How to Get Your Server Listed in Discord Server Discovery (Requirements + Setup)

To get your server on Discord Server Discovery, enable Community in Server Settings, then turn on Discovery. Discovery requires Community enabled, a server description and at least one tag, 2FA required for moderators, no recent serious rule violations, and that your server clears Discord's activity bars (member count plus sustained weekly engagement and a steady online presence). The settings take a couple of minutes — clearing the activity gates is the real work. Discovery is Discord's own in-app search, so the hard part is being active and safe enough to qualify, not flipping the switch.

Discord adjusts these thresholds over time and the exact numbers can vary by server size and region, so always confirm against the live eligibility panel inside Server Settings. The panel shows a checkmark for each gate you've cleared and tells you exactly what's still missing — work straight off that, not off any number you read in a guide.

Server Discovery vs Disboard and other listing sites

Before you chase requirements, understand what you're signing up for. Discord Server Discovery is built into Discord itself — the magnifying-glass tab inside the app where users browse and search communities by topic. Getting listed there puts you in front of people already inside Discord looking for a server like yours.

That's different from third-party listing sites:

• Disboard, Top.gg, Discadia, Discord.me are external websites that index servers and let people browse or search them in a browser. Anyone can list a server on most of them right away, with no member minimum. Disboard in particular runs on a "bump" system where you re-list your server every few hours to stay near the top. If you're early and small, these are where you start — see our guide on how to bump your Discord server on Disboard.
• Discord Server Discovery is native, has strict gates, and tends to send higher-intent members because they found you inside the app they already use.

The honest takeaway: third-party sites are your growth engine while you're small. Discovery is the reward once you clear the activity bars. Most servers should run both — list on Disboard now, and set up Discovery the moment you qualify.

The eligibility gates Discord checks

Discord won't let you flip Discovery on until your server clears a specific set of bars. The current requirements cover four areas:

• Member count. Your server needs to reach a minimum size before Discovery unlocks. This is the headline gate, but it's rarely the one that blocks active servers.
• Sustained activity. Discord looks at how many members actually talk (members who sent a message recently) and how many are online on average over a trailing multi-week window — so one busy day won't qualify you.
• A description and at least one tag set in Discovery settings.
• Community enabled (Discovery is a Community-only feature), 2FA required for moderators, and a clean safety record with no recent serious rule violations or strikes.

The exact figures shift, so confirm them in the live requirements panel inside Server Settings before assuming you're blocked. The panel is the source of truth: green checkmarks for what you've cleared, notes for what's missing.

Activity and safety requirements you must hit first

The member count is the headline, but the activity and safety gates are what trip most servers up. You can invite your way to the member minimum and still fail if those people never talk.

The activity gates are about real engagement. Discord measures how many members message in a recent window and how many are online on average — so your channels can't be a ghost town. If you have plenty of members but only a handful of active ones, Discovery stays locked. This is the part you can't fake, and the part PeakBot is built to help with, which we cover at the end.

Safety is non-negotiable. Discord wants to send users to servers that won't get them harassed, scammed, or exposed to banned content. That means:

• Moderators must have two-factor authentication enabled.
• Your server can't have outstanding policy strikes or a history of serious Terms of Service / Community Guidelines violations.
• You need real moderation in place — clear rules, a way to report problems, and someone (or something) actually enforcing them.

A consistent moderation layer matters here. PeakBot's context-aware AI moderation reads message intent and adapts per channel instead of matching a fixed keyword list, and anti-raid and anti-nuke protection keeps your safety record clean during the growth spikes that often come right before you qualify. A single raid that floods your server with slurs can put a strike on your record at the worst possible moment.

Step 1: Enable Community on your server

Discovery only exists for Community servers, so this is the prerequisite step.

1. Open Server Settings → Enable Community (you'll see it in the left sidebar).
2. Walk through the setup wizard. Discord will ask you to confirm safety defaults: a verified email requirement for members and an explicit-content scan for uploaded media.
3. Set your Rules channel and Community Updates channel — these become required, public-facing channels.
4. Finish the wizard. Your server now has Announcement channels, the Welcome Screen, and the Discovery option unlocked.

Enabling Community changes a few things about how your server behaves and what members see. For the full before-and-after, read our walkthrough on how to enable Community on a Discord server and what changes before you commit.

Step 2: Open the Discovery settings panel

Once Community is on, a new Discovery entry appears in Server Settings under the "Community" section.

Open it. At the top you'll see the eligibility checklist — each requirement with a checkmark if you've met it or a note if you haven't. If everything is green, you'll be able to toggle Discovery on. If anything is red, this panel is your to-do list. Don't guess; work straight off what it shows you.

