Custom Discord nicknames (browser userscript)

What's this for?

If you find yourself struggling to remember who someone is on Discord from their username, and you use Discord in a standard desktop browser supported by Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey, then this is for you.

(Unfortunately this won't probably work on Discord apps or mobile browsers.)

Background

One of Discord's most infuriating features is that when any of your contacts have chosen cryptic usernames (nicknames), you basically have to remember which username corresponds to which person.

Currently the only help Discord provides on this front is the "notes" feature, where you can click on a user's nickname, and then click to add a note reminding you who that user actually is.

Countless requests have been made for a feature where you can (privately) assign your own choice of name to any other user, including some with many upvotes. But sadly these seem to have fallen on deaf ears for quite a while, so we've mostly just had to tolerate this annoyance.

I say "mostly", because it seems they are apparently working on some kind of solution to this but supposedly it's currently exclusive to people with access to the experimental mode, and unless you already have that, trying to get it is allegedly against the ToS. So unless you know a way around this, like me you were stuck with the issue ...

Until now!

How it works

After installation, you configure this userscript with a mapping which translates nicknames of Discord users you know into their real names (or whatever display text you want to represent them).

Then it basically watches the Discord web page for certain HTML elements which it knows will represent user's nicknames, and if any of those match any of the nicknames in the mapping you've configured, they will be automatically replaced with the alternative text you've chosen.

Installation

First ensure you have Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey installed. This script might also work with Greasemonkey, but I haven't tested that yet. (If you can help with that, please see [issue

5](https://github.com/aspiers/Discord-custom-nicks-userscript/issues/5).)

Then just click here and it should offer you the option to install the userscript.

Configuration

• Visit https://discord.com

• Click on the Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey icon near the top-right of your browser.

• If installation succeeded, you should see a Discord custom nicknames userscript active.

• Click on Nickname mapping. You'll see this:

• Follow the instructions to enter one or more mappings for Discord users you know who have hard-to-remember nicknames.

• Click the Save button.

That's it! You should now see those nicknames automatically replaced with the more sensible text you have chosen.

FAQ

It's not working perfectly / at all

Sorry about that - this is a brand new project so there are inevitably bugs. Please first double-check you followed the above instructions, then check the list of known issues to see if it's already a known issue. If not feel free to file a new one.

Does this compromise the privacy of users?

No! The mapping is stored locally in your browser, and is only used client-side and never sent over any network. Don't take my word for it; you can check the source code, and/or use the network analysis tools in browser development consoles to verify this.

Will this become redundant if Discord implements this feature natively?

Possibly, but only if they do it in a completely privacy-preserving way. If they don't and you use their feature, you are potentially doxing any users for whom you assign real names.

How can I share my configuration across multiple browsers / machines?

For now you probably just have to copy and paste, but suggestions for how to improve this are very welcome. However ideally they should preserve user privacy, i.e. not disclose unencrypted mappings over the network to third parties like cloud service providers.

Development / support / feedback

Please see the CONTRIBUTING.md file.

Copyright license

See the COPYING file.