How to add custom emojis and stickers to a Discord serverPermissions, file rules and how many slots you have.

Who can add emojis and stickers

Discord splits this into two permissions. Create Expressions lets a role add emoji and stickers; Manage Expressions lets a role edit or remove them. The server owner has both. To give them to a role: Server Settings → Roles → pick the role → Permissions → General Server Permissions, then toggle them and save.

For a streamer’s community server, giving Create Expressions to a trusted mod role means mods can add community suggestions without access to everything else.

Add a custom emoji

1. 1
   Open Server Settings

   Click the server name, then Server Settings.

2. 2
   Go to the Emoji tab

   It shows the emoji you already have and the slots left.

3. 3
   Press Upload Emoji

   Choose a JPEG, PNG, GIF or WEBP file under 256 KB.

4. 4
   Name it

   At least 2 characters, letters, numbers and underscores only. This is what people type between colons.

Discord’s How to Add Emojis article suggests uploading at up to 128×128 px; emoji are drawn much smaller in a normal message and larger when a message contains only emoji. On desktop and web, the emoji picker also has an Add Emoji button that opens Emoji Studio, where you can crop and resize before uploading (it is still rolling out and isn’t on mobile).

Animated emoji are GIFs and follow the same name and 256 KB rules. Keep loops short and colors few to stay under the limit.

Add a custom sticker

1. 1
   Use desktop or web

   Discord says managing custom stickers is only available on desktop; use the desktop or web app.

2. 2
   Server Settings → Stickers

   Press Upload Sticker and choose the file.

3. 3
   Name it and pick an emoji

   The related Unicode emoji makes the sticker show up in sticker suggestions and search.

4. 4
   Add a description

   Optional alt text for screen readers, such as “a cat waves hello and smiles”.

Discord’s sticker requirements: PNG for static, APNG for animated, exactly 320×320 px, at most 512 KB. Stickers render at 160×160 on desktop, which is why Discord asks for 320 px. You can’t replace the file of a sticker you already uploaded; delete it and upload a new one. Stickers upload one at a time.

How many slots you have

• No Boost level: 50 emoji slots, 5 sticker slots.
• Level 1 (2 Boosts): 100 emoji, 15 stickers.
• Level 2 (7 Boosts): 150 emoji, 30 stickers.
• Level 3 (14 Boosts): 250 emoji, 60 stickers.

Those totals are from Discord’s Server Caps table and Server Boosting FAQ. Discord’s custom emoji article describes the starting allowance as 50 static emoji plus a separate set of 50 animated slots, so the Emoji tab in your server settings is the place to check what’s left.

If a server drops a Boost level, the extra emoji and stickers aren’t deleted. After a 72-hour grace period they become unusable until the level is reached again.

Who can use them, and where

Every member can use the server’s custom emoji and stickers inside that server. Members with Nitro can also use them in other servers and DMs. Without Nitro, using an emoji from another server just posts its text code. Admins can stop members posting emoji and stickers from other servers by turning off “Use External Emoji and Stickers” for @everyone.

Twitch subscribers can link their Twitch account to Discord and use a streamer’s synced sub emotes. Discord notes that animated Twitch emotes sync as static images; upload the animated versions yourself if you want them to move.

A starter pack for a stream community

Start with the reactions people already type: hello, laugh, love, hype, sad, “sip”, sleep or AFK, and a GG. Make them from the same character as your Twitch emotes so your stream and server feel like one place. Add three to five stickers for bigger moments — a stream starting, a win, a goodbye — since stickers are sent on their own and need to read at a glance.

Name emoji the way chat talks: :hi:, :lol:, :hype:. Short names get used; clever names get forgotten.

Checklist

1. 1
   Permission

   Owner or Create Expressions.

2. 2
   Emoji file

   JPEG, PNG, GIF or WEBP, under 256 KB, 128×128 px.

3. 3
   Emoji name

   2+ characters: letters, numbers, underscores.

4. 4
   Sticker file

   PNG or APNG, exactly 320×320, under 512 KB.

5. 5
   Sticker extras

   A related emoji, plus a short description.

6. 6
   Slots

   Check the Emoji and Stickers tabs for what’s left.

Sources

• Discord Support, How to Add Emojis on Discord — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041139231
• Discord Support, How to Add Custom Emojis on Discord — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036479811
• Discord Support, Custom Stickers FAQ — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403089981975
• Discord Support, Tips for Sticker Creators FAQ — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/4402687377815
• Discord Support, Server Boosting FAQ — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360028038352
• Discord Support, Discord Account Caps, Server Caps, and More — support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/33694251638295

All checked on 6 November 2026.