TL;DR
8 min readAutoModerator is the rules engine built into every subreddit. Moderators write its rules in YAML on the config/automoderator wiki page, and each rule pairs checks (title words, domain, account age, karma, Contributor Quality Score) with actions (remove, filter, spam, report, approve). Karma, age and email rules set to remove now surface up front through Reddit's Poster Eligibility Guide, which lists the criteria you fail but hides the numbers. Keyword and domain rules act after you submit, and the author hears nothing unless the moderator wrote a comment or message into the rule.
What is AutoModerator on Reddit?
Reddit's AutoModerator is a rules engine built into every subreddit that checks each new post and comment against conditions the moderators write in YAML, then removes, filters, reports, flairs or replies to whatever matches. Reddit's help center calls it "a system built into Reddit that allows moderators to define 'rules' (consisting of checks and actions) to be automatically applied to posts in their community." Moderators shorten it to automod, and Reddit's own pages spell it "Automoderator".
Two facts from that page matter to anyone posting for a brand. First, "every community automatically has access to automoderator by default and just requires setting up," so you cannot tell from the outside whether a subreddit runs it. Second, it acts only on "new posts, comments, reports or edits," which means it judges your post in the seconds after you submit it, before any human moderator reads it.
I read every quote on this page against Reddit's help center on September 24, 2026. Reddit publishes the full specification in its help center as Full automoderator documentation, last updated September 18, 2026.
Where does the AutoModerator config live?
The AutoModerator config lives on one wiki page per subreddit. The full documentation opens with the rule: "Automoderator's configuration is kept on a subreddit's wiki, at the 'config/automoderator' page." On old Reddit the address is https://old.reddit.com/r/yoursubredditname/wiki/config/automoderator, and a moderator who opens it before setup sees the message "config/automoderator" doesn't exist.
Editing that page takes "config and wiki permissions," and setup "is only available on reddit.com on desktop (not in the Reddit App)." The page keeps a version history, so a mod team can revert a bad rule. Turning automod off is blunt: "simply delete the entire contents of the config/automoderator page and save it."
Reddit's documentation never tells outsiders how to read that page, and its own eligibility tool withholds the numbers, which is why the karma threshold a subreddit enforces is so hard to find.
What does AutoModerator YAML syntax look like?
An AutoModerator rule is a block of YAML lines, each a check or an action written as a name, a colon and a value. Reddit's Writing basic automoderator rules page gives the smallest complete rule:
title: disallowed
action: removeThe syntax rules that trip people up are short, and Reddit states each one plainly:
| Rule | Reddit's wording |
|---|---|
| Separator | Rules "must be separated by a line starting with exactly three hyphens - ---." |
| Multiple checks | "if you define multiple different checks on a rule, all of them must be satisfied in order to cause the actions to be performed." |
| Lists | "surround the entire list with square brackets, and separate items with commas." |
| Reverse checks | "A check is reversed by putting a tilde ~ in front of it." |
| Case | "Search checks are case-insensitive by default." |
| Greater-than | "you must put quotes around a greater-than check, but it is not necessary for less-than checks." |
| Duplicate keys | Defining the same check twice means "the second definition overwriting the first one." |
| Order | "Rules that may result in an item being removed (action of remove, spam, or filter) are always checked before all other rules." |
| Mods exempt | Mods' posts "will not be checked against any rules that may cause the post to be removed or reported," unless moderators_exempt overrides it. |
The action field takes five values for posts: approve, remove, spam, filter and report. The one to understand is filter, which Reddit describes as unique to AutoModerator: it "will remove the post but keep it in the modqueue and unmoderated pages." A filtered post waits for a human. A removed post does not.
Which AutoModerator rules catch brand posts?
Four rule types do most of the work against promotional posts: account age, karma thresholds, keyword filters and domain filters. Account and karma checks sit inside an author: sub-group, indented below it. Here are Reddit's own examples, copied from its documentation.
Account age, from the basic rules page, removing blog links from accounts under a day old:
domain: [tumblr.com, blogspot.com]
author:
account_age: < 1 day
action: removeKarma, removing link posts from accounts with under 5 comment karma:
type: link submission
author:
comment_karma: < 5
action: removeDomain, the inverse form a YouTube-only subreddit would use:
~domain: [youtube.com, youtu.be]
action: removeKeyword, a list match on the title:
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title: [red, green, blue]
set_flair: Primary Color| Check | Field | Detail Reddit documents |
|---|---|---|
| Account age | account_age | Units: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. Default is days. |
| Karma, sitewide | comment_karma, post_karma, combined_karma | Comment karma "will not go below -100", post karma "will not go below 0". |
| Karma, in this subreddit | comment_subreddit_karma, post_subreddit_karma, combined_subreddit_karma | Counts only karma earned in that community. |
| Any threshold passes | satisfy_any_threshold | If true, "only one of the checks will need to be successful." |
| Account trust | contributor_quality | Five values: highest, high, moderate, low, lowest. |
has_verified_email | Matches a verified email address "or a phone number." | |
| Keywords | title, body, title+body | Default match is includes-word; regex uses "standard Python regex syntax." |
| Domains | domain, url | domain "looks only for the exact domain or a subdomain of it." |
| Prebuilt lists | standard: | Eight lists, including amazon affiliate links and crowdfunding sites. Reddit updates them centrally. |
The contributor_quality field is the one to watch. Reddit calls Contributor Quality Score checks "a more holistic replacement for karma or account age checks," and the difference between that and raw karma is covered in how post karma and comment karma are counted.
What can AutoModerator not do?
Reddit's intro page lists four limits. AutoModerator can't "see or flag duplicate content," can't "act on old or past content," can't "delay actions," and can't "react to karma, changes in flair, or a redditor's history."
That last line contradicts the full documentation, which lists comment_karma, post_karma and four more karma fields as supported threshold checks. Both pages are live on the same help center. The reading that fits both is that AutoModerator compares your karma at the moment a post arrives and does not watch it change afterward. Reddit does not say which reading it intends.
What does a brand see when AutoModerator removes a post?
A brand sees one of two things, depending on the rule. Karma, age and email rules set to remove now show up before you post, while keyword and domain rules act after you submit and leave the author uninformed.
The first case runs through Reddit's Poster Eligibility Guide. Reddit's moderator article says it "uses automod configs to derive user eligibility" and "will block redditors from posting if the automod filters are set to remove their post." The modal appears when you select Create a post and lists the karma, account age and verification criteria you meet and fail. It does not give the numbers: "Specific karma and account age thresholds used by communities aren't disclosed at this time to deter potential misuse." The evaluation "updates every six hours," and it "won't act on automod criteria with the action set to filter." A mod team that filters instead of removes skips the modal entirely.
The second case is the silent one. Reddit lists seven criteria for the eligibility guide, and every one is a karma figure, account age, a verified email or approved-submitter status. Keywords and domains are not on the list. A rule that matches your product's domain or a word in your title runs after submission. The author gets told only when the rule includes a comment (a public reply) or a message (a private note to the author). A modmail goes to the moderators, not to you. The removal lands in the moderators' moderation log.
Reddit does not document what the author's own view shows after an automod removal, so the check has to come from outside your account. Reddit's Why can't I see my post? page tells you to sort by new, recheck the rules, and "if you think a moderator may have removed your post by accident or unfairly, send them a mod mail message." Checking the post's link from a logged-out window confirms it, and the difference between a removed and a deleted post explains the labels you will see.
- Karma, account age and email rules set to remove
- The Poster Eligibility Guide modal opens when you select Create a post
- It lists the criteria you meet and fail, without the numbers
- Rules set to filter skip the modal
- Keyword and domain rules run once the post is in
- The author hears nothing unless the rule has a comment or message
- A modmail goes to the moderators, not to you
- The removal lands in the moderation log
How should a marketer work with AutoModerator?
Treat every rule you cannot see as a rule you have to satisfy. Read the sidebar and the written rules first, because most automod rules encode those. Open Create a post before drafting, since the eligibility modal tells you which criteria your account fails. If a post disappears, send one modmail asking what rule it hit, and do not resubmit the same link, which a domain rule will remove again.
A silent removal is also not a ban. Reddit's ban evasion article notes that it "will not consider automoderator shadow bans as community bans," meaning a rule keyed to your username is a different thing from a ban issued through mod tools. How Reddit defines ban evasion covers the sitewide side.
Picking subreddits whose rules allow your kind of post saves most of this trouble. RedReplier's subreddit suggestions flag each community's posting rules alongside the fit ranking, and you still write and post every reply yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Where is a subreddit's AutoModerator config?
It is on the subreddit's wiki at config/automoderator, for example https://old.reddit.com/r/yoursubredditname/wiki/config/automoderator. Only moderators with config and wiki permissions can edit it, and Reddit's docs give outsiders no way to read the thresholds in it.
Does AutoModerator notify you when it removes a post?
Only when the rule contains a comment or message field. A modmail field alerts the moderators, not the author. Rules on karma, account age and email set to remove surface earlier, through the Poster Eligibility Guide modal.
What is the difference between remove and filter in AutoModerator?
remove takes the post down. filter "will remove the post but keep it in the modqueue and unmoderated pages," so a human moderator reviews it and can approve it. The Poster Eligibility Guide ignores rules set to filter.
Can AutoModerator check karma?
Yes. The full documentation supports six karma fields, including comment_karma and combined_subreddit_karma, written as thresholds such as comment_karma: < 5. Reddit's intro page also says automod can't "react to karma," and the two pages have not been reconciled.
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How do you write a greater-than check in AutoModerator?
Put the value in quotes, as in post_karma: '> 10'. Reddit explains that the > symbol has a special meaning in YAML, so greater-than checks need quotes and less-than checks do not.
Are AutoModerator rules the same across subreddits?
No. Each mod team writes its own config, and nothing on Reddit publishes them. The shared pieces are the eight standard: conditions, such as amazon affiliate links, whose definitions Reddit maintains centrally.
What should I do if AutoModerator removes my post?
Send one modmail asking which rule the post hit. Reddit's help page says to message the moderators if you think a post was removed by accident or unfairly. Do not resubmit the same link, because a domain rule will remove it again. Checking the post's link from a logged-out window confirms whether it is gone.
How do you turn off AutoModerator?
Reddit's documentation says to "simply delete the entire contents of the config/automoderator page and save it." Only moderators with config and wiki permissions can edit that page, and it keeps a version history, so a mod team can revert. Setup is only available on reddit.com on desktop, not in the Reddit App.
Can AutoModerator block links to my website?
A domain check "looks only for the exact domain or a subdomain of it," so a rule keyed to your domain with action: remove removes every post that links to it or one of its subdomains. Reddit also ships prebuilt standard: lists, such as amazon affiliate links and crowdfunding sites, and updates them centrally. The author hears about it only if the rule includes a comment or message.
What is the Contributor Quality Score in AutoModerator?
Reddit calls Contributor Quality Score checks "a more holistic replacement for karma or account age checks." Moderators use the contributor_quality field, which takes five values: highest, high, moderate, low and lowest.
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