How Discord link previews work: Open Graph, oEmbed, and the embed cache
Discord embeds are fully OG-compatible. Use standard 1200x630 images. If you update your OG tags and need embeds to refresh, add a cache-busting query parameter. Test in a private Discord server before sharing publicly.
Discord generates link embeds using og:title, og:description, and og:image tags. When a user posts a URL in a Discord channel, Discord's servers fetch the page, extract the OG tags, and cache the result. The embed appears automatically with no user action needed. Image size and placement depend on the embed layout, so use a 1200x630 source when you want a reliable large preview.
By TechCompare · Updated
How this is calculated
Discord's embed cache is aggressive and hard to bust. Once Discord fetches your OG tags, it may cache them for hours or days. Changing the tags on your server won't immediately update embeds already posted. The workaround is to append a query parameter (?v=2) to the URL, which can make Discord treat it as a new link. If og:image is missing, unreachable, or unsuitable for the embed layout, Discord may omit the image or show a smaller preview. Discord's public guidance does not establish a universal hard minimum for every embed layout. For best results, use a 1200x630 image. Discord also respects og:site_name, og:video for embedded video, and theme-color for the embed's left border color.
Verdict
Discord fetches and stores OG tags aggressively, so changing the tags on the server may not refresh embeds already posted. Appending ?v=2 to the URL can trigger a new fetch. There is no documented universal hard cutoff for every embed layout. Use a reachable 1200x630 og:image for the best chance of a large preview, and remember that Discord can show thumbnails or omit images depending on the embed data.