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Discord Emojis: How to Use Them and Add Your Own to a Server

Custom Discord emojis are easy to create and add to your servers. Here’s how to use them to make your Discord content stand out.

Hannah Macready November 7, 2022 5 min read
Page Title Discord Emojis: How to Use Them and Add Your Own to a Server | Hootsuite

You may be familiar with Discord, the popular platform for hosting real-time text, video, and voice chat, but do you know about Discord emojis?

One of the coolest features of Discord is the ability to add emojis to your messages. Many Discord emojis are built into the platform, but you can also add your own custom emojis, turn off emojis, or even remove an emoji from a server altogether.

We’ll show you how.

Bonus: Read the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

What are Discord emoji?

Discord emojis are small images that can be used to express ideas or emotions.

They are similar to the emoji you would find on your phone, but Discord emoji are platform-specific. You can use Discord emojis on your server or in messages you send. Emojis can be static or animated (you can even use a Discord emoji GIF), and there are thousands of them to choose from.

Discord emoji options with various facial expressions

Unlike traditional iPhone and Android emojis, Discord emojis are more customizable. Depending on the channel you’re in, you’ll see custom emojis based on the server’s content.

For example, in The Fallout Network (a Discord server based on the video game series, Fallout), there are custom emojis based on in-game items, such as the Nuka Cola bottle or the Pip-Boy.

The Fallout Network custom in-game emojis

In the “Instagram” server (it’s a fan server, not owned by Instagram itself), there are lots of custom emojis with an Instagram theme, such as the camera emoji.

Instagram fan server with themed emojis

How to use emojis on Discord

Discord emojis are super easy to use.

If you’re on the Discord desktop app, you can use emoji shortcodes. All you have to do is type :emojiname: into a text channel or message, and the emoji will appear.

For example, if you wanted to use a cute Discord emoji, like the Instagram logo on the Instagram server, you would type:

:insta:

instagram emoji keyboard shortcut

Or, if you wanted to use a funny Discord emoji, like the Nuka Cola bottle in the Fallout server, you’d type:

:nukacola:

nuka cola emoji posted in discord server chat

Once you start typing, you’ll see a range of suggested emojis that match your phrasing. Click on any one of these to autofill your emoji.

You can also click the smiley face on the right-hand side of any text input box to bring up the Discord emoji list. From here, you can scroll through all available Discord emojis or search for a specific one.

custom instagram discord emojis shown in right hand chat box

Note: Custom channel emojis can be used on the Discord desktop app. But if you’re using Discord on your mobile device, you’ll need Discord Nitro to use custom emojis. If custom emojis are unavailable to you, you’ll see them in grey.

unusable discord emojis shown in grey scale in chat

How to add custom Discord emoji to a server

Wondering how to make emojis on Discord? Custom Discord emojis are fun to use for a variety of purposes: from adding some personality to your server to showing off your brand.

To add a custom Discord emoji to a server, you need the manage emoji server permission, which can be granted to users with administrator server permissions.

If you want to create animated emojis, you’ll need a Discord Nitro account.

Here’s how to add emojis to Discord channels on desktop and mobile.

How to add emojis to Discord channels on desktop

To add custom Discord emojis on your desktop, navigate to your channel and click on Server Settings.

server settings option on discord mobile app

Then, select the Emoji tab.

discord emoji tab in server settings on desktop

Next, choose Upload Emoji.

upload emoji button shown in discord settings

You’ll have the option to crop your file here. Once complete, hit Upload and the emoji will be available for use in Discord.

How to add emojis to Discord channels on mobile

To add custom Discord emojis on mobile, choose your channel and click the three dots in the top right.

three dots in right of mobile app to open discord server settings

Next, go to the Server Settings.

server settings in discord mobile app

Then, click Emoji.

emoji settings in discord mobile app

Then, tap the Upload Emoji button and choose the media file.

upload emoji options in discord server settings

From here, you can crop the image. Discord will then load the completed file and confirm if you want to upload it. Click Upload to finish adding your custom Discord emoji to the server.

