To the surprise of us in the newsroom and likely numerous existing Discord users who have felt the application get heavier and less performant over time, one lone developer has successfully backported Discord with most of its key functions intact to Windows 95 and Windows 98 Second Edition. Boiling down Discord to its most basic form, it still makes sense that this is possible. After all, any fancy modern instant messenger is just an IRC client with a fancy hat.
IProgramInCpp did this development work and stands out as one of many examples of unexpected applications being made to work on Windows 95 and 98 — keep in mind that we've once seen the entire .NET Framework (and thus thousands of dependent apps) be backported to Windows 95.
According to the developer, running the aptly named Discord Messenger on Windows 95 will require much more of the end user than on Windows 98 Second Edition, where the client works out of the box. For older versions of Windows, you'll need to compile the program with MinGW.
Detailed installation instructions are available on the GitHub page for those hoping to get a Discord client running on their old PC. Still, fortunately, Windows 98 SE, Windows XP SP2, and other newer versions of Windows should be able to run this one pretty seamlessly. It even still works on modern Windows versions, though you have very little reason to use it on a modern system unless you hate that Discord overhead.
Of course, this port isn't necessarily feature-complete, and some features will seemingly never be added, whether due to technical limitations or attempts to avoid flagging Discord's spam detection. Technically, using your own Discord client breaks TOS, so users are advised to be cautious with this client, especially if a safer alternative account is an option.
Features implemented during writing include the most basic messaging functionality: Direct Messages, servers, images, attachment uploads, message edits, replies, and deletion. This includes typing indicators, embeds, viewing server member lists, and untrusted URL indicators.
My Discord client, Discord Messenger, now runs on Windows 98! (And also, 95, but you need extra stuff. Win98SE runs it right out of the box.) pic.twitter.com/a3ZFjClHDnFebruary 2, 2025
Unimplemented features to be added include the friend list, dark mode, entering voice channel and joining voice channels, blocking/closing DMs, muting channels, changing display name & custom status, and other core functionality still currently missing. Of these features, it seems that voice call support— both connecting to servers and supporting the protocols in use— is pretty far off in the future, which is sensible considering how relatively cutting-edge that aspect of Discord is compared to the rest, which is again basically just an IRC client with a fancy hat (or a dozen).
Some features that are just unplanned boil down to this application's intended use as an alternative Discord client rather than your central client. Sending friend requests, creating DM channels, entering servers, and most log-in methods, including QR codes and email addresses, are unplanned since they will likely trigger Discord's anti-spam measures.
