# Thread tickets vs channel tickets

When you create a panel, you pick **Text Channel** or **Thread** as the ticket style. You can set the style per option, so one panel can mix both. The style is chosen when the ticket is created. There is no way to convert a ticket between a channel and a thread after it opens.

## Text channel vs thread tickets

You pick one of these two styles when you create a panel, and you can mix them per option.

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### Text channel (Recommended)

Every ticket is its own Discord channel under a chosen category.

**Pros**

* **Familiar.** Your staff already know how channels work.
* **Full channel features.** Topic, slow mode, pins, channel-level permission overrides.
* **Visible in the sidebar.** Open tickets show up in the channel list.
* **More moderation tools.** Discord auto-mod runs on channels.

**Cons**

* **Uses channel slots.** Discord caps each server at **500 channels total**, and each category at **50 channels**.
* **Visual clutter.** A server with 30 open tickets has 30 channels in the sidebar, or one full category.
* **Plan category space.** Ticket King places a ticket in your configured categories and uses the next one with room, so configure more than one "Tickets" category if you expect high volume.
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### Thread

Every ticket is a **thread** created under a chosen parent channel.

**Pros**

* **No channel slot pressure.** Threads do not count against the 500-channel server cap. Discord caps active threads at 1000 per server, which is higher.
* **Cleaner channel list.** One parent channel, with threads underneath.
* **Faster creation.** Creating a thread is a bit lighter than creating a channel.

**Cons**

* **No custom category per thread option.** The Custom Category setting is disabled for thread options, because threads live under their parent channel.
* **No admin staff thread.** The Admin Thread Message field is disabled for thread tickets. That feature applies to text-channel tickets.
* **No custom pings on thread options.** The Custom Pings setting is disabled for threads.
* **Some Discord moderation tools work less well on threads.**
* **Auto-archive closes the ticket.** If Discord auto-archives the thread after it goes idle, Ticket King closes the ticket, even when your Archive Thread Tickets setting is set to Delete.
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## Which to pick

| Your situation                                   | Pick                                                   |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Small server, low ticket volume                  | Text Channel                                           |
| Mid-volume server                                | Either works                                           |
| Large or high-volume server (50+ open at once)   | Thread                                                 |
| Need auto-mod, slow mode, channel-level features | Text Channel                                           |
| Need a custom category per ticket type           | Text Channel (Custom Category is disabled for threads) |
| Need an admin staff thread                       | Text Channel (Admin Thread is disabled for threads)    |
| Need custom per-option pings                     | Text Channel (Custom Pings is disabled for threads)    |

## What you choose at panel creation

In the creation wizard, the "Select Default Ticket Style" step sets the panel-level default. This default applies to every button or option on the panel.

You can override the style per button or per option in the per-option editor, on the General tab, in the **Ticket Style** field (Text Channel or Thread). So a single panel can mix both styles.

{% hint style="info" %}
Changing an option's ticket style only affects future tickets. Tickets that are already open keep their original style, and a ticket cannot be converted between a channel and a thread.
{% endhint %}

## What happens on close

| Style        | Behavior                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Text Channel | The channel is deleted.                                                                                                                                                                |
| Thread       | The thread is archived (renamed with a resolved prefix and locked) or deleted, set by **Settings, Ticket Style and Claiming Settings, Archive Thread Tickets**. The default is Delete. |

## Required permissions

Threads need:

* **Manage Threads**
* **Create Private Threads** (or Create Public Threads, depending on the parent channel)
* **Send Messages in Threads**

These are in the recommended invite link. If you used the minimum invite and want threads, re-invite with the recommended permissions.

## Related

{% content-ref url="/pages/0PyHViOuXmoK0zVX0Ukd" %}
[The ticket lifecycle](/docs/tickets/lifecycle.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/QOJInlm2JUTNQsxghkKF" %}
[Create a Ticket Panel](/docs/panels/create-a-ticket-panel.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


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