How to Find Someone's Discord ID From Their Username

The most common question I see in Discord support threads is some version of "I only know their username — how do I get their ID?" It's a fair question, and the answer got more complicated after Discord dropped the old discriminator system (the #1234 tag at the end of every name). Every account now has a unique username with no tag, which changes how you track someone down.

The short answer: you need either a mutual server, a direct message history, or a third-party lookup tool. Here's exactly how each method works.

What Is a Discord User ID?

A Discord user ID — also called a Snowflake ID — is a unique identifier assigned to every account on Discord. It's a number between 17 and 19 digits long and never changes, even if the person changes their username, global name, avatar, or profile picture.

It's different from a username. A username can be changed. An ID cannot.

You'll need a Discord user ID for:

• Reporting someone to Discord Trust and Safety
• Identifying a bot or account for server moderation
• Tracking an account across name changes
• Using developer tools or OSINT lookups

The New Username System — What Changed

Before 2023, every Discord account had a display name plus a four-digit discriminator — like username#1234. You could find anyone if you knew both parts.

Discord has since moved to a fully unique username system. There are no more discriminator tags. Every user now has a single global name — a handle starting with @ — and it must be unique across the entire platform. Searches are case insensitive, but spelling must be exact.

This means you can no longer look someone up with a partial name or guess their tag. You need their exact username or you need to already be connected to them.

Step 1 — Enable Developer Mode

Before you can copy any Discord user ID, you need to turn on Developer Mode. Without it the Copy User ID option doesn't appear anywhere in any menu.

On Desktop:

1. Open Discord and click the gear icon to open Discord settings
2. Go to Advanced settings
3. Find Developer Mode and toggle it on

On Mobile (iOS and Android):

1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right
2. Open Discord settings and scroll down to Advanced settings
3. Tap the Developer Mode toggle to enable it

Step 2 — Find the User

This is where it gets specific depending on your situation.

In a Shared Server (most reliable method):

1. Open any server you share with them
2. Open the server member list on the right or use the search bar
3. Find their name and click their profile

In Direct Messages:

1. Open your DM history with them if it exists
2. Click their name to open their profile

In a Text Channel — Using the From Search: Type from:username in the channel search bar inside any shared server to surface their past messages and reach their profile from there.

In the Member List Search: For servers under a few thousand members, type their name directly into the server member list search. For larger servers, the from: search in a text channel is more reliable.

Step 3 — Copy the User ID

Once you've found the account, copying the Discord user ID depends on your device.

Desktop — Right-Click Method:

1. Right-click their profile picture or name anywhere in a server
2. A context menu appears
3. Click Copy User ID at the bottom of the menu

Desktop — Through Their Profile:

1. Click their name to open their full profile
2. Click the three-dot menu
3. Select Copy User ID

Mobile — Long Press Method:

1. Tap their name to open their profile
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner
3. Select Copy User ID

Mobile — Server Member List:

1. Go to the server member list in a mutual server
2. Long press their name
3. Select Copy User ID

Finding Your Own User ID

If you need your own Discord user ID, go to account settings and look for your username section — the same Developer Mode steps apply. Right-click your own name in any server, or open your profile directly from the bottom left corner of the desktop app and select Copy User ID.

What If You're Not in the Same Server?

This is the tricky part. If you have no mutual server and no DM history, Discord has no built-in way to look up a Discord user ID from a username alone — it doesn't offer a public profile search for arbitrary accounts.

Your options in this case:

1. Send a friend request — go to Friends, click Add Friend, type their exact username with correct spelling. If accepted you can view their profile and copy the ID.
2. Use a Snowflake lookup tool — if you already have their Discord user ID from somewhere, paste it into the Discord Snowflake ID Decoder to confirm it matches their account and see their account creation date, avatar, and banner.
3. Find a public server you both share — search public server directories for communities related to topics you know they're involved in, join there, and find them in the member list.

Using the @ Mention Method

One of the fastest methods when you share a server is the @ mention route — it works even if the person is offline and hard to spot in the member list:

1. Type @ in any text channel you share, followed by their username
2. Select their name from the autocomplete dropdown
3. Once the @ mention appears in your message, right-click it on desktop or long press it on mobile
4. Select Copy User ID

This surfaces the Discord user ID without needing to open their profile at all.

Third-Party Lookup Tools

If you're working with an ID you already have and want to confirm it matches a specific username, the Discord Snowflake ID Decoder on this site lets you paste in any Snowflake ID and retrieve the account creation date and public profile details tied to that ID.

For a broader reverse lookup — trying to find an ID from a username alone without a mutual server — general OSINT username lookup tools exist that scan public server indexes. Their accuracy depends entirely on whether that account appears in any publicly accessible server data.

One technical note: Snowflake IDs encode a Unix timestamp internally. If you're ever doing manual date calculations from a Snowflake ID, remember that Discord works in seconds (10 digits) — not milliseconds (13 digits). A 13-digit number will produce a completely wrong date. Use the Unix Timestamp Converter if you need to verify the math.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Developer Mode not enabled — The single most common reason Copy User ID doesn't appear anywhere is simply that Developer Mode is off. Check Advanced settings before assuming anything is broken.

Searching with the old discriminator format — Typing name#1234 in the search bar no longer works. The discriminator system is gone — you need their unique username or global name exactly as it appears.

Confusing display name with username — The display name shown in bold in server member lists can be anything — it is not the same as their @ handle or username. You need the actual @handle to search, not their display name.

Assuming @ autocomplete is global — The @ autocomplete only shows members of the specific server or channel you're currently typing in — it won't pull up someone from a different server you share.

Expecting OSINT tools to find every account — Third-party reverse lookup and username lookup tools only surface information from public servers and public profiles — accounts with tight privacy settings or no public server presence won't appear in results.

Related Guides

• How to Find Your Discord ID
• Discord ID Lookup — Complete Guide
• How to Get Your Discord ID
• Discord User ID — Everything You Need to Know

Also try our free tools:

• Discord Snowflake ID Decoder — decode any Discord ID instantly
• Discord Timestamp Generator — generate timestamp codes for any event
• Unix Timestamp Converter — convert Unix numbers to readable dates