Custom Rules & Auto Actions

Beyond Built In Features

BotWave includes hundreds of built in commands and features, but every community is unique. There are situations that the built in features do not cover, where you need a specific behavior that is tailored to your group's particular needs. Maybe you want to automatically mute anyone who mentions a specific competitor's name. Maybe you want to send a custom message whenever someone joins from a particular invite link. Maybe you want to restrict members who have been in the group for less than 24 hours from posting links. These are all behaviors that the built in features do not provide, but that the custom rules engine can handle.

The custom rules engine is essentially a no code automation platform built into the bot. You define conditions, which are criteria that trigger the rule, and actions, which are what the bot does when the conditions are met. The engine evaluates every message and event in the group against your rules and executes the matching actions automatically. This lets you create sophisticated moderation logic without writing a single line of code, using a simple command based interface.

Creating a Rule

The /addrule command creates a new custom rule. A rule consists of a name, one or more conditions, and one or more actions. For example, you might create a rule called NoCompetitorLinks that triggers when a message contains the word competitorname and includes a link, and the action is to delete the message and warn the sender. The rule is saved and evaluated automatically for every subsequent message in the group.

The /rules command lists all custom rules in the group, showing the name, conditions, and actions for each. The /rmrule command removes a rule when it is no longer needed. The /ruleinfo command shows detailed information about a specific rule, including how many times it has been triggered and when it was last activated.

Conditions You Can Check

The rules engine supports a wide range of conditions that you can combine to create precise triggers. Message content conditions check whether a message contains specific words, phrases, or patterns. User conditions check the sender's attributes, such as their join date, trust score, warning count, or admin status. Message type conditions check whether the message is a text, image, sticker, link, or forward. Time conditions check the current time, enabling rules that only activate during specific hours. Group state conditions check the group's current settings, such as whether slow mode is active or how many members are in the group.

Multiple conditions can be combined with AND or OR logic, letting you create complex triggers. For example, you could create a rule that triggers when the sender has been in the group for less than 24 hours AND the message contains a link. This would automatically restrict new members from posting links during their first day, which is a common anti spam measure that is more nuanced than a blanket link ban.

Actions You Can Take

When a rule's conditions are met, the engine can execute one or more actions. Available actions include deleting the message, warning the sender, muting the sender for a specified duration, kicking the sender, banning the sender, sending a custom message in the chat, sending a private message to the sender, forwarding the message to the log channel, and pinning a message. Multiple actions can be chained together, so a single rule trigger can perform several operations in sequence.

For example, when a rule triggers on a spam message, the engine can delete the message, mute the sender for 1 hour, send a public warning in the chat, and forward the deleted message to the log channel for admin review. All of this happens automatically within seconds of the message being posted, without any admin intervention required. This level of automation is what makes the rules engine so powerful for communities that need precise, customized moderation behavior.

Practical Rule Examples

Here are some common rules that community managers create with the engine. A New Member Link Ban rule deletes any message containing a link from members who joined less than 24 hours ago, preventing new accounts from spamming links. A Keyword Alert rule sends a message to the log channel whenever a specific keyword is mentioned, helping admins monitor sensitive topics. A Caps Lock Filter rule warns members who send messages with more than 70 percent capital letters, reducing shouting in the chat. A Late Night Mute rule automatically enables slow mode between midnight and 6 AM, when reduced admin coverage makes the group more vulnerable to spam.

These examples show how the rules engine can create behaviors that the built in features do not provide. Each rule addresses a specific community need that would otherwise require manual moderation or a custom coded solution. With the rules engine, any admin can create these behaviors in minutes using simple commands, without any technical knowledge.

Available Commands