Reddit's own documentation: the AutoModerator introduction, Writing Basic Rules and the full documentation. When you want to do something that is not in this guide, that last page is where the answer is.
What Is AutoModerator?
According to Reddit's documentation, AutoModerator is a system built into Reddit that lets moderators define rules, made of checks and actions, which are applied automatically to posts and comments in their subreddit. You do not install it and you do not add it as a moderator. You write rules, and it follows them.
The documentation lists the kinds of jobs it is used for:
- Sending a modmail when something gets a minimum number of reports, or removing items that reach a very high number of reports.
- Assigning link flair based on keywords in the title or the source domain.
- Enforcing title formats, and leaving a comment that explains the format when someone gets it wrong.
- Removing links to sites that do not belong, such as affiliate links.
- Reporting or removing posts and comments that contain certain words.
For a brand, the two I use most are the first and the welcome comment. More on that below.
How Do I Set Up AutoModerator?
Per Reddit's documentation, you need the wiki and config moderator permissions in the subreddit. If you are not sure you have them, check the moderators list in your mod tools. Then:
- Open the configuration page at
reddit.com/r/yoursubredditname/wiki/config/automoderator. In the mod tools it sits under AutoModerator. If the page does not exist yet, there is a link to create it. - Paste or write your rules.
- Save. Reddit says that as soon as the page saves successfully and contains rules, it starts working immediately.
One caveat from Reddit's help center: for newly created communities, or communities where automod has not been used, its enforcement actions (report, filter, remove, mark as spam and approve) are no longer available, and Reddit points those communities to its Rules and Automation mod tools instead. Check that before you build a new community's moderation around it.
To switch it off, delete the whole contents of that page and save. The page history keeps the previous version, so you can revert.
If you set up a brand-new community, the creation guide covers what to do before this step. For help with syntax errors, the documentation points to r/AutoModerator.
My takeTreat the config page like production code. Change one rule at a time, save, and watch the mod queue for a day. Pasting forty rules from a template and walking away is how you start removing your own members' posts.
How Is A Rule Written?
Rules are written in YAML. The basics, straight from the writing-rules page:
- Separate rules with a line that is exactly three hyphens:
--- - A rule is one or more checks (conditions) and one or more actions. If a rule has several checks, all of them must match.
- To match any of several options, put them in square brackets:
title: [red, green, blue] - Put
~in front of a check to reverse it. - Matching is case-insensitive by default.
- Checks about the author go indented under
author:. - Multi-line comments use a
|on the first line, with the text indented below it.
Three behaviors catch people out. First, rules that can remove something are always checked before everything else. Second, by default, rules that can remove or report do not apply to moderators' own posts, which means you will think your rule is broken when you test it with your mod account. Set moderators_exempt: false while testing. Third, AutoModerator tries not to contradict other moderators: it will not remove something another mod already approved.
Regular expressions follow standard Python regex, and the documentation says to wrap them in single quotes to avoid double-escaping.
What Are Some Working AutoModerator Examples?
Each of these uses fields that appear in the documentation. Replace the placeholders before you save, and test each one.
1. A Welcome Comment On Every New Post
This is the one from my own communities. It leaves a stickied comment on each new submission with a link and a few helpful pointers. It uses the comment and comment_stickied actions.
---
# Auto-sticky welcome comment on every new post
type: submission
comment: |
Welcome to r/YourSubreddit and thanks for posting! While you wait
for replies, check our [detailed guide](https://yoursite.com).
You may find your answer there.
**r/YourSubreddit helpful links:**
* [Link 1](https://yoursite.com/one)
* [Link 2](https://yoursite.com/two)
comment_stickied: true
---If you run a brand community, say so in that comment. Something like "This community is run by Acme" costs you nothing and saves you from the accusation later. I explain how that comment fits a first-month plan in the 30-day playbook.
2. Remove A Banned Phrase And Tell The Poster Why
Adapted from the documentation's own example for removing videos. Removing without an explanation is how you get angry modmail.
---
title: [disallowed phrase, another phrase]
action: remove
comment: |
Sorry, your submission has been automatically removed.
Please read the community rules in the sidebar. If you think this
was a mistake, message the moderators.
---3. Hold Link Posts From Brand-New Or Low-Karma Accounts
The documentation shows a rule that removes link submissions from accounts with under 5 comment karma. I prefer filter, which the documentation describes as a removal that keeps the item in the mod queue, so a human can approve a real person who got caught.
---
type: link submission
author:
comment_karma: < 5
account_age: < 1 day
satisfy_any_threshold: true
action: filter
action_reason: "New account link post"
---Note satisfy_any_threshold: true: with it, either threshold is enough. Without it, both conditions must be true for the rule to fire. Note also that a greater-than check needs quotes, like '> 10', while less-than does not.
