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How to add and assign roles on Discord

Start upgrading your server with member roles.
By
August 14, 2023

When you join a Discord server, you’re typically assigned a role that applies to everyone. Some users on a server may have different roles because they’ve been part of the community longer, or have taken on greater responsibilities, namely becoming an admin or mod. Let’s talk about how to add roles to your Discord server and start assigning people to them.

QUICK ANSWER 

To add a role on Discord:

  1. Go to your server in the desktop app.
  2. Open the server's dropdown menu by clicking the downwards arrow at the top.
  3. Click Server Settings > Roles > Create Role.

 


KEY SECTIONS 

How to add roles to your Discord server

As the owner or admin of a Discord server, you have the power to manage the roles of everyone who participates on it. If you want someone’s username to appear red, you can do that. If you want another person to be blue and unable to send messages at all, you can do that, too.

You can assign roles, remove roles, and, of course, add new roles. Here’s how to do that.

Desktop

In the Discord app, go to your server and open the dropdown menu by clicking the downwards arrow at the top.

click down arrow on server
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Click Server Settings.

server settings location discord
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From the server menu, click Roles.

roles location discord desktop
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Click the purple Create Role button.

click create role button desktop
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Within the Display tab of EDIT ROLE, you can choose a new color for the role. If your server is boosted, you can even add icons for roles.

new role color discord
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Under Permissions, you can grant access to specific server features. This is vital for making roles more than cosmetic.

There are several permission categories:

  • General server permissions
  • Membership permissions
  • Text channel permissions
  • Voice channel permissions
  • Events permissions
  • Advanced permissions
go through all permissions one by one
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Under Manage Members, you can add or remove the server users you want to have a role.

add members button location
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Android and iOS

Open the Discord app on your Android or iOS device, then go to your server. Tap at the top, to the right of your Discord server name.

rolees on mobile discord
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Tap the gear-shaped Settings button. Scroll down to User Management, then tap Roles.

adding a new role on discord mobile
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Tap the plus button at the bottom of the screen. This will create a new role, with options to set color, permissions, and members.

Reaction roles

reaction roles discord
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Reaction roles are roles that people on a server can add for themselves by reacting to a particular post. You’ll need to add a bot like MEE6 or Dyno to your server to set these up.

How to make someone an admin on Discord

Giving someone an Administrator role enables all available server permissions. Effectively, this trusts someone to manage a server just as you the creator would. They can do everything you can, including using the ultimate Discord weapon: the banhammer.

Go back into your Server Settings, then to Roles. Find the role you want to grant admin access to, hover your cursor over it, and click Edit.

edit role discord
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Click the Permissions tab, then scroll to the bottom. Under Advanced permissions, you’ll find the Administrator switch. Be careful about toggling this — you’ll want to remove any server members you don’t think should have admin powers, or possibly just create an entirely new role.

admin role discord
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FAQs

You can have a maximum of 250 different roles on your Discord server.

No, unless you want the bot to appear with a certain name or color. Bots, when added, typically have their own role.

No, admins cannot kick the owner of a Discord server. The same goes for other admins — admins cannot kick other admins on Discord.

Admins, or users with the Administrator role, have access to all server elements. They have permission to manage the server and make the same changes that the owner would.

No, not usually. The server owner is the one that has the power to change the name of a server, unless they bestow that permission upon a member.