How to Add Roles to a Discord Server

Moderating a Discord server becomes a lot easier with proper roles and user permissions. Here's how you can create new roles on Discord.

Discord roles come in handy when you want to assign specific permissions to a member group. Perhaps you want to add moderators to your server to facilitate proper moderation. Or maybe you want to categorize all the participants into distinct groups with similar interests.

Whatever the reason is, adding new roles to a Discord server isn't an intuitive task. Therefore in this post, we'll discuss how you can create and configure roles on a Discord server, along with a brief guide on assigning the roles to the participants.

Creating New Roles on Discord

For those who are using Discord web or the desktop client, here's how to create a new role:

1. Click on the dropdown menu icon next to your server's name and choose Server settings from the list of options.
2. Switch to the Roles tab and click on the Create role button.
3. Discord will create a new role with the name "new role." Note that all Discord servers have the "everyone" role set up by default.
4. Edit the role name and role color according to your preference. You can also add a role icon which will be displayed next to the username in chats.
5. Scrolling down, you can configure additional options such as "Allow anyone to mention the role" and "Display role members separately from online members."
6. Switch to the Permissions tab to assign server-level permissions to the role. Toggle the permissions on and off to offer or revoke the authority from the role.
7. Once you're done, click on the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Similar to the desktop client, adding new roles on the Discord smartphone app is a breeze.

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1. Select the server from the left sidebar and tap on the three-dot menu icon to continue.
2. Tap Settings and select the Roles option under the User Management section.
3. Tap on the Plus (+) icon and Discord will set up a new role with basic permissions.
4. Feel free to modify the Role name and Role color option. To configure the permissions, scroll down and check off the box next to each permission you want to assign to the role.
5. Tap the Save icon on the bottom right to save the changes.

Related: How to Find the Best Discord Servers Worth Joining

Assigning Roles to Server Members

Roles are of no use if you don't assign them to members.

On Discord Desktop or Web

On the desktop version of Discord, there are two ways you can assign roles to members.

1. Head over to the Server settings and click on the Roles option from the left sidebar.
2. Then, select the role and switch to the Manage members tab.
3. Discord will display all users who currently have the selected role. To add more members, click on the Add members to this role option.
4. Select the users you want to assign the role to and click Add.

Alternatively, you can also assign roles to users using the Members option. To do that, go to Server settings > Members. Each user entry will have a small Plus (+) icon next to it. Click on it and select the role you want to assign from the dropdown.

To remove a member from a Discord role, click on the Cross (x) icon appearing next to the user's name.

On the Discord App

To add members to an existing role using the Discord app, head over to Server settings > Members. Then, tap on the user entry and check off the box next to the desired role.

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Similarly, to unassign a role, simply uncheck the box and the permissions will be revoked.

Learn More: The Best Discord Alternatives

Rock and "Role" With Discord

By introducing roles to your server, you can classify server members into different groups, assign necessary permissions to a particular set of users, or limit access to text or voice channels. Overall, moderation becomes a lot easier if you invest your time in setting up proper roles and permissions for the users.

Apart from roles, channels, and emojis, Discord has various other features to offer. You can customize the interface of the app to personalize your dashboard according to your heart's content.

About The Author

Deepesh Sharma (98 Articles Published)

Deepesh is the Junior Editor for Linux at MUO. He writes informational guides on Linux, aiming to provide a blissful experience to all newcomers. Not sure about movies, but if you want to talk about technology, he's your guy. In his free time, you can find him reading books, listening to different music genres, or playing his guitar.

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