Discord Server Glossary: Terms Every Admin Should Know

Discord has its own vocabulary, and a lot of it is used inconsistently — "server" and "guild" mean the same thing, "boost" means both a single boost and the act of boosting, and half the moderation tools have names that don't describe what they do. This glossary defines the terms an admin or moderator is likely to run into, grouped by topic. Where Discord's own naming has changed, both names are given.

Discord updates its features regularly; definitions here describe how things work at the time of writing.

Servers and Structure

Server — A community space on Discord with its own channels, members, roles and settings. Discord's API and developer documentation call the same thing a guild.

Owner — The single account that created the server or had ownership transferred to it. Only the owner can delete the server, transfer ownership, or change certain safety settings.

Category — A collapsible heading in the channel list that groups channels. Categories can carry permissions that their channels inherit.

Text channel — A channel for messages, files and links.

Voice channel — A channel members join to talk, share video or stream a screen. Members can also type in a voice channel's attached text chat.

Announcement channel — A text channel whose messages can be published so that other servers following the channel receive them. Formerly called a news channel.

Forum channel — A channel organised as posts, each with its own thread, designed for questions, guides and discussions that people will search later.

Stage channel — A voice channel with a speaker/audience split, for talks, AMAs and events.

Thread — A temporary sub-conversation attached to a message or channel. Threads archive automatically after a period of inactivity.

Channel topic — The short description shown at the top of a text channel.

Server template — A snapshot of a server's channels, categories, roles and permissions (not its messages) that can be used to create a new server with the same structure.

Roles and Permissions

Role — A named label attached to members. Roles carry permissions, a colour and a position in the hierarchy. A member can have many roles.

@everyone — The built-in role every member has. Its permissions are the baseline that all other roles build on.

Permission — A specific capability, such as Send Messages, Manage Channels or Ban Members. Permissions are granted by roles and can be overridden per channel.

Administrator — A single permission that grants every other permission and bypasses all channel-level overrides. Effectively owner-level control without ownership.

Permission override — A per-channel (or per-category) exception that allows or denies a permission for a specific role or member, regardless of their server-wide permissions.

Role hierarchy — The order of roles in the roles list. A member can only manage roles and members positioned below their own highest role.

Hoisted role — A role set to display its members separately in the member list.

Boosts and Levels

Server boost — A unit of support a member applies to a server. Boosts are counted, and the count determines the server's level. Boosts can be moved between servers and stop counting when the subscription behind them lapses.

Boost level — A tier of server perks unlocked when the boost count reaches a threshold. At the time of writing: Level 1 at 2 boosts, Level 2 at 7, Level 3 at 14. Levels drop if the count falls below the threshold. See the boost levels guide.

Boost perks — The features a level unlocks: more emoji and sticker slots, higher audio bitrate, better stream quality, larger uploads, animated icon, invite background, banner, vanity URL. The exact list per level is shown on the server's Server Boost screen.

Boost bar / progress bar — The indicator above the channel list showing the current boost count and progress to the next level. Can be hidden in server settings.

Booster — A member currently boosting the server. Boosters get a badge and, if configured, a dedicated role.

Headroom — Informal: boosts held above a level's threshold so that a single dropped boost doesn't lose the level.

Nitro — Discord's personal subscription: larger uploads, better streaming, custom emoji everywhere, profile features and, on the full tier, two server boosts. Nitro upgrades an account; boosts upgrade a server. The boost vs Nitro comparison covers the difference.

Nitro Basic — The cheaper Nitro tier with a smaller set of perks and, at the time of writing, no included boosts.

Vanity URL — A custom invite link in the form discord.gg/name. A Level 3 perk; it stops working if the server falls below Level 3.

Banner — A wide image displayed at the top of the channel list and on the server's invite. Static banners are a Level 2 perk; animated banners are Level 3.

Community Features

Community server — A server with Discord's Community setting enabled, which unlocks membership screening, the welcome screen, onboarding, announcement channels, server insights and eligibility for discovery. Requires certain safety settings to be on.

Membership screening — Requires new members to accept the server rules before they can participate.

Welcome screen — A panel shown to new members with a short description and links to key channels.

Onboarding — A guided flow for new members that assigns roles and shows channels based on their answers to a few questions.

Server Discovery — Discord's built-in directory of public servers. Community servers can apply once they meet Discord's eligibility requirements, which Discord sets and updates.

Server Insights — Analytics for Community servers: joins, leaves, active members, retention and traffic sources.

Events — Scheduled events shown in the server header, with RSVPs and reminders.

Channel following — Subscribing one server's channel to another server's announcement channel so that published messages appear in both.

Moderation and Safety

Verification level — A server-wide setting requiring new accounts to meet conditions (verified email, minimum account age, verified phone) before they can send messages.

AutoMod — Discord's built-in automated moderation: blocks messages matching keyword rules, limits mention spam and can flag suspicious usernames.

Timeout — Temporarily prevents a member from sending messages, reacting or joining voice, without removing them from the server.

Kick — Removes a member from the server. They can rejoin with an invite.

Ban — Removes a member and prevents them from rejoining. Can be lifted.

Audit log — A record of moderation actions and settings changes, showing who did what and when.

Explicit media filter — Scans uploaded images for explicit content and blocks them, for all members or only members without roles.

2FA requirement — A setting requiring members with moderation permissions to have two-factor authentication enabled.

Raid — A coordinated influx of accounts joining to spam or disrupt. Discord's safety settings include tools to pause invites and DMs during one.

Invites and Growth

Invite — A link that lets someone join the server. Invites can be permanent or expire after a time or number of uses, and each can be tracked separately.

Invite splash / invite background — A custom background image on the invite page. A Level 1 perk.

Member count — The total number of accounts in the server, including offline and inactive ones.

Online count — Members currently online. The ratio of online to total members is a common informal signal of how active a server is.

Partnership — Informal: two servers agreeing to promote each other, usually in a dedicated channel.

Bots and Integrations

Bot — An automated account added to a server with its own permissions, providing features Discord doesn't offer natively: moderation logs, music, tickets, levelling, game stats.

Webhook — A URL that external services can post messages to a specific channel through. One-way; a webhook can't read messages or perform actions.

Slash command — A command typed with / that a bot or Discord itself provides, with a built-in menu of options.

Integration — A connection between the server and an external service (a bot, a webhook, a linked platform), managed from the server's integrations settings.

Levelling bot — A bot that awards experience for activity and assigns roles at thresholds. Unrelated to server boost levels, despite the shared word.

Profile and Cosmetics

Custom emoji — Emoji uploaded to the server. Slot count increases with boost level. Members with Nitro can use them in other servers.

Sticker — A larger image or animation sent like an emoji. Slots also increase with boost level.

Soundboard — Short sound clips playable in voice channels. Slot count increases with boost level.

Avatar decoration / profile decoration — Cosmetic frames and effects for a user's own profile. A personal cosmetic, not a server feature.

Server profile — Per-server display name, avatar and banner a member can set, distinct from their global profile.

Terms Used on DCBoosts

These aren't Discord terms; they describe how orders work on this site.

Package — A fixed number of boosts on a fixed plan length (1, 3 or 12 months at the time of writing), sold as one item. Packages are sized around the level thresholds.

Plan length — How long the boosts in a package stay applied to the server.

Delivery key — The code issued after payment that, combined with a server invite link, is used to apply the boosts. See how delivery works.

Order ID — The reference for an order, used to track its status and retrieve the delivery key.

Replacement — If a boost from a package drops before the plan ends, it is reapplied under the delivery guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a server the same as a guild?

Yes. "Guild" is the term in Discord's API and developer documentation; "server" is the term in the app. They refer to the same thing.

What's the difference between a boost level and a levelling bot's levels?

Nothing connects them. Boost levels are Discord's server tiers unlocked by boost count. A levelling bot's levels are per-member activity ranks that the bot invents.

Does "Community" mean the server is public?

Not necessarily. Community is a set of features (screening, onboarding, insights, discovery eligibility). A Community server can still be invite-only; discovery is a separate, opt-in step.

Where can I check the current boost perks?

On the server itself: open the server name menu and choose Server Boost. It lists the current level, the count, and exactly what each level includes — and it's always current, unlike any third-party guide.