Discord: per-channel autoThread (#800)

Co-authored-by: Shadow <shadow@clawd.bot>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 - Google: apply patched pi-ai `google-gemini-cli` function call handling (strips ids) after upgrading to pi-ai 0.43.0.
 - Auto-reply: elevated/reasoning toggles now enqueue system events so the model sees the mode change immediately.
 - Tools: keep `image` available in sandbox and fail over when image models return empty output (fixes “(no text returned)”).
+- Discord: add per-channel `autoThread` to auto-create threads for top-level messages. (#800) — thanks @davidguttman.
 - Onboarding: TUI defaults to `deliver: false` to avoid cross-provider auto-delivery leaks; onboarding spawns the TUI with explicit `deliver: false`. (#791 — thanks @roshanasingh4)
 
 ## 2026.1.11

src/config/zod-schema.ts

@@ -350,6 +350,7 @@ const DiscordGuildChannelSchema = z.object({
   enabled: z.boolean().optional(),
   users: z.array(z.union([z.string(), z.number()])).optional(),
   systemPrompt: z.string().optional(),
+  autoThread: z.boolean().optional(),
 });
 
 const DiscordGuildSchema = z.object({

src/discord/monitor.test.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   resolveDiscordChannelConfig,
   resolveDiscordGuildEntry,
   resolveDiscordReplyTarget,
+  resolveDiscordShouldRequireMention,
   resolveGroupDmAllow,
   shouldEmitDiscordReactionNotification,
 } from "./monitor.js";
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@ describe("discord guild/channel resolution", () => {
           enabled: false,
           users: ["123"],
           systemPrompt: "Use short answers.",
+          autoThread: true,
         },
       },
     };
@@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ describe("discord guild/channel resolution", () => {
     expect(help?.enabled).toBe(false);
     expect(help?.users).toEqual(["123"]);
     expect(help?.systemPrompt).toBe("Use short answers.");
+    expect(help?.autoThread).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("denies channel when config present but no match", () => {
@@ -145,6 +148,54 @@ describe("discord guild/channel resolution", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("discord mention gating", () => {
+  it("requires mention by default", () => {
+    const guildInfo: DiscordGuildEntryResolved = {
+      requireMention: true,
+      channels: {
+        general: { allow: true },
+      },
+    };
+    const channelConfig = resolveDiscordChannelConfig({
+      guildInfo,
+      channelId: "1",
+      channelName: "General",
+      channelSlug: "general",
+    });
+    expect(
+      resolveDiscordShouldRequireMention({
+        isGuildMessage: true,
+        isThread: false,
+        channelConfig,
+        guildInfo,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("does not require mention inside autoThread threads", () => {
+    const guildInfo: DiscordGuildEntryResolved = {
+      requireMention: true,
+      channels: {
+        general: { allow: true, autoThread: true },
+      },
+    };
+    const channelConfig = resolveDiscordChannelConfig({
+      guildInfo,
+      channelId: "1",
+      channelName: "General",
+      channelSlug: "general",
+    });
+    expect(
+      resolveDiscordShouldRequireMention({
+        isGuildMessage: true,
+        isThread: true,
+        channelConfig,
+        guildInfo,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("discord groupPolicy gating", () => {
   it("allows when policy is open", () => {
     expect(

src/discord/monitor.ts

@@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ export type DiscordGuildEntryResolved = {
       enabled?: boolean;
       users?: Array<string | number>;
       systemPrompt?: string;
+      autoThread?: boolean;
     }
   >;
 };
@@ -258,6 +259,7 @@ export type DiscordChannelConfigResolved = {
   enabled?: boolean;
   users?: Array<string | number>;
   systemPrompt?: string;
+  autoThread?: boolean;
 };
 
 export type DiscordMessageEvent = Parameters<
@@ -905,8 +907,12 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
             }
           : undefined;
 
-      const shouldRequireMention =
+      const shouldRequireMention = resolveDiscordShouldRequireMention({
-        channelConfig?.requireMention ?? guildInfo?.requireMention ?? true;
+        isGuildMessage,
+        isThread: Boolean(threadChannel),
+        channelConfig,
+        guildInfo,
+      });
       const hasAnyMention = Boolean(
         !isDirectMessage &&
           (message.mentionedEveryone ||
@@ -1155,6 +1161,39 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
         return;
       }
 
+      let deliverTarget = replyTarget;
+      if (isGuildMessage && channelConfig?.autoThread && !threadChannel) {
+        try {
+          const base = truncateUtf16Safe(
+            (baseText || combinedBody || "Thread").replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim(),
+            80,
+          );
+          const authorLabel = author.username ?? author.id;
+          const threadName =
+            truncateUtf16Safe(`${authorLabel}: ${base}`.trim(), 100) ||
+            `Thread ${message.id}`;
+
+          const created = (await client.rest.post(
+            `${Routes.channelMessage(message.channelId, message.id)}/threads`,
+            {
+              body: {
+                name: threadName,
+                auto_archive_duration: 60,
+              },
+            },
+          )) as { id?: string };
+
+          const createdId = created?.id ? String(created.id) : "";
+          if (createdId) {
+            deliverTarget = `channel:${createdId}`;
+          }
+        } catch (err) {
+          logVerbose(
+            `discord: autoThread failed for ${message.channelId}/${message.id}: ${String(err)}`,
+          );
+        }
+      }
+
       if (isDirectMessage) {
         const sessionCfg = cfg.session;
         const storePath = resolveStorePath(sessionCfg?.store, {
@@ -1188,12 +1227,12 @@ export function createDiscordMessageHandler(params: {
           deliver: async (payload) => {
             await deliverDiscordReply({
               replies: [payload],
-              target: replyTarget,
+              target: deliverTarget,
               token,
               accountId,
               rest: client.rest,
               runtime,
-              replyToMode,
+              replyToMode: deliverTarget !== replyTarget ? "off" : replyToMode,
               textLimit,
               maxLinesPerMessage: discordConfig?.maxLinesPerMessage,
             });
@@ -2370,6 +2409,7 @@ export function resolveDiscordChannelConfig(params: {
       enabled: byId.enabled,
       users: byId.users,
       systemPrompt: byId.systemPrompt,
+      autoThread: byId.autoThread,
     };
   if (channelSlug && channels[channelSlug]) {
     const entry = channels[channelSlug];
@@ -2380,6 +2420,7 @@ export function resolveDiscordChannelConfig(params: {
       enabled: entry.enabled,
       users: entry.users,
       systemPrompt: entry.systemPrompt,
+      autoThread: entry.autoThread,
     };
   }
   if (channelName && channels[channelName]) {
@@ -2391,11 +2432,23 @@ export function resolveDiscordChannelConfig(params: {
       enabled: entry.enabled,
       users: entry.users,
       systemPrompt: entry.systemPrompt,
+      autoThread: entry.autoThread,
     };
   }
   return { allowed: false };
 }
 
+export function resolveDiscordShouldRequireMention(params: {
+  isGuildMessage: boolean;
+  isThread: boolean;
+  channelConfig?: DiscordChannelConfigResolved | null;
+  guildInfo?: DiscordGuildEntryResolved | null;
+}): boolean {
+  if (!params.isGuildMessage) return false;
+  if (params.isThread && params.channelConfig?.autoThread) return false;
+  return params.channelConfig?.requireMention ?? params.guildInfo?.requireMention ?? true;
+}
+
 export function isDiscordGroupAllowedByPolicy(params: {
   groupPolicy: "open" | "disabled" | "allowlist";
   channelAllowlistConfigured: boolean;