Discord is the voice and text chat platform of choice among online gamers these days. It is easy to use, highly customizable and offers a variety of useful chat features.
These features include the ability to assign and manage roles for users in your chat server. In this article, you will learn how to add, manage and delete roles in Discord.
What are Discord Roles?
In Discord terminology, a role is a defined set of permissions with a name. For example, there is a default role called “@everyone”, which gives a wide range of basic permissions, such as talking on the server and reading the messages.
A server administrator can create a “Moderator” role, which will add the ability to mute or ban other users. Users can also have multiple roles, ie someone who has both @all and Moderator roles will have all the powers of @all plus the powers of a Moderator.
Discord Permissions
There are 29 permissions on Discord divided into general, text and voice permissions. To assign roles appropriately, you need to understand what each one does. Below is a list of each permission for reference.
General permissions
- Administrator – The administrator’s permission grants all the permissions that exist on the server. Granting this permission can be dangerous as it gives a lot of power to the user.
- View audit log – This permission allows the user to read the server’s audit logs.
- Manage server – This permission allows the user to change the server name or move it to another region.
- Management of roles – This permission allows the user to create new roles and modify roles that do not have the management roles permission enabled.
- Manage channels – This permission allows the user to create, edit and delete channels on the server.
- members kick – This permission allows the user to kick members from the server.
- Banned members – This permission allows the user to ban members of the server.
- Create instant invitation – This permission allows the user to invite other users to the server.
- change nickname – This permission allows the user to change their own nickname.
- Manage nicknames – This permission allows the user to change the nicknames of other users.
- Manage Emojis – This permission allows the user to manage emojis on the server.
- Manage Webhooks – This permission allows the user to create, edit and delete webhooks.
- Read text channels and see voice channels – This permission allows the user to read the message channels.
Text permissions
- Send messages – This permission allows the user to send messages on the text chat.
- Send TTS messages – This permission allows the user to send text-to-speech messages.
- Manage messages – This permission allows the user to delete or pin messages from other users.
- Include links – This permission allows the user to embed hyperlinks in the chat.
- Attach files – This permission allows the user to attach files in the chat.
- Read Message History – This permission allows the user to scroll back and access previous messages.
- Name all – This permission allows the user to enable push notifications for the members of the channel.
- Use External Emojis – This permission allows users to use emojis from other servers.
- Add reactions – This permission allows the user to add new responses to a message.
Voting permissions
- Link – This permission allows the user to connect to the voice channel (that is, hear).
- Talk – This permission allows the user to speak on the voice channel.
- Mute members – This permission allows the user to turn off another user’s ability to speak.
- Deaf Members – This permission allows the user to turn off another user’s ability to hear on the channel.
- Move members – This permission allows the user to move other members from one channel to another.
- Use Voice Activity – This permission allows the user to talk without using Push-to-Talk.
- Priority Speaker – This permission allows the user to reduce the volume of other users when this user is speaking so that their words are louder on the channel.
How to Create Roles in Discord
Setting up your roles correctly is key to managing your users on a Discord server. It’s a good idea to have the basic roles created before you even start inviting people to the server. You can always go back and add new roles or reconfigure existing roles when you’re in business.
- Log in to Discord and access your server.
- Select the small drop-down arrow to the right of the server name and click Server settings.
- Click roles in the left pane.
- Click on Create Role.
- You will see your new role listed as new role.
- Name the role something descriptive and give it a color (colors explain and inform users about each other’s roles).
- Review all 32 permissions, turn on only the permissions you want associated with that role, and then select Save changes on the bottom.
If you forget to save your changes, a dialog box will appear to remind you to do so before continuing.
Repeat for each new role you want to create.
By assigning the different permission levels to different roles, you can create a hierarchy by trust. You can assign lower roles to newcomers and higher roles with more permissions to those you know well.
How to Assign Roles in Discord
After creating roles for your server, you need to assign them to the users in your chat.
Check to assign multiple members at once Server settings and tap on roles. Then do this:
- Click on the role you want your members to have.
- Click on Management of members.
- Click on add members.
- Click the check boxes next to each member that should have that role and click add.
If you only need to add one or two members, this method is faster:
- Select the user you want to assign a role to in the right-hand panel.
- Choose the small one + under the username and select the role from the menu.
Repeat for each user on your server.
You can also quickly add roles by right-clicking on the user, selecting rolesand then click the role(s) you want to add in the pop-up menu.
Remember, you can add as many roles as you want for each user.
Assigning roles on Discord Mobile
To create a new role and assign it on the go, go to the Discord app on your Mobile. The instructions are similar to the desktop application.
- Open the Discord app and select your server. Tap the three vertical dots at the top next to your server’s name.
- Tap up Institutions and scroll down to Members.
- Click on the usernames of whom you want to assign an existing role.
- Tap up Edit roles.
- Tap the check box next to each member’s name for the role you are assigning.
Edit roles in Discord Mobile
Go to the server’s settings and tap on roles just like you did above, then follow these steps:
- Tap the role you want to edit.
- Scroll through the list and make any changes you feel necessary.
Following the steps above will keep your Discord server organized and productive, even on the go.
How to Manage Roles in Discord
Managing roles in Discord is similar to creating them. You can add more roles if you need them and change the permissions. Depending on how you want to manage your server, you can get away with creating just two roles, admin and @all.
To quickly add/remove members or adjust the permissions, all you have to do is go back to the Server settings and click rolls, just like we did above. Then follow these steps:
- Click on the role you want to change.
- Choose Permissions to control what members can do on your server.
- Choose Management of members to add or remove members.
As your community grows, you can add others. Because roles must be added individually to each user, the most efficient use of your time is to place as many of your server’s policy decisions as possible in the @all role.
You may have noticed the left column on the Roles page, which displays the names of all roles you’ve created. Usernames on the server will display the color of the highest role assigned to a user. Users can easily recognize the moderators, admins, etc., on the server.
How to Delete Roles in Discord
You’ll rarely need to delete a role in Discord because you simply couldn’t assign it. However, if your account is cluttered with unused roles, here’s how you can clear them.
- Select the small drop-down arrow next to your server and select Server settings.
- Choose roles in the left panel and select the role you want to delete.
- Scroll down and click on delete [role name] button.
- Confirm by clicking OK.
Use bots to assign discord roles
Users can add bots for a more hands-on approach to managing roles on Discord. Bots like Mee6 and Dyno Bot are popular options for role moderation. We have a full guide on the subject here. But if you are interested in relaxing a bit, you can do this:
- Add the bot to the server you manage.
- Go to the bot’s website and click on dashboard.
- Choose the Moderation option.
- Then fit the Automatic moderation options to meet your needs.
Now, when a new member joins your server, they can be automatically directed to a “Welcome” role. Or members who meet certain criteria can go to a special role for fixed users.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s always something new to learn on Discord. We have included more information about roles in this section.
Can I automatically assign roles in Discord?
Absolutely! Although, you may need a bot to do this. Managing a Discord server can be a tedious and overwhelming task. Fortunately, you can add other Admins to help you or look into using bots.
I’m an Admin but I still can’t manage the server. What is happening?
If the server’s owner created an Admin role for you, but you can’t make certain changes, it’s probably because they never turned on all permissions under your role. Contact the server owner and verify that you have permission.
Final Thoughts
Role management is an important part of keeping a Discord server organized, especially as it adds users.
Keep in mind that there is a limit of 250 different roles on a particular server. This shouldn’t be a limitation in practical terms, but don’t start defining every possible combination of permissions you might want to use – you’ll quickly run out of roles if you do.