Triage Copilot

Inspiration

Reddit moderators spend a huge amount of time in the mod queue, but they still lack one basic coordination tool: knowing when another moderator is already working the same item.

Research helped us focus on the real pain point. Pal et al. (2025) found that 74.5% of moderators regularly collide with another mod doing the exact same work on the same report. That means wasted time, repeated actions, and unnecessary friction for volunteer moderation teams.

We built Triage Copilot to solve that problem first.

What it does

Triage Copilot is a Devvit app for Reddit moderators that adds real-time Claim and Release to posts and comments.

When a moderator opens Triage on an item:

the item is claimed for that moderator
other moderators can see it is already being handled
the app shows shared awareness through live presence
the moderator gets all of the key context in one place
common moderation actions can be applied in one submit

The app also includes:

user intel such as account age, karma, prior bans, mod notes, and recent actions
similar-removal memory to surface recently removed matching content
per-item mod chat and claim handoff
a subreddit activity view for active claims and prevented collisions
optional AI-assisted moderation suggestions and draft replies

How we built it

We built Triage Copilot on Devvit using TypeScript.

The app uses:

Reddit API for posts, comments, mod notes, bans, removals, locking, and moderation context
Redis for realtime shared state such as claims, viewers, chat notes, and collision counters
HTTP calls for optional AI providers
scheduler jobs for recurring digest-style reporting
triggers for installation flows and AutoModerator-related signals

The core technical idea is simple: moderation coordination should be treated as shared state, not as isolated moderator actions. Redis lets the app keep track of who claimed an item, who else is viewing it, and what the team has already done.

Challenges we ran into

The hardest challenge was not the action chain. It was making the app feel native to Reddit moderation workflows.

A few key issues came up:

Devvit menu items are surfaced differently across Reddit interfaces, especially in moderator surfaces
Reddit's available user-report data does not expose reporter usernames, which limited a planned brigade-detection feature
we wanted to avoid deprecated UI patterns and keep the workflow inside supported Devvit surfaces
app-scope secrets and installation-scope settings needed to be separated carefully

We also had to balance usefulness with moderator control. AI can be helpful, but moderators should never lose control of the final action. So the app treats AI as a suggestion layer, not an auto-enforcement system.

What we learned

We learned that the most valuable moderation tools are not always the flashiest ones. The strongest opportunity was not “more AI,” but better coordination.

We also learned that moderator workflows are highly contextual. Mods do not want to open five different tools for one decision. They want the right context, at the right moment, on the right item.

That insight shaped the entire product:

stop duplicate work
surface context in one place
keep the moderator in charge
make teamwork visible in real time

Why this matters

Triage Copilot is built around a simple idea: if moderators can coordinate in real time, they can spend less time colliding and more time making better decisions.

That makes moderation faster, clearer, and less frustrating for the teams who keep communities healthy.