How to use a webcam while sharing your screen in Discord

The short answer

Yes, Discord lets you run your webcam and a screen share at the same time in a voice channel or a direct-message call. They are two separate feeds. Your camera shows up as a video tile, and your screen share shows up as a stream that other people usually have to choose to watch. You start each one with its own button in the call controls, in any order.

Some people mean something different by this question: they want their face to appear inside the shared screen, so viewers get one combined picture. Discord's built-in tools don't merge the two feeds. To get that effect, you would show a camera window on the screen or window you are sharing, or build a combined scene in separate broadcasting software. That route is more complicated and is covered briefly near the end. The steps below use Discord's two native feeds.

Before you start

• Use the Discord desktop app if you can. These steps follow the desktop layout. The browser version and the mobile apps arrange controls differently, and this guide doesn't cover them in detail.
• Your webcam should be connected and not in use by another app, such as a video-calling program or a camera preview window.
• Your operating system must allow Discord to use the camera. On macOS, Discord also needs screen-recording permission before it can share your screen.
• On a server, your role needs the Video permission for that voice channel. Without it, the camera and screen-share buttons may be greyed out or missing.

Step 1: Confirm Discord can see your camera

• Open User Settings (the gear icon near your username) and go to Voice & Video.
• In the Camera dropdown, select your webcam.
• Click Test Video to open a preview.
• Success check: you see a live, moving image of yourself. A black frame, a frozen image or an error message means Discord found the device but isn't getting video from it.

This test only shows that Discord can open the camera and capture video on your own computer. It does not show how your video will look to other people, because that depends on each connection and on the call itself.

Step 2: Join a call and turn on your camera

• Join a voice channel, or start or answer a call in a direct message.
• In the call controls, click the camera button. Depending on your version of Discord, it may be labeled Video or Turn On Camera.
• Success check: a tile with your live camera image appears in the call view. In a server, a camera icon also shows next to your name in the voice channel list.

Step 3: Start your screen share

• Without turning your camera off, click the Share Your Screen button in the same set of controls.
• Pick either a single application window or a whole screen. Sharing one window keeps notifications and other open apps out of view.
• Choose your stream settings and confirm with Go Live.
• Success check: a LIVE badge appears next to your name, a preview of your stream appears in the call view, and your camera tile is still showing live video.

If you share a window that plays sound, Discord may offer an option to include that sound in the stream. This option is separate from your microphone. Your voice still goes through your normal microphone settings.

Step 4: Check what other people actually see

Your own view can't confirm that others are receiving both feeds. Ask someone in the call to tell you two things: whether they see your camera tile, and whether they can open your stream. On a server, viewers usually have to click Watch Stream or your stream tile to see your screen. Until they do, they may see only your camera. When they confirm both, the setup is working. Picture sharpness and smoothness are a separate matter that depends on connection and stream settings.

If one of the feeds won't start

• Camera button greyed out on a server: you probably don't have the Video permission for that channel. A server admin or moderator can change it.
• Camera shows black or isn't listed: close any other app that might be using the webcam, then reselect the camera in Voice & Video. Many webcams can only be used by one app at a time.
• Camera blocked by the system: on Windows, open Settings, then Privacy & security, then Camera, and make sure camera access and desktop app access are turned on. On macOS, open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Camera, and turn on Discord. Restart Discord after you change these settings.
• Screen share is black or empty on macOS: turn on Discord under Privacy & Security, then Screen Recording (the exact name may differ by macOS version), and restart Discord.
• Screen share only works for some windows: some apps, especially ones running full screen or with protected content, may not capture. Try sharing the whole screen instead, or run the app in a window.
• Stream quality options are locked: some higher resolution and frame-rate choices require a Discord Nitro subscription. The standard options still let you share your screen and camera together.

If you want your face inside the screen share

To show viewers one picture with your camera placed over your screen, the camera image has to be part of what you are sharing. One way is to open a camera window on the screen you share. Because a webcam is often limited to one app at a time, Discord's own camera tile may stop working while that window is open. Another way is to build a layered scene in broadcasting software and share that output. Both methods add setup steps and use more of your computer's resources. If your viewers just need to see you and your screen, the two native feeds are the simpler option.

What this guide can't confirm

No specific figures were available for this guide. That includes participant limits for video in a channel, recommended resolutions or bitrates, and microphone level targets, so none are given here. Discord also changes its interface over time, so button labels and menu locations may differ slightly from the names used above. If a control isn't where these steps say, look for it among the call controls or in Voice & Video settings.