How to add custom emoji to Discord

Custom emoji make a Discord server feel like home. If you have “Manage Emoji” permission, adding them takes seconds — here's the process and the size rules.

The steps

Open Server Settings → Emoji.
Click Upload Emoji and pick an image.
Name it (letters, numbers, underscores) and save.

Requirements and limits

Images should be 128×128 (Discord recommends) and under 256 KB.
PNG for static, GIF for animated emoji.
Free servers get a set number of emoji slots; boosting adds more.
Square, bold and simple reads best at chat size.

Animated emoji

Upload a GIF to create an animated emoji. Animated emoji usage across servers is a Nitro perk, but you can always add and use them in the server where they live.

Design a clean emoji

Turn any icon into a crisp square PNG with a background — free.

Open the editor →

Frequently asked questions

What size are Discord emoji?

128×128 is recommended, under 256 KB. Discord scales them to chat size.

Can Discord emoji be animated?

Yes — upload a GIF. It becomes an animated emoji in that server.