Documentation

Everything you need to get started with Darklock. From initial setup to advanced configuration, this guide covers the full platform.

Overview

Darklock is a security platform built around a Discord bot, a desktop monitoring application, an encrypted messaging client, and a private note-taking tool. Each component works independently or together to provide layered protection for your community and personal infrastructure.

What Darklock includes

  • Discord Bot — Anti-raid, anti-spam, anti-phishing, verification, moderation, and audit logging for your server.

Setup

Getting the bot running on your server takes about two minutes.

  1. Invite the bot. Use the invite link from the dashboard or the website. You need the "Manage Server" permission on the target server.
  2. Run the setup command. Type /setup in any channel the bot can read. This walks you through selecting a log channel, alert preferences, protection levels, and trusted roles.
  3. Open the dashboard. Visit admin.darklock.net/dashboard to fine-tune settings, view analytics, and manage your server.
The bot needs to be placed above any roles it manages in your server's role hierarchy. Otherwise it cannot assign or remove those roles.

Permissions

Darklock requests the following permissions and uses each one for a specific purpose:

  • Manage Messages — Deleting spam, phishing links, and rule-violating content.
  • Kick / Ban Members — Enforcing moderation actions and raid responses.
  • Manage Roles — Assigning verification roles and quarantine roles.
  • View Audit Log — Tracking server changes for logging and anti-nuke detection.
  • Send Messages / Embed Links — Sending alerts, logs, and responses.
You can restrict the bot to specific channels by adjusting channel-level permission overrides in Discord's settings.

Verification System

Darklock can require new members to verify before gaining server access. The system adapts its difficulty based on each account's risk score.

Verification Profiles

Standard

Automatic verification for accounts older than 7 days. Low friction, suitable for most communities.

High Security

Requires a captcha challenge. Minimum account age of 30 days. Good for servers that experience frequent raids.

Ultra Security

Manual staff approval. Captcha plus a written note required. 90-day minimum account age. Best for private or high-value communities.

Risk Scoring

Each new member receives a risk score from 0 to 100 based on account age, avatar presence, mutual servers, join velocity, and username patterns. Higher scores trigger stricter verification automatically.

Anti-Raid

When an unusual number of accounts join your server in a short window, Darklock activates raid mode. New joins are quarantined and held for staff review. The join threshold is configurable through the dashboard.

Darklock also detects alt accounts by comparing behavioral patterns against previously banned users, including typing speed, message cadence, and active hours.

Anti-Spam

Seven independent checks run on every message:

  • Per-channel flood detection
  • Cross-channel flood detection
  • Duplicate message detection
  • Mention spam
  • Excessive emoji usage
  • Excessive link posting
  • Caps ratio filtering

Each check can be individually enabled or disabled, and thresholds are adjustable in the dashboard.

Moderation

Darklock provides a full moderation toolkit: warnings, mutes, kicks, bans, and timeouts. Actions are logged with details about who issued them and why.

An escalation system is built in. After a configurable number of warnings, the bot can automatically escalate to a timeout, then a kick, then a ban. Old offenses decay over time so established members are not punished indefinitely for past mistakes.

FAQ

Is Darklock free?

The core bot features are free. A Pro plan is available for extended logging, custom rules, and priority support.

Does Darklock store my messages?

The Discord bot processes messages in real time for spam and phishing detection but does not store message content. Secure Channel uses a zero-knowledge relay that never sees plaintext.

Can I self-host any of it?

Guard and Secure Channel run entirely on your own hardware. The Discord bot and dashboard are hosted services.

What happens if the bot goes offline?

Your server stays intact. Moderation actions already taken (bans, role changes) persist. When the bot comes back, it resumes monitoring automatically.

Contact

Need help or want to report an issue: