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Set up a Reddit Community Guide welcome for new members

Moderator guide · Updated Nov 6, 2026 · about 2 minutes to read

Turn on the Community Guide, choose join-time display, write a useful welcome, and add up to three resource links.

SubMouse Editorial guide — independent and not affiliated with Reddit. Steps cite public Reddit Help pages; menu labels can change.

What the Community Guide is

The Community Guide is a moderator tool to welcome new members, point to resources, and optionally prompt user flair setup. Once enabled, it can show when someone joins and remains available in About.

This guide is the onboarding surface for members — not the Mod Guide/Training Queue for new moderators, and not your sidebar rules list (see Writing subreddit rules).

Enable on web and apps

reddit.com

  1. Community page → Mod Tools.
  2. Settings → Community Guide.
  3. Toggle Enable community guide.
  4. Optionally toggle Show when someone joins this community.
  5. Use the live preview while editing.

iOS and Android

  1. Community → Mod Tools → Community Guide under Settings.
  2. Enable Community Guide.
  3. Optionally show when someone joins.
  4. Tap Preview at the bottom to review.

Help notes a default welcome appears when enabled. Without a banner, the guide shows the community avatar and name until you add a banner image. Customize header, header image, and welcome message as needed. All components must follow the Reddit Rules.

What to put in the welcome

Reddit’s welcoming guidance suggests explaining what the community is for, how to participate, how to contact mods, and linking standing resources (rules, welcome threads, ongoing megathreads). Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

  • One sentence purpose (“We discuss X; we are not Y”).
  • Two or three participation norms that match your written rules.
  • Where to ask questions (weekly thread, mod mail).
  • Link to rules — do not paste the entire rule list into the welcome.

Hypothetical welcome opener: “Welcome to r/ExampleGarden — outdoor growing Q&A. Read the three sticky rules, search before posting plant IDs, and message mods for ban appeals. Indoor-only care fits better in our sister room.”

Optional features

  • User flair prompt — only if user flair is already enabled for the community. This page does not cover building a flair system.
  • Resources — up to three links (wiki, FAQ post, Discord if your rules allow off-site links).

Launch checklist

  • Enable + preview on desktop before relying on join prompts.
  • Show-on-join only after the welcome text is accurate.
  • Resource links open and match current stickies.
  • Rules page still exists and matches what the welcome claims.
  • Mod mail response path is staffed for “I joined and I’m confused” tickets.

Related on SubMouse

  • Authoring the rules the welcome points to → guide Writing subreddit rules.
  • Answering join-time questions → guide Handle Reddit mod mail.
  • Automated weekly welcome threads → guide Schedule and recur posts.

More on SubMouse

Reddit Help sources