How to Use Midjourney for the First Time

Midjourney is an AI image generator that creates artwork from text descriptions through Discord. This guide walks you through setting up your account, joining the Discord server, and generating your first AI images.

1. Create a Discord account. Download Discord from discord.com and create an account if you don't have one. Verify your email address to activate your account. Discord is required because Midjourney operates entirely through Discord servers.
2. Join the Midjourney Discord server. Go to midjourney.com and click 'Join the Beta' to get an invite link to their Discord server. Click the invite link and select 'Join Server' when prompted. You'll see multiple channels in the left sidebar once you're in.
3. Navigate to a newbie channel. Click on any channel starting with 'newbies' in the left sidebar. These channels are designed for first-time users and have less traffic than general channels. You can use newbies-1 through newbies-50.
4. Write your first prompt. Type '/imagine' in the message box and select the 'imagine' command that appears. After the prompt field appears, describe the image you want created. Start with something simple like 'a red apple on a wooden table' for your first attempt.
5. Wait for image generation. Press Enter to submit your prompt. Midjourney will show a progress bar as it generates four image variations. This process takes 30-60 seconds. Your images will appear in the same channel where you submitted the prompt.
6. Choose your preferred image. Below the generated images, you'll see buttons labeled U1, U2, U3, U4 for upscaling and V1, V2, V3, V4 for variations. Click U1-U4 to create a higher resolution version of that specific image (numbered left to right, top to bottom).
7. Download your final image. Once the upscaled image appears, click on it to view full size, then right-click and select 'Save image as' to download it to your computer. The image will be saved as a high-resolution PNG file.