Discord emoji size and naming conventions

All custom emoji names must be at least 2 characters in length and under 256KB in size.

Emoji names can contain alphanumeric characters and underscores but no other characters.

Managing custom Discord emojis

Any custom Discord emojis you add to your server will be shown in reverse alphabetical order.

If any user on the server has Discord Nitro, they’ll be able to use your server’s custom emoji in any other server.

You can add up to 50 custom Discord emojis to your server.

Discord Nitro and Nitro Basic users have an additional 50 emoji slots available to them, for a total of 100 custom Discord emojis. Emojis created with Discord Nitro can be used on any server, even if you don’t have Discord Nitro yourself!

How to make Discord emojis

Now that you know how to add Discord emojis to your server, let’s learn how to make them.

You can create a custom emoji for Discord using any photo or image. You can even create Discord emoji GIFs!

To make Discord emojis, choose any PNG image with a transparent background. You can find these in Google search or make your own in Canva or Photoshop. Kapwing also has a custom Discord emoji maker.

Once you have your image, follow the steps listed above to add it to your Discord server as a custom emoji.

You can also download Discord emoji packs from sites like emoji.gg and discords.com. Emoji.gg even has its own Discord emoji server where you can find even more emojis, like anime Discord emojis or Discord emoji memes.

anime Discord emojis shown in emoji.gg server

Just use caution when downloading emojis for Discord from the internet, as some sites may contain malware.

How to turn off auto emoji on Discord

Discord tends to automatically convert emoticons into emojis. If you don’t want this feature, it can be turned off.

How to turn off emojis on Discord’s desktop app

To change your settings on the Discord desktop app, click the gear icon at the bottom left near your username.

settings gear next to username on bottom left of desktop view

Then, select Text & Images from the tabs on the left.

text and images button in discord server settings desktop

Find the Automatically convert emoticons in your messages to emojis button and toggle it off.

Automatically convert emoticons in your messages to emojis button in discord server settings

You can now use Discord emoticons without them being turned into emojis.

How to turn off emojis on Discord mobile app

There is currently no way to turn off auto emojis on the Discord mobile app. Even the mobile browser option directs you to the App Store.

We even tried requesting the desktop site through our browser, but no luck. If you want to turn off auto emojis in Discord, you’ll need to use the desktop app.

Disabling discord emojis on single messages

Hey, maybe you want to use Discord emoticons in a single message but don’t want to turn off the auto emoji feature entirely. No problem!

Here’s how you do it:

Type a backslash (\), and then type your emoticon code. For example, if you wanted to use the “thumbs up” Discord emoticon, you would type:

\:thumbsup:

This will disable the auto emoji function for that particular instance, letting you use any emoticon you want without changing settings or disabling the feature.

/:thumbsup: code shown in discord chat

How to remove Discord emoji from a server

If you’re the server owner or have authorized Discord permissions, you can remove Discord emojis from your server in just a few steps.

Here’s how to remove Discord emojis on desktop:

Open the Discord app and go to your server. Open your Server Settings and choose the Emoji tab.

emoji option in discord server settings

You’ll see any custom emojis you’ve added here. Hover over the emoji you want to delete and click the red x in the right-hand corner.

custom added emojis is discord server

Here’s how to remove Discord emojis on mobile:

On the mobile app, go to your server, and open your Settings by clicking on the three dots in the top right.

discord server settings gear icon in mobile app

Choose Emoji to see any custom emojis you’ve added.

custom emojis shown in discord server settings

Swipe left to show the delete function. Click Delete to remove your emoji from the server.

remove custom discord emoji by swiping left in mobile app

If you loved learning about Discord emojis, check out some of our other guides on Snapchat emojis and secret TikTok emojis.

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By Hannah Macready

Hannah Macready is a freelance writer with 12 years of experience in social media and digital marketing. Her work has appeared in publications such as Fast Company and The Globe & Mail, and has been used in global social media campaigns for brands like Grosvenor Americas and Intuit Mailchimp. In her spare time, Hannah likes exploring the outdoors with her two dogs, Soup and Salad.

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