Step 3: Write a description and pick tags that surface you

This is the part you actually control, and it decides whether the people who could find you do find you.

Primary category and tags. Discovery makes you choose a primary category (Gaming, Music, Education, Science & Tech, and so on) and lets you add keyword tags. Pick the category your server genuinely fits, then add specific tags — not "gaming" alone but "valorant," "speedrunning," "indie dev." Specific tags match specific searches, and specific searches convert better because the person already knows what they want.

Description. You get a short description that shows in search results. Lead with what the server is and who it's for, in plain words. "A community for competitive Valorant players in EU and NA — daily scrims, rank-up coaching, and tournament teams" beats "the best gaming server ever, come join." Say the topic, the activity, and the audience. Skip the hype; people searching Discovery are filtering fast and want to know if you match.

Server name and icon matter too. They appear in the card. A clear, on-topic name and a readable icon get more clicks than a clever one nobody understands at a glance.

Step 4: Turn Discovery on and verify your listing

With the checklist green and your description and tags filled in, flip the Enable Discovery toggle.

Your server doesn't always appear instantly — Discord may take time to index it, and listings can lag. Give it a day, then search your own tags from a different account or the search bar to confirm you show up. If you don't, recheck that every gate is still green; dipping below the activity thresholds can quietly pull you back out.

Staying listed: the rules that get servers removed

Getting in is one thing; staying in is another. Discord actively prunes Discovery, and you can lose your spot by:

• Dropping below the activity thresholds. If your active-member count or online average falls under the minimums for a sustained period, you get delisted automatically. Discovery rewards servers that stay alive, not ones that spiked once.
• Picking up safety strikes. Rule violations, mass-reported behavior, or hosting prohibited content can remove you and, in bad cases, penalize the server overall.
• Misleading tags or description. Tagging yourself "anime" to ride a popular term when you're actually a crypto server is the kind of thing that gets servers pulled. Keep it accurate.
• Disabling Community. Turning Community off removes Discovery with it.

The through-line: Discovery is a living status, not a one-time achievement. The same things that qualify you — real activity and a clean record — are what keep you listed.

Getting active enough to qualify with PeakBot

Most servers don't fail Discovery on the member count. They fail on the activity gates — members join, lurk, and go quiet. That's the exact problem PeakBot is built to help solve, and it's free.

• XP and leveling (message and voice, leaderboards, role rewards) gives members a reason to keep talking. Visible progress and rank roles are one of the most reliable ways to lift your active-member count.
• Giveaways, polls, and a starboard create recurring reasons to show up, which feeds the average-online number Discord measures.
• Welcome messages with auto-role turn silent joiners into participants by routing them straight to the right channels instead of letting them bounce.
• An analytics dashboard shows you where your activity stands, so you're not guessing whether you'll qualify.
• AI moderation plus anti-raid/anti-nuke protects the clean safety record Discovery requires.

PeakBot is a free, AI-powered bot already powering 500+ Discord communities, and it replaces MEE6, Carl-bot, Dyno, and TidyCord with one install — 30+ features free, no trial, no time limit. If you ever want a full server scaffold in one shot, the AI Server Builder (a Pro feature, $8.25/month or $69/year per server) generates channels, roles, categories, and permissions from a plain-English description in under 60 seconds. If you're building toward Discovery from a small base, pair it with our playbook on promoting your Discord server for free and the full 0-to-1,000-members growth guide to reach the member threshold Discovery needs.

For the engagement features specifically, the free Discord bot feature list lays out everything you get at no cost.

Frequently asked questions

How many members do I need for Discord Server Discovery?

Discord sets a minimum member count, but the raw number alone isn't enough — you also have to clear activity gates (enough members messaging recently and a steady average online over a multi-week window). Discord adjusts the exact thresholds over time, so check the eligibility panel in Server Settings for the live figures rather than trusting a fixed number.

Is Discord Server Discovery free?

Yes. Discovery is a built-in Discord feature with no cost to enable, as long as your server meets the eligibility requirements and has Community turned on.

How long does it take to get listed in Discovery after enabling it?

It can be near-instant or take up to a day or so while Discord indexes your server. If you don't appear after a day, recheck that every requirement is still green — falling below an activity threshold can keep you out.

Why isn't my server eligible for Discovery even though I have enough members?

Almost always because of the activity or safety gates: too few members messaging recently, an average-online count below the bar, missing 2FA for moderators, or a recent rule strike. Open the Discovery panel in Server Settings — it shows exactly which requirement is failing.

Do I still need Disboard if I'm on Discovery?

It helps. Discovery reaches people searching inside Discord, while Disboard and other listing sites reach people browsing externally. Running both widens your reach, and Disboard is how many servers grow toward the member threshold Discovery requires in the first place.