Discord server onboarding with branching questions helps new members introduce themselves and choose roles based on their answers. Instead of a static welcome screen, you can create interactive prompts that guide users through a series of questions. Each answer can assign a specific role or branch to a follow-up question. This feature is ideal for community servers, gaming hubs, or professional groups where members have different interests or expertise levels. This article explains how to enable server onboarding and set up branching questions step by step.
Key Takeaways: Building Branching Onboarding Questions in Discord
- Server Settings > Onboarding > Enable Onboarding: Turns on the guided experience for new members.
- Server Settings > Onboarding > Questions & Roles: Lets you create multiple-choice questions that assign roles automatically.
- Branching logic in Question Options: Each answer can link to another question, creating a custom onboarding flow.
What Is Discord Server Onboarding With Branching Questions?
Server onboarding is a feature that replaces the default welcome screen with a structured setup wizard. When a new member joins, they see a series of questions instead of a plain text channel. Branching questions allow the flow to change based on each answer. For example, a user who selects “I play video games” can be asked which game they play, while a user who selects “I am a developer” is asked about coding languages.
Each question can have up to five options. Each option can assign a role, send the user to another question, or do both. The onboarding system uses the roles assigned during the flow to grant access to specific channels and categories. You must have the Community server feature enabled to use onboarding. Servers without Community status cannot access the onboarding settings.
Prerequisites for Setting Up Onboarding
Before you create branching questions, confirm these requirements are met:
- Community server: Your server must be converted to a Community server. Go to Server Settings > Enable Community and follow the prompts.
- Roles already created: Onboarding questions assign roles. Create the roles you need in Server Settings > Roles before building the questions.
- Channel permissions set: Each role should have access to the correct channels. Use Server Settings > Roles > Manage Permissions to configure view and send permissions.
How to Enable Server Onboarding
Follow these steps to turn on the onboarding feature for your server.
- Open Server Settings
Click the server name at the top left of the Discord window. Select Server Settings from the dropdown menu. - Go to the Onboarding page
In the left sidebar, scroll down to Community and click Onboarding. - Enable Onboarding
Click the toggle switch next to Enable Onboarding. A confirmation dialog appears. Click Enable to confirm. - Set the onboarding channel
Under Channels, select the text channel where new members will see the onboarding questions. This channel is typically named welcome or rules.
How to Create Branching Questions
Once onboarding is enabled, you can build the questions. Each question is a multiple-choice prompt. The options can assign roles and lead to follow-up questions.
- Open the Questions section
In the Onboarding settings page, scroll to the Questions section. Click Add Question. - Write the question text
In the Question field, type the prompt you want new members to see. For example: What brings you to our server? - Add answer options
Click Add Option. In the Label field, type the answer text. For example: Gaming. Repeat to add up to five options. - Assign a role to an option
Click the Role dropdown next to an option. Select the role that should be assigned when a user picks this answer. If no role assignment is needed, leave it set to None. - Branch to another question
Click the Next Question dropdown next to an option. Select a question that already exists. If you have not created the follow-up question yet, create it first and return to this dropdown to select it. - Create follow-up questions
Click Add Question again to build the next question. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each branching level. You can create up to 10 questions total per server. - Reorder questions
Drag the question cards up or down to change the order. The first question is shown first to new members. - Save changes
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the Onboarding page. The branching flow is now active.
Common Mistakes and Limitations
Branching Questions Not Appearing
If new members see the standard welcome screen instead of questions, check that onboarding is enabled. Also confirm that the server has Community status. Non-Community servers cannot use onboarding. If the server meets the requirements, toggle onboarding off and on again, then save changes.
Role Not Assigned After Answering
When a role is not assigned after a user selects an option, the role may not exist in the server. Go to Server Settings > Roles and create the missing role. Then return to the question option and select the correct role from the dropdown. Also verify that the role is not managed by an integration such as a bot, which can block manual assignment.
Maximum of 10 Questions
Discord limits onboarding to 10 questions per server. If you need more complex branching, combine multiple options into one question. For example, instead of separate questions for each game genre, create one question with all genre options and assign roles directly.
Questions Cannot Be Skipped
New members must answer every question in the flow. There is no skip button. If you want optional questions, place them at the end of the flow after all mandatory questions. Users who choose an option that does not branch will finish onboarding after that question.
Onboarding Question Types: Single vs Branching
| Feature | Single Question | Branching Question |
|---|---|---|
| Number of follow-ups | None | Up to 5 per option |
| Role assignment | Yes, one role per option | Yes, one role per option |
| User experience | One question, then done | Multiple questions based on answers |
| Best for | Simple interest selection | Complex onboarding with multiple paths |
Server onboarding with branching questions gives you full control over how new members experience your server. Start by enabling onboarding in Server Settings, then create questions that assign roles and branch to follow-up prompts. Test the flow by joining with a test account to verify that roles are assigned correctly and that branching works as expected. For advanced setups, combine branching questions with Discord’s default welcome channel and auto-role bots for a complete new member pipeline.