How to Send Pictures on Discord (PC & Mobile)
Send pictures on Discord from PC or phone, paste screenshots, embed image links, mark spoilers and fix images that will not upload.
By Ahsan Khowaja · · 7 min read
Facts checked against official sources on
On this page
To send a picture on Discord, drag the image into the Discord window or click the upload button next to the message box on PC, or tap the plus sign in the message box and choose Upload a File on your phone. Add a message or alt text if you like, then send. If the image is too big to upload, compress it or paste a direct link to the image instead: Discord shows the picture in chat in place of the link.
Upload from PC
Discord's help article How do I upload images and GIFs? describes two ways to send a picture from the desktop app or the browser version.
Drag and drop
- Open the channel or direct message where you want to send the picture.
- Drag the image file from your desktop, File Explorer or Finder.
- Drop it anywhere in the Discord window.
- Add a comment if you want, then press Enter to send.
Upload button
- Click the upload button right next to the message box. Discord's help describes it as a little arrow box; its File Attachments FAQ calls it the plus sign.
- Choose Upload a File if a menu appears.
- Find the picture, select it and click Open.
- Add a message and send.
You can attach several images to one message. Discord's File Attachments FAQ says multiple images, videos or GIFs sent together are displayed as a mosaic.
How do I send a picture on Discord from my phone?
On the Discord app for iPhone and Android, open the channel or message, tap the plus sign in the text field, tap Upload a File and select one or more photos. Write a message if you want, then tap send. If a photo will not send, it is usually over the size limit.
The steps are the same on iPhone and Android, according to the File Attachments FAQ:
- Open the channel, voice channel text chat or group message.
- Tap the plus sign in the text field.
- Tap Upload a File.
- Select one or more photos from your device.
- Write a message if you want, then tap send.
If a photo will not send from your phone, it is usually over the size limit. See the fixes further down this page.
Can I paste a screenshot into Discord?
Pasting a screenshot into Discord usually works in the desktop app and the browser. Copy the screenshot to the clipboard (Windows logo key + Shift + S on Windows, Control-Shift-Command-4 on a Mac), click in the message box and paste with Ctrl + V or Cmd + V. If nothing happens, save the screenshot and upload the file.
Screenshots are the pictures people share on Discord most often, and the fastest route is to copy the screenshot rather than save it.
On Windows: press Windows logo key + Shift + S to open the Snipping Tool overlay and select an area.
On a Mac: Apple's guide to taking screenshots says to add the Control key to copy a screenshot to the clipboard instead of saving it, for example Control-Shift-Command-4 to capture part of the screen.
Then click in Discord's message box and paste with Ctrl + V (or Cmd + V on Mac). Pasting from the clipboard usually works in the desktop app and the browser, although Discord's help center only documents drag and drop and the upload button. If pasting does nothing, save the screenshot as a file and use one of those methods.
Before you send a screenshot, look at the whole image. Screenshots often catch notifications, open tabs, email addresses or usernames you did not mean to share.
How do I make an image link show as a picture on Discord?
To show an image link as a picture on Discord, paste a direct link to the image file itself, ending in .png, .jpg, .gif or .webp. Discord's upload guide says "the link preview will display said image", unless the viewer has turned that setting off. A link to a web page that contains the image only shows a page preview. Uploading is not the only option. Discord's upload guide states that you can "copy and paste a GIF or image URL into chat, and the link preview will display said image". The File Attachments FAQ adds that when an image is posted as a link, "the image will be displayed instead of the text link", unless the viewer has turned that setting off.
A link is useful when:
- The image is over your upload limit.
- You want to post the same image in several servers or apps with one address.
- The image is already online.
- You want to be able to delete the image later, independently of the Discord message.
Which link works
The link must point at the image file itself, ending in .png, .jpg, .gif or .webp. A link to a web page that contains the image (such as a cloud drive share page) only shows a page preview, not the picture.
With PictureToLink, you drop or paste a picture, and the Direct link format gives you exactly this kind of address. We accept images up to 25 MB, compress them and strip location data. GIFs stay animated; for animations specifically, the GIF to URL tool is set up for that job.
Two honest notes: anyone with the link can view the picture, and images are removed after 12 months without views (or sooner if you choose an auto-delete time). For private pictures, upload them directly in a private channel instead.
Spoilers and alt text
Mark a picture as a spoiler
Discord's spoiler tags article explains that you can mark attachments as spoilers by adding the attachment to your message and clicking the Mark as Spoiler eye icon before you send. Other people then have to click the image to reveal it.
For text, wrap it in double vertical bars: ||spoiler text here||.
Add alt text
Alt text is a short description that screen readers read aloud. Discord's upload guide describes how to add it:
- Desktop: after choosing the image, click the pencil icon (Modify Attachment) on the upload preview, type a description in the Description (Alt Text) box and click Save.
- Mobile: tap the image preview, choose Image Description, type the description and tap Save.
Discord's own tips are worth following: be brief and specific, do not start with "image of", and include any text that appears in the image.
Why won't my picture upload to Discord?
A picture that will not upload to Discord is usually over the size limit: Discord's File Attachments FAQ puts the free limit at 20 MB, Nitro Basic at 50 MB and Nitro at up to 1 GB. Compress or resize the image, or send a link instead. Uploads can also be blocked when content-scanning settings detect a possibly NSFW image.
The file is too large
Discord's File Attachments FAQ says that as of August 2026 the free upload limit is 20 MB (up from 10 MB), Nitro Basic offers 50 MB and Nitro offers up to 1 GB. Boosted servers also raise the limit for all members inside that server: the Server Boosting FAQ lists 50 MB at Level 2 and 100 MB at Level 3. Some of Discord's older help pages still mention 10 MB, so treat the FAQ as the current figure.
The same FAQ notes that any image larger than 20 MB is shared as a download instead of being displayed in chat.
Fixes:
- Compress the image. Our image compressor runs in your browser. Choose JPG or WebP and set a target size, or lower the maximum width.
- Resize it. A photo does not need to be wider than a screen. Resizing to 1920 px wide is often enough to drop below the limit.
- Send a link instead, as described above.
Our guide to the Discord file size limit covers these options in more depth.
The image is blocked
The File Attachments FAQ explains that if certain content-scanning settings are enabled and the system detects that an image could be NSFW, it will block the upload. Check the server's rules and your privacy and safety settings.
The picture does not show, only a link or a file
- You linked to a page, not a picture. Use a direct image link.
- The viewer has turned off previews. Discord's settings include options to hide images posted as links and website previews.
- The format is not an image Discord displays. iPhone HEIC photos are a common culprit. Convert them to JPG first.
Profile pictures and emoji are a separate topic
Avatars, banners, emoji and stickers have their own size rules, which are different from message uploads. See our guide to Discord image sizes.
Next step
For everyday pictures, drag them in or tap the plus sign. When a picture is too large, try the image compressor first, or upload it for a direct link and paste that into the chat.
