Midjourney User Tutorial: Create a private server on Discord, invite the bot, and start generating images

This Midjourney user tutorial focuses on a common need: you don’t want to spam public channels and want to generate images quietly in your own Discord server. You’ll learn how to create a private server, invite the Midjourney Bot, set up usable channels, and complete your first generation using the most common commands.

Preparation: Check your Discord account and available permissions

To use Midjourney, you need to be able to log in to Discord normally and have the “Manage Server” or “Invite Apps” permission; without it, the bot usually can’t be added to your server. In most cases, Midjourney currently requires a subscription to generate images reliably. If you can see the generate button but can’t get images, first check whether you have available credits.

It’s recommended to enable two-factor authentication on Discord first, and confirm that you aren’t restricted from inviting apps by the server’s security policies. Then continue with the Midjourney server setup—this will save you a lot of back-and-forth troubleshooting.

Create a private server: Set up the generation environment first

Click the “+” on the left side of Discord to create a server, choose “Create My Own,” and give it any name you like, such as “MJ Image Room.” After it’s created, it’s recommended to make a dedicated channel, such as #mj-generate, and keep chat history permissions limited to yourself or a small group of members to prevent commands from getting buried by spam.

If you plan to share it with multiple people, it’s best to also create a #mj-assets channel specifically for dropping reference image links or prompt drafts. That way, the Midjourney generation channel stays clean and it’s faster to review history.

Invite the Midjourney Bot: Add it to your private server via the official entry point

Open the official Midjourney Discord server, find the Midjourney Bot (usually in the member list), click its avatar, and choose “Add to Server.” In the pop-up, select the private server you just created and authorize as prompted; during authorization, at minimum allow it to “Send Messages” and “Read Message History,” otherwise Midjourney commands may appear but won’t return images.

After it’s added successfully, go to your #mj-generate channel and type “/” to confirm you can see commands like /imagine. If you can’t see the command list, it’s usually due to channel permissions or the bot not being added correctly—go back to Server Settings and check role permissions first.

Start generating: Practical settings for /imagine and /settings

In #mj-generate, enter /imagine, then describe the scene in one sentence in the prompt—such as subject, style, camera, lighting, and mood. Midjourney works best with “specific nouns + adjectives + style references.” After the image is generated, the common U buttons upscale, and V generates similar variations. First use U to upscale the one you’re most satisfied with, then decide whether to refine further.

It’s recommended to run /settings once to lock in commonly used preferences, such as enabling Remix (so you can change words during subsequent generations) and selecting the default model version. You can also add parameters at the end of the prompt (such as aspect ratio), but don’t pile on too many parameters at the beginning—stabilizing the overall direction of the image is more important.