Discord emoji too big? Get it under 256 KB

What the error means

Discord's own developer documentation sets the rule: an emoji, animated or not, may weigh at most 256 KiB. The desktop and web apps report a failed upload as "File cannot be larger than 256.0 kb"; the API behind them returns error 50045, "File uploaded exceeds the maximum size". Either way, the pixel size of your picture is not the problem. Discord shrinks anything to 128×128 on its own. The weight is.

A GIF stores every frame as a full picture, so three seconds of busy footage at 128 pixels can still come out at 400 or 500 KB. That is why a file that looks tiny on screen is still refused.

How the fix works

Drop the GIF or the video clip in the box above. The tool trims it to the seconds you choose, frames the part that should fill the square, and renders a 128×128 GIF. If the result is heavier than 256 KB, it lowers the frame rate and then the colour count and tries again, up to five passes, until the file fits. The whole thing runs on your own computer; nothing is sent anywhere.

If even the last pass does not get under the limit, shorten the trim. Two seconds almost always fit, and in chat an emoji loops anyway, so a shorter loop is rarely noticed.

Other reasons Discord rejects an emoji

• No slots left. A server has 50 static and 50 animated slots at boost level 0, and more at each boost level. Delete an old one or boost.
• Missing permission. You need Create Expressions (older screens call it Manage Expressions) on that server.
• Bad name. Two characters minimum, letters, numbers and underscores only.
• Wrong file type. Discord takes JPG, PNG, GIF and WebP. An APNG or a video file is turned away even when it is small.

Want to design an emoji from scratch rather than cut one from a clip? The Discord emoji size page covers framing and naming in more detail, and the size limits table lists the rules for every platform.

Questions