How to Enable Discord Developer Mode? User, Server, and Message ID
How to enable developer mode on desktop and mobile, copy user, server, channel, message, and role IDs, the structure of snowflake IDs, and why IDs are needed for unbanning and support tickets.
This article was translated automatically from the Turkish original. Read the Turkish original
In this article
In Short
On desktop, open User Settings via the gear icon in the bottom left, go to Advanced under App Settings, and toggle on Developer Mode. Once enabled, right-clicking a user, server, channel, message, or role will reveal a "Copy ID" option. On mobile, the same setting is under your profile picture, then the gear icon, and the Advanced section.
When setting up bots, opening a support ticket with Discord, or unbanning someone who has left the server, you will be asked for an "ID". This number does not appear by default in the Discord interface. To see it, you need to enable Developer Mode. The steps in this article are based on Discord's support article Where can I find my User/Server/Message ID?, and information regarding the structure of the ID is based on the Snowflakes section in the Discord developer documentation.
We have written the menu names as they appear in Discord's English interface. In localized interfaces, these names will be translated, but their locations remain the same.
What is a Discord ID and why is it called a "snowflake"?
Every user, server, channel, message, and role in Discord has a unique number. According to the developer documentation, Discord uses Twitter's snowflake format for these numbers. Because the numbers can grow up to 64 bits, Discord's HTTP API always returns them as text (strings).
You can change your username or server name, but the ID never changes. This is why bots and Discord's own systems recognize items by their ID rather than their name. Two people can have the same display name, but they cannot have the same ID.
A snowflake has another characteristic: it contains its creation timestamp. According to the documentation, the upper 42 bits of the number represent the milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 2015 (1420070400000 milliseconds), which is Discord's epoch. You can calculate when an account or message was created using its ID like this:
// In your browser console or in Node.js
const id = 175928847299117063n; // the 'n' at the end makes it a BigInt
const ms = (id >> 22n) + 1420070400000n;
new Date(Number(ms)).toISOString();
// "2016-04-30T11:18:25.796Z"Writing the number as a BigInt is important. Normal JavaScript numbers cannot accurately maintain such large integers, causing the last digits to drift. One result of this formula is that IDs generated at the beginning of 2015 were 17 digits long, while those generated after July 2022 are 19 digits long. In other words, the length of the ID varies depending on when it was created.
Enabling Developer Mode
Desktop and Browser
- Open User Settings by clicking the gear icon next to your name in the bottom left.
- Go to the Advanced section under the App Settings header in the left sidebar.
- Toggle on the Developer Mode switch.
iOS and Android
- Tap your profile picture in the bottom right.
- Tap the gear icon in the top right.
- Open the Advanced section under App Settings.
- Toggle on the Developer Mode switch.
In older guides, this setting was shown under the "Appearance" or "Behavior" sections. Since Discord reorganizes its menus over time, if you cannot find the setting there, check the Advanced section. The setting only affects your account; no one else on the server will see any changes.
How to Copy Different IDs
Once developer mode is enabled, right-clicking (desktop) or long-pressing (mobile) menus will reveal an ID copying option. Depending on the version, the option may be named "Copy ID" or more explicitly like "Copy User ID" or "Copy Server ID".
| What | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| User | Right-click the person's name or profile picture | Press and hold their profile picture to open the profile, then tap the three dots in the top right |
| Your own account | Right-click your name or profile picture in a message you sent | Open your own profile and use the three-dot menu |
| Server | Right-click the server icon in the left sidebar | Tap the server name |
| Channel | Right-click the channel name | Press and hold the channel name |
| Message | Right-click the message or hover over it and open the three-dot menu | Press and hold the message |
| Role | Right-click the role in the Roles list inside Server Settings | Open the role within the role list in server settings |
How to copy a user ID on mobile is described similarly in Discord's article prepared for law enforcement: press and hold the profile picture, tap the three dots on the profile, and select Copy ID.
As for an application's Application ID (for a bot), it is not found on the server, but rather in the Discord Developer Portal under the application's General Information page.
Three IDs in a Message Link
The "Copy Message Link" option in a message's menu comes in handy even when developer mode is turned off. The format of the link looks like this:
https://discord.com/channels/SERVER_ID/CHANNEL_ID/MESSAGE_IDThe three numbers at the end are the IDs of the server, channel, and message, respectively. Sharing the link itself to show a reported message to a moderator is much more practical than sending the three numbers separately.
Where are IDs Needed?
- Unbanning: Since the banned person is not in the server, you cannot mention their name. An ID is required when revoking a ban. For example, in VeyroBot, the
/unbancommand takes the user via theuseridoption, meaning through their ID. For timed punishment options, you can check our timed ban and timeout guide. - Bot Setup: Some bots and configuration files require channels or roles by ID rather than name. Even if the name changes, the configuration won't break.
- Support Tickets and Reports: When reporting an account to Discord, the username might change, but the ID does not. This is why the law enforcement article highlights IDs separately.
- Post-Incident Review: If your server has been raided, the IDs in the audit logs allow you to track accounts that have changed their names. Check out our what to do when your server is nuked article for initial steps.
Do not confuse an ID with a bot token
An ID is an identification number, not a password. Anyone looking at public messages and profiles on Discord can see IDs using developer mode. A bot token, on the other hand, is completely different: it is the login key for the bot's account and must never be shared with anyone. If a guide or support team asks you for an ID, give them the ID; if someone asks for a token, do not give it. If you suspect a token has leaked, regenerate it immediately in the Developer Portal.
If the "Copy ID" Option Doesn't Appear
- No ID options in the menu: Developer mode is turned off. Check the Advanced section in the app you are using (desktop, browser, or phone).
- Role ID doesn't show up: You must have access to Server Settings to view the role list. If you do not have permission to manage roles, ask the server administrator for the ID. How role permissions work is explained in the role and permission system guide.
- The copied number doesn't work: There might be trailing or leading spaces. Verify that the number consists solely of digits and is between 17 and 19 digits long.
Last updated: October 9, 2026. Steps are taken from Discord's "Where can I find my User/Server/Message ID?" and "How to Find User IDs for Law Enforcement" support articles, and the snowflake structure is sourced from the Reference page of the Discord developer documentation. Discord menu names and locations are subject to change with updates.
