Creating & Using Reaction Roles on Discord: 2 Simple Ways

Download Article

Let a Discord bot help you make reaction roles

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: October 31, 2025 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Using Carlbot
|
• Using Zira
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

On Discord, reaction roles are roles users can assign and unassign to themselves by simply reacting to a message with an emoji. You can create roles that do all sorts of things, such as assigning certain permissions, adding color to usernames, changing fonts, and more. To set up reaction roles, you'll need to add a bot to your Discord server. This wikiHow teaches you how to create reaction roles on your Discord server using Carlbot or Zira, two of the most popular and easy-to-use Discord bots.

Using a Reaction Role Bot on Discord

Go to carl.gg and click "Invite" at the top of the page. Log in to your Discord account, select a server, and then authorize Carlbot to join. On the Carlbot dashboard, click Reaction roles and Create new reaction role. Click Show embed builder to add emojis and assign their corresponding roles. Click Create.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Carlbot

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Log in to Discord. You can use the Discord app on your computer or log in at discord.com/app.

   • If you don't log into Discord first, you'll be asked to log in when you try to add Carlbot.
2. 
   2
   Select the server on which you want to create reaction roles. You must be an owner or have certain administrator permissions to add a bot. If you're an owner, you are all set. Otherwise, you'll need the administrator to assign you the Manager Server permission for the server or give you an owner role.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Go to carl.gg in a web browser. This takes you to the Carlbot website.
4. 
   4
   Add Carlbot to your server. Here's how:

   • Click Invite at the top of the page.
   • Select your server and click Continue.
   • Click Authorize. This grants the bot the necessary permissions for your server. Once authorized, Carl-bot will join your server.
   • Check the box to confirm you're not a robot.
5. 
   5
   On Discord, click the server name and select Server Settings. This is the small triangle at the top of Discord, directly to the right of the server's name. Server Settings is near the top of this menu.
6. 
   6
   Click the Roles tab. It's in the left column.
7. 
   7
   Create the roles that you want others to be able to self-assign. To create a new role, click + Create Role, enter a name for that role, and assign it a color if you'd like. Then, click the Permissions tab to choose which permissions to assign the role, such as whether you'd like to allow members with this role to add reactions, use voice chat, or ban people. Click Save Changes when you're finished.

   • For example, if you want to create a role that surrounds the user's name in red, you could create a new role called 'Red' and select a red background.
8. 
   8
   Drag the "carl-bot" role to the top of the list. This role was created when you invited Carlbot to the server. The position of this role in the list matters—the "carl-bot" role must be above/before the roles it can assign. To drag the role upward, hover the mouse cursor over carl-bot, and then drag it to the top of the list.
9. 
   9
   Click Save Changes and then close your settings. To close your settings, click the X at the top-right corner.
10. 10
    Return to the Carlbot dashboard. Make sure you're still signed into your Discord account.
11. 11
    Click Reaction roles. You can find this in the left panel.
12. 12
    Click + Create new reaction role. This is the green button.
13. 13
    Set the "Mode" as Post embed. If this is already set, you can skip this step.
14. 14
    Select a channel. This is where you want Carlbot to post the reaction role post.
15. 15
    Click Show embed builder. This is how you can set which emojis correspond to each role.
16. 16
    Create your reaction role post. Add the directions in the Content box, such as "Click an emoji to assign yourself a role" or similar.

    • Click Add emoji and select an emoji. Then, click the drop-down menu to select its corresponding role. Repeat this for as many roles as needed.
17. 17
    Click Create. Carlbot will create and post the reaction role post to your Discord server.
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Zira

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Log in to Discord. You can use the Discord app on your computer or log in at discord.com/app.
2. 
   2
   Select the server on which you want to create reaction roles. You must be an owner or have certain administrator permissions to add a bot. If you're an owner, you are all set. Otherwise, you'll need the administrator to assign you the Manager Server permission for the server or give you an owner role.
3. 
   3
   Go to zira.gg in a web browser. This is the website for Zira, a Discord bot that allows you to set up reaction roles.

   • Click Add to Server at the top of the page.
   • Select your server and click Continue.
   • Click Authorize. This grants the bot the necessary permissions for your server. Once authorized, Zira will join your server.
   • Check the box to confirm you're not a robot.
4. 
   4
   Click the drop-down menu next to your server's name and select Server Settings. This is the small triangle at the top of Discord, directly to the right of the server's name. Server Settings is near the top of this menu.
5. 
   5
   Click the Roles tab. It's in the left column.
6. 
   6
   Create the roles that you want others to be able to self-assign. To create a new role, click + Create Role, enter a name for that role, and assign it a color if you'd like. Then, click the Permissions tab to choose which permissions to assign the role, such as whether you'd like to allow members with this role to add reactions, use voice chat, or ban people. Click Save Changes when you're finished.

