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Export Your Discord Server

Using 1-Click Migration?

If you're using Ferry's 1-Click Migration mode, you don't need to manually run DiscordChatExporter — Ferry handles it automatically. This guide is for offline mode only.

This page walks you through exporting your Discord server's content using DiscordChatExporter (DCE). The export is the raw material that Discord Ferry uses to migrate your server. If the export is missing data or uses the wrong settings, messages, mentions, and attachments will not migrate correctly.

Read every warning box before running any command.

What You Will Need

  • A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • Access to your Discord account in a web browser (not the desktop app)
  • Enough free disk space for your server's media (allow 2x your server's approximate file size)
  • Server Manager or Administrator role on the Discord server you are migrating

Step 1 — Download DiscordChatExporter

DiscordChatExporter (DCE) is a free, open-source tool that reads Discord's API and saves your server content to data files (in JSON format, which Ferry can read). Check the releases page for the latest version.

  1. Go to https://github.com/Tyrrrz/DiscordChatExporter.
  2. Click Releases in the right sidebar.
  3. Download the version for your platform:
Platform File to download
Windows (recommended) DiscordChatExporter.zip — includes a GUI (graphical) app
macOS / Linux DiscordChatExporter.Cli.zip — command-line only
  1. Unzip the downloaded file to a folder you can easily find, such as C:\Tools\DCE on Windows or ~/Tools/DCE on macOS/Linux.

GUI vs CLI

The Windows GUI app is easier to use for one-time exports, but Discord Ferry's instructions use the CLI (command-line interface — where you type commands into a text window) version because it gives you the exact flags needed. The CLI is available on all platforms. If you are on Windows and prefer a graphical app, ensure you still apply the settings described in Step 3.

Step 2 — Get Your Discord User Token

Your Discord user token (a long string of letters, numbers, and symbols) acts like a temporary password that lets DCE read your server on your behalf. This is different from a bot token.

Use a user token, NOT a bot token

Bot tokens cannot reliably export threads. Forum channels and thread history will be incomplete or missing entirely if you use a bot token. You must use your user token.

Never share your token with anyone

Your user token gives complete access to your Discord account — the same as your email and password combined. Do not paste it into chat, DMs, screenshots, or support tickets. Treat it like your bank password. If you accidentally share it, go to Discord Settings and change your password immediately; this invalidates the old token.

How to find your user token

These steps use a web browser. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all work.

  1. Open https://discord.com/app in your browser and log in if prompted.

  2. Press F12 (Windows/Linux) or Option + Command + I (macOS) to open the browser's developer tools panel (a panel with code and network information used by web developers).

  3. Click the Network tab at the top of the developer tools panel.

  1. In the Network tab, look for a search or filter box and type library to filter requests.

  2. In Discord's main window, click on any server or channel to trigger a network request.

  3. A request named library (or similar) should appear in the list. Click it.

  4. In the panel that opens on the right, scroll down to find the Request Headers section.

  5. Find the line that starts with authorization:. The value after the colon is your token. It looks like a long string such as: 

    MTExMjM0NTY3ODkw.GhIjKl.AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz012345

  6. Right-click the value and choose Copy value, or click at the start of the value and drag to select it all, then copy.

Token not appearing?

Try clicking on a different channel or server in Discord to generate a new network request, then look for the authorization header again. Make sure you are on the Network tab, not the Console or Elements tab.

Step 3 — Find Your Server ID

  1. Open Discord (browser or desktop app).
  2. Go to User Settings (gear icon near the bottom-left) → Advanced.
  3. Turn on Developer Mode.
  4. Close settings.
  5. Right-click your server's icon in the left sidebar.
  6. Choose Copy Server ID.

The server ID is a long number, such as 987654321012345678.

Step 4 — Run the Export

You MUST include --markdown false and --media — read this before running anything

  • --markdown false: Without this flag, DCE replaces raw mention data like <@123456> with plain text like @Username. Discord Ferry uses the raw IDs to remap mentions to Stoat users. If the IDs are gone, all mentions will appear as plain text in the migrated server.
  • --media: Without this flag, DCE saves only Discord CDN links instead of downloading the actual files. Discord CDN links expire within approximately 24 hours. Any attachment link that was not downloaded will be permanently broken in the migrated server.

