How to Add Reaction Roles in Discord

With more than 150 million users worldwide, there’s no surprise that Discord is the most popular chat app for gamers. Reaction roles represent one of the features that sets Discord apart.

In this tutorial, you’ll see how to add reaction roles for users on your Discord server. With all the websites lacking details, skipping steps, or having outdated ones, we strive to provide/discover solutions you can use today with as much detail as possible. Since Discord continues to receive updates and features regularly, anything can change at any time. With that in mind, let’s get started!

What are Reaction Roles in Discord?

A Reaction Role is a tool that allows users to obtain or relinquish a role by clicking or tapping a reaction. It’s different from the standard “Roles” found in Discord because those need to be manually assigned. On top of their general purpose, reaction roles also change color depending on the message sender’s current status. For example, a reaction role may turn green if the sender has moderator privileges. You could even go a step further and specify the permissions of each one.

Let’s now dive in and see how you can add reaction roles on Discord. First, we’ll see how you can do it from a PC and, finally, how to do it on mobile.

How to Add Reaction Roles to a Discord Server from a PC

Carl Bot is one of the most efficient tools developed to help Discord admins add reaction roles. After the bot is fully set up in your server, members can assign roles for themselves in just a few clicks. The process takes five key steps:

1. Add Carl Bot to your server.
2. Establish new “Roles” under server settings.
3. Make the reaction roles and select the channel.
4. Add a description, title, and colors.
5. Add names and emojis to each role.

Let’s now break down each of these steps.

Step 1: Add Carl Bot to Your Server

With Carl Bot, you can add up to 250 roles to your server. It also allows you to create multiple roles for a user if you wish, making it the number one choice for Discord enthusiasts.

Here’s how to add the bot to your server:

1. Open your browser on your PC and visit the official Carl Bot website.
   
2. Once the page opens, click Invite at the top of the navigation bar.
   
3. Next, choose the server where you’re adding the bot.
   
4. At this point, the bot will prompt you to permit it to access the server. Click on Authorize.
   
5. Complete the random CAPTCHA to prove that you’re not a robot.
   
6. Click the “Authorize” button once more to save changes.
   
7. Choose the server you just added in the previous steps.
   

After completing the above steps, you should find Carl Bot on your server.

Step 2: Establish New Roles Under Server Settings

Once you’ve confirmed that Carl Bot is on your server, it’s time to create new roles. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Open your Discord server.
   
2. Click on the arrow that appears next to your server’s name.
   
3. Click on Server Settings.
   
4. Select Roles from the sidebar.
   
5. Click the “Create Role” button.
   
6. Set a name for your new role, such as “Blue,” then click on the “Save Changes” button that appears.
   
7. At this point, you must ensure that the server displays role members separately from online members. To do so, open Roles and toggle the box next to this option, then click on the “Save Changes” button that appears.
   
8. Ensure that “carl-bot” is the first role on the list. If it’s not, drag it into position.
   
9. Click on “Save Changes” to complete setting up your new role.
   

You can create more roles by following the steps above. Just be sure to give each a different name to differentiate between them easily.

Step 3: Make the Reaction Roles and Select the Channel

After successfully generating the desired number of roles, the next step involves using Carl Bot to create the “reaction” roles. Doing so will allow members to assign themselves the roles they like. Here’s what to do:

1. Open any channel, such as #general.
   
2. Type “?reactionrole make” without quotes, then press Enter. You can select any channel because Carl Bot joins all of them after being invited to your server.
   
3. At this point, you should see a message prompt from Carl Bot asking you to specify the channel that will host your reaction roles. Simply type the channel name, such as “general,” and then hit “Enter.”
   

Step 4: Add a Description, Title, and Colors

After successfully selecting the channel to accommodate your reaction roles, you must create a title and description. To do so,

1. Type “roles | {roles}“ without quotes, then Press “Enter.” If you want the default or customized message replaced with the list of emojis and their associated roles (best option), type “roles | command“ instead.
   
2. By default, Carl Bot will prompt you to enter a color hex code for your message. If you don’t want your reaction roles to have distinctive colors, enter “none” without quotes in the hex code box.

Step 5: Add Names and Emojis to Each Role

Now, all that remains is adding a name and emoji to each reaction role you created. Users will react with a preset emoji to assign themselves a given role. Here are the precise steps.

1. Enter the emoji you want for a role using the “emoji” icon in the message box, then hit the “space bar” on your keyboard once.
   
2. Type the role’s name—the name you added in step 2 above, such as “Blue” in this example, and press “Enter.”
   
3. Type “Done“ to complete the process.
   

Now, you’ve just added reaction roles with the help of Carl Bot. When a user joins the channel, Carl Bot immediately requests them to choose a role.

