The Automatic roles module
The Automatic roles module covers the three ways of handing out a role with no human involved. It is entirely free in Kuratos: it contains no paid feature.
Updated 12 September 2026
The three mechanisms
- Join role: given automatically to every new member. Used to open basic access, or conversely to mark a member until they are verified.
- Self-service panel: a button or dropdown message where everyone takes and returns their own roles.
- Reaction role: the historical method, by emoji under a message. Still supported, but buttons read better on mobile.
Role hierarchy, before anything else
Discord forbids a bot from granting a role placed higher than its own in the server role list. That is, by a long way, the first cause of a panel that does nothing on click — and nothing warns you at configuration time: the button exists, it simply has no effect.
Get into the habit of checking the position before building the panel: open Server Settings → Roles and drag “Kuratos” above every role you intend to hand out. It takes thirty seconds, and it avoids the one failure nothing reports.
When the position is wrong the symptom is always the same: the button or reaction responds normally, and no role is granted. There is no error message and no visible trace — neither for the member nor for you.
Drag the “Kuratos” role above every role it must hand out. This is not a permission question: even with Administrator, a role placed too low cannot grant anything above it.
The security rule
A role handed out automatically is a role anyone gets, with no human reviewing it. It must therefore carry no sensitive permission.
The test is one question: am I fine with the next account created today getting it within the minute? If the answer is no, that role must not be automatic.
Building a usable panel
- Create the roles first, and check their permissions one by one.
- Group by theme and stay under about ten options per panel.
- Put the panel in a read-only channel, otherwise it scrolls away and disappears.
- Test taking AND returning with a second account — removal is the half people forget to check.
Key points
- Three mechanisms: join role, self-service panel, reaction role.
- The Kuratos role must sit above every role it hands out, permissions aside.
- No automatic role should carry a sensitive permission.
- Ten options per panel at most, in a read-only channel.
- The module is entirely free: none of its features is paid.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the button grant no role?
The target role sits above the Kuratos role in the server role list. Discord then refuses the grant, even if the bot holds every permission.
Can you combine a join role and a panel?
Yes, and it is the most common setup: a join role for basic access, a panel for interests and notification roles.
Is the module paid?
No. Automatic roles is one of the entirely free Kuratos modules, with no feature reserved for a subscription.
Put this guide into practice
Kuratos sets up in minutes what this guide describes, and is configured from a web interface rather than through commands.