How to record a Discord meeting

Discord has no built-in way to record calls, so you need a separate tool. There are three options: a recording bot in your server, a desktop screen or audio recorder, or a two-step process of recording first and transcribing afterwards. For team meetings, a bot is usually simplest, because it works without anyone setting up software and it can record each speaker separately.

Tell people before you record, whichever way you choose. Recording rules differ between countries, and some require everyone's consent.

Option 1: A recording bot

A bot joins your voice channel like another participant. Discord gives it each person's audio separately, which makes the transcript much more reliable than a single mixed track.

• Best for: regular team meetings, and anyone who wants notes as well as audio.
• Trade-off: you need permission to add a bot to the server, and the audio passes through the bot's service.

With Renga:

1. Add the bot to your server.
2. Join a voice channel and type /record start.
3. Type /record stop when you're done, or just leave.

You get a transcript and minutes, plus the MP3 when it fits Discord's upload limit. Other Discord bots that record include Craig, which focuses on multi-track audio, and NotesBot and DiscMeet, which also write notes. Check each one's current pricing and features.

Option 2: A desktop recorder

Tools like OBS Studio capture what your computer plays and your microphone.

• Best for: a one-off recording, or when you need the video as well.
• Trade-off: one person must run it. Everyone ends up on one mixed track, and only that person's connection is captured. There's no transcript unless you add one, and other participants may not know it's running, so tell them.

Option 3: Record, then transcribe

Record with any tool, then upload the file to a transcription service.

• Best for: a recording you already have.
• Trade-off: it takes extra steps every time, and speaker names are harder to get right from a mixed file.

Which should you choose?

Renga is free for 2 hours a month per server. Add it to Discord, or read getting started.