   • For example, if you wanted to make a role that surrounds the user's name in green, you could create a new role called "Green" and select a green background.
7. 
   7
   Drag the "Zira" role to the top of the list. This role was created when you added Zira to the server. The position of this role in the list matters—the "Zira" role must be above/before the roles it can assign. To drag the role upward, hover the mouse cursor over Zira, and then drag it to the top of the list.
8. 
   8
   Click Save Changes and then close your settings. To close your settings, click the X at the top-right corner.
9. 
   9
   Join a text channel. Any channel will do, since Zira is everywhere.
10. 
    10
    Send a message to the channel you can use for reaction roles. Now, you'll create the message that Zira posts containing the reaction roles. Once the message exists, you can assign it to Zira to share on the channel.

    • For example, let's say you created roles for Male, Female, and Other, and you want users to be able to react to Zira's message with specific emojis to be assigned to those roles. Your message may look something like this (but with actual emojis instead of the descriptors below):
      • React with the corresponding emoji to get the role!

        • female_sign: Female

          male_sign: Male

          white_circle: Other
11. 
    11
    Tell Zira which channel to use for reaction roles. Zira will post the reaction role information in the channel you enter here. Users will then join that channel and react to Zira's message to assign themselves the role. To tell Zira the channel, type z/channel #channel, but replace "#channel" with the name of the channel.

    • Press Enter or Return to send the message to Zira.
12. 
    12
    Use the z/message command to give Zira the ID of your message. After assigning the channel, you need to give Zira the message ID for the message you shared earlier (the one with the emojis and corresponding roles). Type z/message ID, replacing ID with the ID of the message you created, and then press Enter or Return.

    • To get the message ID, right-click the message and select Copy ID.
    • If you don't see a Copy ID option, you'll need to enable Developer Mode. To do this, click the gear icon at the bottom of Discord next to your name, click the Advanced tab, and then click the "Developer Mode" switch.
13. 
    13
    Use the z/normal command to assign emoji reactions to roles. If you want members to actively be able to assign and unassign with reactions, use the command z/normal :emoji: role, replacing ":emoji:" with the corresponding emoji, and role with the role name.

    • For example, if you want users to be able to react with the female symbol to be assigned a role called Female, you'd type z/normal :female_sign: Female and press Enter or Return. Replace ":female_sign:" with the female symbol emoji.
    • Use the same command to enter emojis for all roles you want people to be able to assign themselves.
    • If you only want the user to be able to assign themselves a roll once, use z/once instead of z/normal.
    • To allow a user to use an emoji to remove a role, use z/remove to specify the emoji and role to remove.
    • You can remove a reaction role at any time using z/delete.
14. 
    14
    Test to make sure the reaction role works. Enter the channel you instructed Zira to assign roles to, and then respond to the message with an emoji. Zira will then assign you the role associated with that emoji.
Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

• Question

  After I made a reaction role with Carl-Bot, I tried to create another one, and did !rr create. it said that "msg_id is a required argument that is missing." How to I fix or get around this?

  

  Community Answer

  Go to User Settings > Appearance. Under ADVANCED, turn on Developer Mode. Then, either right-click the message or click the three vertical dots, then select "Copy ID."

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 17 Helpful 26
• Question

  With Zira, I did the z/normal part and the reaction role wouldnt show up. What have I done wrong?

  

  Community Answer

  Zira might not be able to access that channel, or reactions are disabled in that channel.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 40 Helpful 24
• Question

  I've succeeded in getting Carl bot to my server but it won't respond to commands. What are the minimum permissions I have to give it for it to work?

  

  Community Answer

  It needs these permissions in the server and the channels you're using: Manage Roles, Manage Webhooks, Read Text Channels & See Voice Channels, Send Messages, Manage Messages, Embed Links, Read Message History, and Add Reactions.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 5 Helpful 14

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

• If you're the owner or moderator of the server, chances are that a role has already been pre-assigned to you, so reaction roles will not apply to you.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• You can only have one emoji per role, but you can use different emojis for a single role using different reaction icons.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Other bots will also create reaction roles, such as MEE6.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Show More Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement