How to Create Discord Role With Custom Emoji Icon Visible in Sidebar

You want to create a Discord role with a custom emoji icon that appears next to the role name in the member list sidebar. Discord allows server admins to assign emoji icons to roles, making it easier to identify member groups at a glance. However, not all emoji icons appear in the sidebar by default — only custom server emoji or standard Unicode emoji are supported. This article explains the exact steps to create a role, assign a custom emoji, and ensure it displays correctly in the sidebar.

How Discord Role Emoji Icons Work in the Sidebar

Discord roles can have an emoji icon that appears next to the role name in the member list on the right side of a server channel. This icon helps members quickly identify which role group a user belongs to, such as Moderators, VIPs, or Event Staff. The feature is available to all server administrators regardless of Discord Nitro subscription status.

The sidebar only displays role icons that are assigned using custom server emoji uploaded to the server or standard Unicode emoji from the emoji picker. Emoji from other servers, animated emoji from Discord Nitro, or emoji from external sources like Twitch or BTTV are not supported in the sidebar. If you assign an unsupported emoji, the role icon will appear blank in the sidebar even though it shows correctly in the role settings menu.

To make the role icon visible, you must also enable the Display Role Members Separately option in the role display settings. Without this setting, the role icon does not appear in the sidebar at all — the role name and member count are shown instead.

Steps to Create a Discord Role With a Custom Emoji Icon in the Sidebar

These steps assume you have Manage Roles permission on the Discord server. If you are the server owner, you have this permission by default.

1. Open Server Settings
   Click the server name at the top-left of the Discord window. From the dropdown menu, select Server Settings.
2. Go to the Roles tab
   In the left sidebar of Server Settings, click Roles. This shows the list of all existing roles on the server.
3. Create a new role
   Click the Create Role button. A new role appears in the list with a default name like “new role”.
4. Name the role and set permissions
   Type a name for the role in the Role Name field. Adjust permissions as needed — these do not affect the emoji display.
5. Assign a custom emoji icon
   Click the emoji icon button next to the role name field. The emoji picker opens. Select a custom server emoji (one that has been uploaded to this server) or a standard Unicode emoji. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
6. Enable sidebar display for the role
   In the same role settings page, scroll down to the Display section. Check the box labeled Display Role Members Separately. This ensures the role icon appears in the member sidebar.
7. Assign the role to members
   Go to the Manage Members tab in Server Settings. Click the + icon next to a member and select the new role. The member now shows the role icon next to their name in the sidebar.

Common Issues With Role Emoji Icons Not Showing in the Sidebar

Role icon appears blank in the sidebar even after assigning an emoji

This happens when you assign an emoji that Discord does not support in the sidebar. Unsupported emoji include:

• Animated emoji from Discord Nitro
• Emoji from other servers that you have access to via Nitro
• Emoji from external services like Twitch emotes or BTTV

To fix this, open the role settings, click the emoji icon, and select a custom server emoji that you or another admin uploaded to this server. Alternatively, choose a standard Unicode emoji such as the shield emoji or star emoji.

Role icon appears in role settings but not in the sidebar

This is caused by the Display Role Members Separately setting being turned off. Go to the role settings, scroll to the Display section, and enable this checkbox. The icon appears immediately after you save the change.

The role icon shows for some members but not others

Discord caches the member list for performance. If you just assigned the role, ask the affected member to reload Discord by pressing Ctrl + R on Windows or Cmd + R on Mac. This forces a refresh of the member list and usually resolves the issue.

I can only see the role icon when I hover over a member

This is the default behavior if the Display Role Members Separately setting is disabled. When disabled, the sidebar shows the member name without the role icon. The icon only appears in a tooltip when you hover the cursor over the member name. Enable the display setting to make the icon always visible.

Supported Emoji Types for Sidebar Role Icons

Emoji Type	Supported in Sidebar	Example
Custom server emoji uploaded to this server	Yes	Any image uploaded via Server Settings > Emoji
Standard Unicode emoji	Yes	Star, shield, check mark, etc
Animated Discord Nitro emoji	No	Nitro-exclusive animated icons
Emoji from other servers via Nitro	No	Custom emoji from a different server
External emoji from BTTV or Twitch	No	Third-party emotes

Discord restricts sidebar role icons to emoji that are native to the server or part of the Unicode standard. This limitation exists because the sidebar rendering engine does not fetch external emoji sources. If you want a unique icon, upload a custom emoji to your server first through Server Settings > Emoji.

You can now create Discord roles with custom emoji icons that appear in the sidebar for all members to see. Start by uploading a custom emoji to your server if you want something beyond standard Unicode. Then follow the steps to create the role, assign the emoji, and enable the display setting. As an advanced tip, use the Display Role Members Separately option on multiple roles to organize the sidebar into clearly labeled groups without relying on role colors alone.