4. Use The Contributor Quality Score
The documentation describes the Contributor Quality Score (CQS) as a more holistic replacement for karma and account age checks, and gives an example filter that this rule is based on:
---
type: submission
author:
contributor_quality: "< moderate"
action: filter
action_reason: "CQS Filter"
---Be careful with a filter this broad on a new community. Everyone is new there. Check the mod queue daily.
5. Flair Posts From Keywords
---
type: submission
title: [question, help, how do i]
set_flair: "Question"
---6. Alert The Mods When A Post Gets Reports
---
reports: 3
modmail: |
This item has three or more reports. Please take a look.
---The documentation notes that a modmail automatically includes a link to the item.
Change the placeholder text, save one rule at a time, and test with moderators_exempt: false so your own post is checked too. Remove that line afterwards if you want mods exempt again.
Can Automod Ban People On Reddit?
Not according to the documentation. The list of actions for submissions is approve, remove, spam, filter and report. For comments it is approve, remove, spam and report. There is no ban action in either list. AutoModerator can also set flair, post comments, send modmail and messages, and change sticky, lock and NSFW state, but a ban is something a moderator does.
What it can do is get the content out of sight and flag the account to a human. A rule that reports or filters repeat offenders, plus a moderator who reads the queue, gets you most of the way. Reddit's help center has separate documentation on banning and muting under its moderation tools, and a ban evasion filter in the safety settings, which is a different tool from AutoModerator.
That limit is good news. A bot that could ban on a keyword match would eventually ban someone who did nothing wrong, and in a small community every ban is remembered.
How Should A Brand Use AutoModerator?
Brand communities have their own failure mode: they use the bot to hide the fact that they are marketing. Here is where I land, as opinion rather than rule.
- Disclose in the welcome comment. One short line on who runs the community.
- Keep promotion in one place. The pinned resource post, the sidebar, the welcome comment. Not every thread.
- Remove spam the same way for everyone, including posts that benefit you. Members check.
- Do not let automation reply as if it were a person. The comment should read like a notice.
Reddit's Moderator Code of Conduct says bots and automations in your community are subject to the same Reddit Rules as posts and comments, so a spammy automod comment is your problem, not the bot's. The same code also bars taking compensation for moderation actions, which includes actions taken with bots.
AutoModerator also helps during an AMA. Reddit's help center suggests using it to apply rules only to posts with AMA flair and making sure your guest is not caught by existing filters. More in the AMA guide.
What Mistakes Should I Avoid With AutoModerator?
Writing a rule you cannot explain. Six months from now, a member asks why their post vanished and you have no idea which line did it. Put a comment above each rule in the config, since YAML ignores anything after a #, and fill in action_reason so the moderation log says why.
Matching words that appear inside other words. The documentation says search checks default to includes-word for most fields, but if you switch to includes it matches text inside longer words. A rule meant to catch one spam term can catch a harmless one. Be deliberate about which modifier you use, and look at the matching modifiers section.
Putting two checks on one rule when you mean "or". Several checks in one rule must all match. If you want either, write two rules with a --- between them.
Removing silently. A post that disappears with no message looks like censorship. A two-line comment explaining the rule costs nothing and turns most angry modmails into a fixed post.
Never reading the queue. A filter is not a delete. It parks content in the mod queue so a human can decide. If nobody looks, you have built a quiet way to lose good posts.
Forgetting the second moderator. The config page belongs to whoever holds the wiki and config permissions. If that is a single account, one lockout takes the rules away with it. The same advice I give in the creation guide applies here.
When Is AutoModerator Not Enough?
Rules catch patterns. They do not read a thread and sense it going bad. When a community grows past a few thousand members, someone has to read the queue every day, answer modmail and decide the gray cases. That is community management, and it is most of what my community management service consists of. If you are weighing whether to build the community in the first place, start with the brand subreddit service.
On the technical side, Reddit also has a developer platform for apps that live inside a community. If you want an interactive tool rather than a filter, see the Devvit apps guide.
Questions About Reddit AutoModerator
What is AutoModerator on Reddit?
AutoModerator is a system built into Reddit that lets moderators define rules, made of checks and actions, that are applied automatically to posts and comments in their subreddit. It is configured in a wiki page, and you do not need to add it as a moderator.
How do I set up AutoModerator on Reddit?
You need the wiki and config moderator permissions. Open reddit.com/r/yoursubredditname/wiki/config/automoderator, write your rules in YAML separated by lines of three hyphens, and save. It starts working immediately after a successful save.
Can automod ban people on Reddit?
Not according to the documentation. The listed actions are approve, remove, spam, filter and report for posts, and approve, remove, spam and report for comments. Bans are done by moderators through Reddit's user management tools.
Why is my AutoModerator rule not working on my own posts?
By default, rules that can remove or report an item do not apply to moderators. Add moderators_exempt: false to the rule while you test it.
How do I turn AutoModerator off?
Delete everything on the config/automoderator wiki page and save. The page history keeps your previous version if you want to restore it.