Open a terminal — the text command window (on Windows: Command Prompt or PowerShell; on macOS/Linux: the Terminal app). Navigate to the folder where you unzipped DCE.

Run the following command, replacing the two placeholders:

DiscordChatExporter.Cli exportguild \
  --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE \
  -g YOUR_SERVER_ID \
  --media \
  --reuse-media \
  --markdown false \
  --format Json \
  --include-threads All \
  --output ./export/

Replace:

Placeholder Replace with
YOUR_TOKEN_HERE The token you copied in Step 2
YOUR_SERVER_ID The server ID you copied in Step 3

On Windows, replace the backslashes \ at the end of each line with a caret ^, or paste the entire command on a single line:

DiscordChatExporter.Cli exportguild --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE -g YOUR_SERVER_ID --media --reuse-media --markdown false --format Json --include-threads All --output ./export/

What each flag does

  • exportguild — exports every channel in the server
  • --media — downloads all attachments, images, and files locally
  • --reuse-media — skips re-downloading files already saved (useful if you resume a failed export)
  • --markdown false — preserves raw mention syntax needed for migration
  • --format Json — saves data as JSON (a standard data format), which Discord Ferry reads
  • --include-threads All — includes public and private thread history
  • --output ./export/ — saves everything into a folder called export in the current directory

The export will print progress to the terminal. Let it run until it prints a completion message.

Step 5 — Verify the Export

When the export finishes, open the export folder. You should see:

  1. Data files (one per channel), named like: 

    My Server - general [987654321098765432].json
My Server - announcements [876543210987654321].json

  2. Thread files with three dash-separated segments, named like: 

    My Server - help - how-do-i-set-up-roles [765432109876543210].json

  3. A media folder containing downloaded attachments, images, and files organised into subfolders.

If you see no media folder or it is empty

The --media flag was not applied correctly. Re-run the command with --media included. Attachments cannot be migrated without the downloaded files.

If filenames do not include a number in brackets

The export did not complete correctly. The channel ID in brackets is required for Discord Ferry to map channels. Re-run the export.

Checking file sizes

Compare the total size of the export folder against your rough estimate of your server's media. If the folder is suspiciously small (a few kilobytes for a large active server), the export may have failed silently. Check the terminal output for error messages.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the export take?

It depends on your server's size and activity level.

  • Small servers (under 10,000 messages, minimal media): a few minutes
  • Medium servers (tens of thousands of messages): 30 minutes to a few hours
  • Large or media-heavy servers: potentially many hours

DCE exports one channel at a time. If you stop it partway through, run it again with the same --output folder — the --reuse-media flag means already-downloaded files will not be re-fetched.

Can I export just some channels?

Yes. Use exportchannel instead of exportguild and provide specific channel IDs:

DiscordChatExporter.Cli exportchannel \
  --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE \
  -c CHANNEL_ID_1 CHANNEL_ID_2 CHANNEL_ID_3 \
  --media \
  --reuse-media \
  --markdown false \
  --format Json \
  --output ./export/

To find a channel ID: enable Developer Mode in Discord settings (see Step 3), then right-click a channel name and choose Copy Channel ID.

What about direct messages (DMs)?

Discord Ferry migrates server content only — channels, messages, roles, and emoji. DMs are account-specific and are not migrated. Stoat does not have an equivalent import feature for DMs.

I get an error about rate limits. What do I do?

Discord limits how fast third-party tools can read its API. If you see an error mentioning rate limits or HTTP 429:

  1. Stop the export.
  2. Wait 10–15 minutes.
  3. Re-run the same command. The --reuse-media flag ensures already-downloaded content is not re-fetched.

For very large servers, consider exporting in smaller batches using exportchannel with a subset of channel IDs at a time.

The export finished but some channels are missing.

Channels you do not have permission to view will not be exported, even if you are a server administrator. Check that the Discord account whose token you used has permission to view all channels. Voice channel message history may also be unavailable depending on your server's configuration.

Next Step

Once your export folder is ready and you have verified it contains JSON files and a media folder, proceed to Setting Up Stoat to get your API URL and token.