Besides adding reaction roles, the Carl Bot automates several other functions that would otherwise take much time to do manually. It comes pre-made with commands, so you can customize it to suit your needs or use the default functionality. It’s beneficial in keeping a room organized by automating tasks like counting the number of users on the server, removing spam messages, and starting games.

How to Add Reaction Roles to a Discord Server From an iPhone or Android

You can add reaction roles to a Discord server from your Android or iOS device. In this case, however, you’ll need to use Mee6 Bot. This makes it a good fit for mobile devices.

Here’s how to add reaction roles to a Discord server using Mee6 on your mobile:

Note: If the Android or iPhone keyboard gets in the way at any step, tap its “close” icon to hide it.

1. Open a browser on your device and visit the official “Mee6 website.” You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Discord account if not saved in the browser.
   
2. Next, allow Mee6 Bot to access your account if prompted.
   
3. Select the Discord server of interest by tapping its “Setup” button.
   
4. Authorize Mee6 to access your Discord account by tapping “Continue.”
5. Accept the permissions for Mee6 to access your Discord server by selecting “Authorize.”
6. Choose “Skip” in the questionnaire if desired—if it appears.
7. In the “Plugins” section of the Mee6 Dashboard, scroll down and tap the “+ Enable” button for “Reaction Roles.”
   
8. Ensure the “Reaction Roles” slider is on, then tap “New Reaction Role.”
9. Name your new role by tapping the “pencil” icon (Edit) or the “current name” at the top, such as tapping “New Reaction Role” and changing it to “Red Role.” DO NOT tap “Save.” Close the keyboard.
10. In the “Channel” section, tap the “Select a channel” dropdown to select one, such as “# General.”
11. In the “Message” section, add an optional message to guide users in selecting the role. You can also add a “Header,” “Title,” and “Footer” images, and even add a new field if desired. Otherwise, leave them blank to use the default settings.
12. Next, you can choose a color for the role by tapping the “color wheel” icon on the left, then use the “slider,” “hex code,” or “RBG values” to select your color.
13. In the “Reaction and roles” section, tap the “emoji” icon to choose one for your new role.
14. Next, tap “Select a role” to the right of the chosen emoji.
15. Name the role, such as “Red Role,” then tap ‘Create a “Red Role” role.’ You may also see previously used names to choose from, such as the gray “Red Role” in this example.
16. If you created a new role in the previous step, you could choose a role text color, such as the “red dot” for the “Red Role.”
17. Tap “Save new role” to add it to Mee6.
18. The new role appears in the previous “Select a role” box, such as showing “@Red Role” with a red dot. You can tap the “X” to delete the name and make a new one if you messed up or don’t like it.
19. When finished, tap “Save” at the top to make a draft or “Publish” to add it to your Discord server. Note that drafts can be compiled (one or more), edited later, and published when ready.
20. To allow users to read, select, and manage their reaction roles, you must launch your “Discord server.” Tap the “hamburger” icon (Menu) in the top-left section. If not there, tap the “Server” icon first.
21. Select the “horizontal ellipsis” (three horizontal dots) on the server page.
22. Choose “Settings.”
23. Scroll down and select “Roles.”
24. Choose “@everyone.”
25. Ensure “Add Reactions” and “Read Message History” are turned on, as well as any other permissions you want everyone to have on the server, then turn off all other features.
26. Tap the “back” arrow in the top-left section to exit “@everyone” settings.
27. Tap the “back” arrow to exit the “Server Roles” settings.
28. Tap the “X” in the top-left section to exit “Server Settings.”
29. Select your “Channel” to view the new MEE6 reaction role messages.
30. Confirm the reaction role process by tapping the “reaction role icon” and watching the role count deduct by one.
31. Tap the “Members” icon (people icon) in the top-right section to see that your “red” text color has changed to the default.

Now, all new Discord channel users can read and reply to reactions to add them to their profile on the channel and any other features you permit them to use. You can also customize each role’s permissions so they are unique, such as adding an “Admin” role and a “Read-Only” role.

All users (@everyone) tap on a reaction role to activate/deactivate it when accessing the server. In the “Red Role” example listed in the steps above, tapping it makes their profile name red. Tapping it again changes it back to the default gray color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to more of your questions about adding reaction roles to a Discord server.

Can I create reaction roles without a bot?

Unfortunately, no. A bot is the only way to add “reaction” roles to a server. However, you can still add regular roles in Discord, but you have to assign them manually.

Can I create reaction roles if I’m not an admin?

No. You can’t create reaction roles if you do not have permission to add a bot to the server.

Stay Organized

If you’re looking for a way to make your Discord server more interactive and engaging, adding reaction roles can be the answer. Users will be able to assign themselves roles and help you to keep your channels organized. Reaction roles are a surefire way to keep users engaged while still automating tasks that would otherwise take longer, whether a simple thumbs up or an animated GIF.

What are your favorite emojis for your Discord reaction roles? Let us know in the comments section below.