# How to Automate Discord Event Reminders using the API - Tool: API Automations - Difficulty: Intermediate - Fix time: 30-60 minutes - Compatibility: Free — requires a Discord bot with Manage Events and Send Messages permissions; no privileged intents needed - Last updated: May 2026 ## TL;DR Automate Discord event reminders by creating scheduled events with POST /guilds/{guild.id}/scheduled-events, then polling GET /guilds/{guild.id}/scheduled-events on a cron schedule to compare event start times against the current time and fire reminder messages via POST /channels/{channel.id}/messages at your configured intervals (e.g., 1 hour and 15 minutes before start). Discord has no built-in reminder callback — the polling and comparison logic is entirely your responsibility. ## Best practices - Use ISO 8601 timestamps with explicit UTC offset (+00:00) when creating events — never pass naive (timezone-unaware) datetimes. - Store reminder state persistently (database or file) — in-memory state is lost on bot restart and causes duplicate reminders. - Use Discord timestamp tags ( and ) in reminder embeds — they display in each viewer's local timezone automatically without any server-side conversion. - Filter events to status=1 (SCHEDULED) only — ACTIVE (2), COMPLETED (3), and CANCELED (4) events should not trigger reminders. - Set your polling window slightly larger than the poll interval — for a 5-minute poll, use a 10-minute wide reminder window (e.g., 55-65 minutes for the 1-hour reminder). - Prune stale entries from your sent-reminders state after each poll — remove entries for events that are no longer in the SCHEDULED list to keep state small. - Implement a startup check: on bot start, verify the announcement channel exists and the bot has Send Messages permission before starting the poll loop. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Discord Scheduled Events API free? Yes. Creating, reading, and deleting scheduled events via the API has no cost. The Discord API is free with no per-request pricing. Manage Events permission is required for creation, but no paid tier is needed. ### What happens when I hit the rate limit while polling? You receive HTTP 429 with retry_after in seconds. Read X-RateLimit-Remaining on each poll response — if it's 0, skip the next poll until X-RateLimit-Reset-After has elapsed. Polling at 5-minute intervals for a server with under 50 events uses minimal API budget and rarely hits rate limits. ### Why doesn't Discord send a push notification when an event is about to start? The Scheduled Events API has no built-in reminder webhook or callback. Discord's client shows notifications to members who clicked 'Interested' on the event, but bots receive no automatic notification. You must implement your own polling loop and time comparison logic. ### Can I create recurring events automatically? Discord has no native recurring event support. To create weekly events, use a cron job that calls POST /guilds/{id}/scheduled-events each week to create the next occurrence. When the previous event completes (status changes to COMPLETED), create the next one. ### Can I use Gateway events instead of REST polling for event monitoring? Yes. The Gateway fires GUILD_SCHEDULED_EVENT_CREATE, GUILD_SCHEDULED_EVENT_UPDATE, and GUILD_SCHEDULED_EVENT_USER_ADD events. However, these notify you when events are created/modified — not when they're about to start. You still need time comparison logic to fire pre-event reminders. The Gateway approach avoids repeated polling but still requires your bot to be online. ### Do Discord timestamps () handle timezones automatically? Yes. Discord renders and in each user's local timezone based on their device settings. You provide a UTC Unix timestamp; Discord handles the conversion. This is far better than hardcoding a timezone in your reminder text. ### Can RapidDev help build a Discord event management system? Yes. RapidDev has built 600+ apps including Discord bots with event scheduling, cross-platform reminders, and calendar integrations. Visit rapidevelopers.com for a free consultation. --- Source: https://www.rapidevelopers.com/api-automations/how-to-automate-discord-event-reminders-using-the-api © RapidDev — https://www.rapidevelopers.com/api-automations/how-to-automate-discord-event-reminders-using-the-api