diff --git a/src/discord/monitor/allow-list.ts b/src/discord/monitor/allow-list.ts
index 12c2d1d39..645847889 100644
--- a/src/discord/monitor/allow-list.ts
+++ b/src/discord/monitor/allow-list.ts
@@ -258,7 +258,8 @@ export function resolveDiscordChannelConfigWithFallback(params: {
     scope,
   } = params;
   const channels = guildInfo?.channels;
-  if (!channels) return null;
+  // Return null if channels is undefined, null, or empty object - allows all channels when no allowlist is configured
+  if (!channels || Object.keys(channels).length === 0) return null;
   const resolvedParentSlug = parentSlug ?? (parentName ? normalizeDiscordSlug(parentName) : "");
   const match = resolveDiscordChannelEntryMatch(
     channels,
diff --git a/src/discord/monitor/native-command.ts b/src/discord/monitor/native-command.ts
index e53ff328a..ff4fd6b4f 100644
--- a/src/discord/monitor/native-command.ts
+++ b/src/discord/monitor/native-command.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
   readChannelAllowFromStore,
   upsertChannelPairingRequest,
 } from "../../pairing/pairing-store.js";
+import { logVerbose } from "../../globals.js";
 import { resolveAgentRoute } from "../../routing/resolve-route.js";
 import { loadWebMedia } from "../../web/media.js";
 import { chunkDiscordTextWithMode } from "../chunk.js";
@@ -656,6 +657,14 @@ async function dispatchDiscordCommandInteraction(params: {
       modeWhenAccessGroupsOff: "configured",
     });
     if (!commandAuthorized) {
+      // Log warning when no allowlist is configured to help users debug
+      const anyAuthorizerConfigured = authorizers.some((entry) => entry.configured);
+      if (!anyAuthorizerConfigured) {
+        logVerbose(
+          `discord: slash command rejected for user ${user.id} - no allowlist configured. ` +
+            `Configure channels.discord.guilds.<id>.users or channels.discord.dm.allowFrom to allow users.`,
+        );
+      }
       await respond("You are not authorized to use this command.", { ephemeral: true });
       return;
     }