How to Find Discord Servers: Discover, Lists and IDs

There are a huge number of Discord servers, and most of them are private. You cannot search all of Discord the way you search the web. Finding a server comes down to three routes: Discord's built-in Discover tab, invite links people share, and public server lists run by third parties.

A Discord server is a community space with its own channels and members; a public one can be found through Discover or a server list, a private one only through an invite.

This guide covers each one, how to check a server before you join, what a server ID can and cannot do, and which bots help once you start your own. Discord's menus were checked against its help center in October 2026.

Use Discord's Discover tab first

Start with Discover because it is Discord's own server finder. According to Discord's Discover Tab article:

• On desktop, click the Discover icon at the bottom of the server list on the left. On mobile, tap Discover at the bottom of the app.
• Open the Servers tab to see discoverable Community servers, sorted into categories like gaming, music and entertainment.
• Within each category, servers are ordered by popularity based on member count.
• Search in the Servers tab is currently desktop-only.

Discord notes the Discover tab is still rolling out as an experiment to a share of users, so what you see may differ. Older guides describe a compass icon called Server Discovery. Discord's support page says that version has ended and points to the Discover tab instead.

Not every server can appear here. Per Discord's Enabling Server Discovery article, a server must be a Community server with at least 1,000 members, be at least 8 weeks old, meet activity requirements, keep its name and channels clean, and require 2FA for moderators. So Discover is a good place to find large, active Discord servers, and a poor place to find small ones.

Public Discord server lists and finders

Public server lists are the main way to find smaller servers. People use Discord server lists: third-party websites where server owners post an invite link, tags and a description. Disboard and Top.gg are two of the best known. They work like a Discord server finder or Discord finder: you search a keyword or tag and get a list of discords to join.

You will also see names like Doogle Discord and Search Cord come up in searches. We have not tested every one of these Discord server finders, so treat them all the same way:

• They are not run by Discord. Listings are written by server owners and may be out of date.
• Member counts and "online" numbers on a list can lag behind the real server.
• Never log in to a server finder with your Discord password. Some lists use "Sign in with Discord" for owners to add their server, which is normal, but read what permissions the login asks for.
• Spanish-speaking users often search "servidores de Discord". Most lists have language tags, which is the fastest way to find communities in your language.

Creators are another reliable source. Streamers, YouTubers and open-source projects often put an invite link in their bios. If you know a creator's handle but not where they post it, the FreeUsername username search checks one handle across 3,450+ sites, which can turn up the profile that carries their link. Our Discord username lookup guide covers finding people rather than servers.

Route	Run by	Finds	Watch out for
Discover tab	Discord	Large Community servers (1,000+ members)	Still rolling out; small servers missing
Server lists	Third parties	Servers whose owners posted a listing	Out-of-date listings and counts
Creator invites	The creator	That creator's community	Invites can expire

How to join a server from an invite

Click the invite, or paste it under Join a Server.

Discord's join a server article gives two ways:

1. Click the invite link directly. Discord shows a preview, and before you join you can set a server nickname and choose whether members can DM you.
2. Or press the plus button in your server list, choose Join a Server, paste the link or its code, and press Join Server.

If you see someone's server tag next to their name, you can click it to open that server's profile and press Join Server there, or fill in an application if the server uses them.

Worked example. Say you want a small server about film photography. Discover will not show it if it has fewer than 1,000 members. Search "film photography" on a public server list, open a listing, and click its invite. Check the preview (name, icon, member figures), set a server nickname if you like, choose your DM setting, and press Join. If the invite has expired, look for the owner's handle and run it through our username search to find a profile that may carry a fresh link.

Check a server before you join

You can check a server's name, icon, member figures and description before joining. There is no official Discord server checker or Discord server viewer that lets you browse a private server from outside. What you can see legitimately:

• The invite preview. Opening an invite shows the server name, icon and member figures before you commit.
• The server profile. Opened from a server tag, it shows the description and other Discord server info the owner chose to share.
• Discover listings. Discord lists them by category and member count, and lets you preview a server.

Some sites promise to show members or messages of servers you are not in. They either scrape Discord against its rules or simply do not work. Skip them.

If you want to know whether Discord itself is down rather than one server, Discord runs an official status page at discordstatus.com. That is the only Discord online checker worth trusting for outages.

How to find a server ID

You find a server ID by turning on Developer Mode and choosing Copy Server ID. Every server has a long number called a server ID (developers call it a guild ID). Discord support may ask for it, and bots use it. Here is how to find server ID numbers, from Discord's ID article:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: User Settings, then Advanced, then the Developer Mode toggle. On mobile, it is under App Settings, then Advanced.
2. On desktop, right-click the server icon and choose Copy Server ID. On mobile, tap the server name, scroll down and tap Copy Server ID.

Discord server search by ID: what it can and cannot do

A Discord server search by ID will not get you into a server. Discord has no feature that takes a server ID and shows you the server or lets you join it. Joining needs an invite or a Discover listing.

The same goes for any private guild ID Discord shows you in Developer Mode. The number is not secret, and anyone in the server can copy it, but knowing it gives no access to channels, members or messages. Sites that claim to "look up" a private server from its ID cannot show you anything the owner has not made public.

How to join a guild on Discord

"Guild" means two things on Discord. In Discord's developer docs, a guild is simply a server. Discord also ran a feature called Guilds: small, application-only gaming groups of up to 200 members. If you are searching how to join a guild on Discord in that second sense, the Guilds FAQ now says the experiment has closed and the feature is no longer available. The closest thing today is a server tag, which you can click to open a server profile and join or apply.

Making a Discord server

Making a Discord server is quick if you cannot find the right community. Press the plus button at the bottom of your server list and follow the prompts to create your own. Then:

• Pick a clear name and a simple logo. Our server tags and names guide has ideas.
• Share an invite link where your audience already is.
• If you grow past 1,000 members and enable Community, you can apply for the Discover tab.

Bots: search, member counts, polls and webhooks

Use Discord's App Directory to find bots, and check built-in features first. Discord's Using Apps article says you reach it from Server Settings on desktop or browser, and you need to be the owner or have Manage Server permission to add an app.

• Member count Discord bot. Many bots show member totals in a channel name or a command. You can also see the total in your server's member list without any bot.
• Polls. People often look for a poll bot Discord servers can add, but you may not need one. Discord has built-in polls: press the plus in the message box and choose Poll. Discord's Polls FAQ allows up to 10 answers and a duration you set when you create it. Add a bot only if you need features the built-in one lacks.
• Discord webhook sender. A webhook lets another service post into a channel. Create one under Server Settings, then Integrations, then Create Webhook, as in Discord's Intro to Webhooks. Anyone with the webhook URL can post to that channel, so do not paste it into untrusted "webhook sender" websites. If it leaks, delete it and make a new one.

Before adding any bot, read the permissions it asks for. A poll bot does not need Administrator.

Pick a name people can find

Use one consistent handle so people can find you. Whether you are joining servers or starting one, a consistent handle makes you easier to recognize. Test a Discord username on the Discord checker page, and dress up your profile with our Discord pfp guide.

FreeUsername is not affiliated with Discord. Discord is a trademark of its owner.