discord

name	Discord
description	Navigating servers and channels, sending messages, using threads, voice channels, search, and DMs in the Discord desktop app on Windows.
publisher	H Company
version	1.0.0
source_url	https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/225977308--Windows-Discord-Hotkeys
license	Vendor docs
icon_url	https://api.iconify.design/skill-icons:discord.svg

Discord is a four-pane Electron app: a vertical server list on the far left (each server is a circular icon, plus Friends/Library/Nitro pinned to the top), a channel/DM sidebar to the right of it (text/voice/forum channels grouped under categories, with Inbox and Friends at the top for DMs), the message pane in the middle, and a contextual right pane that opens for member list, threads, pins, search results, and inbox previews. The composer sits at the bottom of the message pane.

Shortcuts

Jump: Ctrl+K opens the quick switcher — type a server name, channel name, DM target, or query, then Enter navigates. Prefix the query to scope it: * servers, @ DMs/users, # text channels, ! voice channels. This is the single most-used shortcut; prefer it over scrolling the sidebar. Ctrl+/ opens the searchable keyboard-shortcuts overlay; point Holo here when a shortcut isn't documented below.

Navigation: Alt+Up / Alt+Down cycle through channels in the current server (skipping to unreads with Alt+Shift+Up / Alt+Shift+Down). Ctrl+Alt+Up / Ctrl+Alt+Down cycle through servers. Alt+Left / Alt+Right navigate back/forward through history. Esc marks the current channel as read; Shift+Esc marks the whole server as read. Ctrl+B returns to the previous text channel; Ctrl+U toggles the member list; Ctrl+P toggles the pins popout; Ctrl+I toggles the mentions popout.

Composer: Enter sends. Shift+Enter newline. Up (with composer empty) edits your last message; Esc cancels. Tab autocompletes @mention, #channel, or :emoji:. Ctrl+E opens the emoji picker. Ctrl+Shift+U uploads a file. Markdown works inline: **bold**, *italic*, `code`, block ```, ||spoiler||, > quote.

Voice/video: Ctrl+Shift+M toggle mute, Ctrl+Shift+D toggle deafen, Ctrl+Enter answer an incoming call, Esc decline. Ctrl+Alt+A returns to the active audio channel. Mute and deafen fire even when Discord is in the background.

Search and discovery: Ctrl+F opens search scoped to the current channel/server with filters (from:, mentions:, has:link, before:, after:, in:#channel); Ctrl+Shift+F searches across all channels. Page Up / Page Down scroll the message history; Shift+Page Up jumps to the oldest unread message.

Servers, channels, and DMs

The server list on the far left is the workspace switcher: each circle is a server, click to jump. The home icon (top) is DMs + Friends + Library. Servers can be reordered by drag; folders group them.

Channels are scoped to a server. Text channels show messages chronologically with threads opening in the right pane. Voice channels are clickable to join, no ring — others see you've joined. Forum channels show posts as a list; click one to enter the post. Stage channels are voice-with-speakers + audience.

DMs are scoped to the user, not a server. Ctrl+K finds DMs by name. Group DMs (up to 10) live in the same DM sidebar with a multi-avatar icon.

Threads

Hover a message → "Create Thread" or right-click → "Create Thread" opens a side panel. Threads are scoped to a parent message but live in the right sidebar of the message pane, not a separate channel. Posting in a thread doesn't ping the main channel. Useful for long subdiscussions where the user wants to keep the main channel clean.

The send and edit boundaries

Enter sends immediately — no preview, no confirmation. Discord messages are editable for the original sender (no time limit) and deletable, but the audit trail (edit history) is visible to anyone via the "edited" tag. Delete is final after a 14-day grace period for moderators. Confirm with answer before sending anything substantive in a server the user doesn't own — communities have tone norms that the agent doesn't see.

@everyone, @here, and role mentions (@moderators) push notifications to everyone in scope and are often rate-limited or restricted. Never use them in agent-drafted content without explicit user instruction; they're the Discord equivalent of a fire alarm.

Voice channels: joining one announces presence to every member of the server who's online. Leave by clicking "Disconnect". Don't join voice channels speculatively; they're social presence, not exploration.

Server permissions

A server's channel list is filtered by your role. Channels you can't see don't exist from your perspective — agent should not assume a channel is missing if a #staff or #mods reference comes up. If the user expects a channel and it's not visible, the user's role doesn't grant access; surface that rather than searching for a different channel.

Posting requires the "Send Messages" permission, which most users have in most channels but lose in announcement channels (#announcements-style). A failed post shows a small red "Slowmode" or "You don't have permission" tooltip; check before retrying.

Verification

After sending, the message appears in the channel with a timestamp and a sending-state spinner that resolves to a delivered checkmark. If it doesn't: check for a slowmode warning, a permission error, or a connection drop (top bar shows "Reconnecting").

Sources

Discord's Windows hotkeys: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/225977308--Windows-Discord-Hotkeys. The in-app Ctrl+/ overlay is the most current reference.