Midjourney User Guide: Join Discord, Authorize the Bot, and Set Up a Private Image-Generation Channel

This Midjourney user guide focuses on the most common beginner workflow: first complete registration and verification on Discord, then add the Midjourney Bot to your own server, and finally generate images normally with /imagine. Follow the steps and you’ll be able to organize your image-generation environment into a channel that “belongs only to you/your team,” making it easier to find your history as well.

1. Register for Discord and join the Midjourney server

Before using Midjourney, you need to have a Discord account: after signing up with an email, it’s recommended to complete email verification right away to avoid later restrictions when joining servers or sending commands. Next, enter Midjourney’s Discord server via the Midjourney official website or an official invite link. The first time you join, you usually need to click “Agree to rules / Complete verification” before you can see the channel list.

If you just want to try running through the process first, you can operate in the newbie channels; but with so many people, messages will scroll quickly and it’s hard to review your generation history. It’s more recommended to continue to the next step and add the Midjourney Bot to your own server for a cleaner environment.

2. Add the Midjourney Bot to your private server

Click the “+” on the left side of Discord to create a server, choose “From Scratch,” and name it anything you like, such as “MJ Studio.” Then go back to the official Midjourney server, find “Midjourney Bot” in the member list, open its profile, choose “Add App / Add to Server,” and authorize it into the server you just created.

When authorizing, pay attention to permissions: at minimum, it needs “Send Messages,” “Use Application Commands (Slash Commands),” and “Read Message History.” If you can’t see slash commands in your channel, first check whether application commands are disabled in the channel permissions—this is one of the most common sticking points for beginners.

3. Your first generation: how to use /imagine and write common parameters

In your private channel, type “/imagine.” Discord will pop up a prompt box; enter your prompt and send it—this is the most basic way to generate images in Midjourney. After generation, you’ll see four preview images. Common buttons include Upscale (U) and creating more Variations (V). Click once and it will queue another generation.

For parameters, it’s recommended to start with three: use “--ar 16:9/1:1” for aspect ratio, “--stylize value” for style intensity, and “--chaos value” for randomness. For example:

“/imagine prompt: A corner of a cafe with indoor natural light, a wooden tabletop and books, photorealistic photography --ar 3:2 --stylize 150 --chaos 5”

If you want to lock in commonly used settings, you can use “/settings” to set default preferences; you can also use “/prefer option set” to save a frequently used parameter template for one-click reuse later, making prompt writing much easier. The key to Midjourney is “clear prompts + restrained parameters”: stabilize the style first, then gradually add details.

4. Account switching and common issues: can’t see commands, the bot doesn’t respond

When you need to switch accounts, the most reliable method is to log out of the current account in Discord and then log into another account; if you’re using a browser, you can also use different browser profiles or incognito windows to log in separately to avoid account crossover. All Midjourney-related actions follow the Discord account you’re logged into, so first confirm “which Discord account is currently logged in.”

When the Midjourney Bot doesn’t respond, troubleshoot in this order: (1) whether the bot is in that server/channel; (2) whether channel permissions allow “Use Application Commands”; (3) whether you’re using “/imagine” in the input box rather than plain text; (4) whether network issues prevented the Discord message from being sent. If the prompt is restricted or no image is generated, it usually means you triggered the content safety policy—rewrite the prompt and remove sensitive descriptions, and you’ll usually get results faster.