Overview
Discordbot is Discord's web crawler that generates rich embeds when someone pastes a link in a channel or direct message. The embed includes an image, title, description, and a colored sidebar — all pulled from the page's meta tags.
Discord's embeds are among the richest link previews of any platform. They support large images, colored sidebars (via the theme-color meta tag), site name labels, and even oEmbed for rich media. This makes Discord a great platform for content with strong visual previews.
The crawler fetches your page's HTML, reads OG tags, and then fetches the image separately. Embeds are generated server-side, so the preview is consistent for all users in a channel.
User-Agent String
Discord Bot identifies itself with the following user-agent string:
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Discordbot/2.0; +https://discordapp.com)How Discord Bot Handles OG Images
Discord reads standard OG tags and adds a unique feature: the theme-color meta tag controls the embed sidebar color.
Meta Tags Read
og:imageog:titleog:descriptionog:urlog:site_nameog:typetheme-color| Preferred Size | 1200 × 630 |
| Minimum Size | No strict minimum |
| Max File Size | 8 MB |
| Cache Duration | ~30 minutes |
Caching Behavior
Short-lived cache, typically around 30 minutes. Discord re-fetches link metadata more frequently than most platforms, so updates propagate quickly.
Fallback Behavior
Without og:image, Discord shows a text-only embed with the title and description. If og:title is also missing, it falls back to the HTML <title> tag.
Things to Know
- The <meta name="theme-color" content="#5865F2"> tag sets the embed sidebar color — a unique feature not used by other platforms.
- Images at least 400 × 300 pixels are displayed as large embeds below the title. Smaller images appear as thumbnails on the right side of the embed.
- Discord also supports oEmbed (JSON/XML) for rich media like videos and interactive content.
- GIFs are displayed as animated images in embeds, unlike most platforms that only show the first frame.
robots.txt
Respects robots.txt. Blocking Discordbot will prevent link embeds from appearing in Discord channels — links will show as plain text URLs.
User-agent: Discordbot
Allow: /How to Test
Discord has no public debugger tool. Test by pasting your link in a Discord channel or DM. Since the cache is short-lived, updates usually appear within 15–30 minutes.
- Use a private test server or DM to yourself to preview embeds without posting publicly.
- Discord's short cache means you can iterate quickly — paste the link again after about 30 minutes to see updated previews.
- Check your theme-color meta tag to customize the embed sidebar color for your brand.
You can also use the MyOG OG Preview tool to check how your OG tags are configured before testing with Discord Bot.
FAQ
What is Discordbot?
Discordbot is Discord's web crawler that fetches Open Graph meta tags from URLs shared in channels and DMs. It generates rich embeds showing an image, title, description, and optionally a colored sidebar based on the theme-color meta tag.
How do I change the Discord embed color?
Add a <meta name="theme-color" content="#your-color-hex"> tag to your page's HTML. Discord uses this to set the colored sidebar on the left side of the link embed. This is a unique Discord feature not used by other platforms.
Why does Discord show my image as a small thumbnail instead of a large image?
Discord chooses between large and thumbnail display based on pixel dimensions. Images at least 400 × 300 pixels are shown as large embeds below the title. Smaller images appear as thumbnails on the right side. Use a 1200 × 630 image to ensure the large display.
Related Bots
Test Your OG Images
Check how your Open Graph images appear to bots and crawlers. Preview your link cards before sharing.
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