The "Interaction failed" message is one of the most common errors you will encounter when using Midjourney. It is not an issue with your prompt's syntax; rather, it is a technical breakdown between Discord's interface and Midjourney's backend API.
When you type a command like /imagine and press enter, Discord gives the Midjourney bot exactly three seconds to acknowledge the command. If the bot is overloaded, experiencing a partial server outage, or suffering from network latency, it fails to respond within this tight window. Discord then displays "Interaction failed" in red text under your message.
If you are hitting this wall, follow these sequential steps to diagnose, bypass, or resolve the issue.
1. Verify Midjourney and Discord Server Status
Before changing any settings, check whether the issue is on your end or a widespread system outage.
1. Open the official Midjourney Discord server and navigate to the **#status** and **#announcements** channels. The team posts real-time updates here if their rendering clusters or database nodes are down.
2. Check the **#member-support** channel to see if other users are complaining about the same "Interaction failed" error.
3. Visit **status.discordapp.com** to verify that Discord's API and Gateway servers are operating normally. A hiccup in Discord's system can prevent bots from receiving slash commands.
2. Hard Reload or Restart Your Discord Client
Discord clients frequently experience cached websocket hangs where they fail to process incoming bot responses.
* **On Desktop (Windows/Mac):** Press `Ctrl + R` (Windows) or `Cmd + R` (Mac) to force-reload the Discord application. This refreshes your connection to the Discord gateway.
* **On Mobile (iOS/Android):** Force-close the app from your phone's active app switcher and relaunch it.
* **On Web Browser:** Refresh the browser tab or open Discord in an Incognito/Private window to bypass corrupted local cache files.
3. Switch to Direct Messages (DMs)
Generating images in busy public servers or large custom servers can overwhelm the Discord channel's message queue.
1. Locate the **Midjourney Bot** in your direct messages list or on the user list of any server.
2. Right-click the bot (or tap its profile on mobile) and select **Message**.
3. Try running your `/imagine` command inside the private DM thread. DMs bypass local server traffic, which often resolves timed-out connections.
4. Re-Authorize or Re-Invite the Bot (For Server Admins)
If you are getting this error on a private server that you manage, the bot's integration token may have desynchronized.
1. Go to your Server Settings and click on **Integrations** or **App Directory**.
2. Find the Midjourney Bot and remove it from the server.
3. Go to the official Midjourney server, click on the Midjourney Bot in the member list, and click **Add to Server** to re-invite it with updated permissions.
4. Ensure the bot has the **Use Slash Commands** permission enabled in your server's role settings.
5. Toggle VPNs and Clear Local DNS Cache
High local network latency can delay your request to Discord's servers just enough to trigger the three-second timeout.
1. **Disable your VPN:** Some VPN nodes introduce routing latency that delays bot responses. Disable your VPN temporarily and try generating again.
2. **Flush your DNS cache:**
* *On Windows:* Open Command Prompt as admin, type `ipconfig /flushdns`, and press Enter.
* *On Mac:* Open Terminal, type `sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder`, and press Enter.
3. Restart your router to clear any local routing bottlenecks.
6. Access the Midjourney Web UI
If Discord is completely unresponsive or continuously failing to route commands, you can bypass Discord entirely by using Midjourney's web interface.
1. Navigate to **midjourney.com** and sign in using your Discord credentials.
2. If your account has generated enough images to qualify for web generation, you will see a text box at the top of the interface.
3. Enter your prompt directly into the web interface. This bypasses Discord's API limits and generates images directly on Midjourney's hardware.
When to Escalate
If you have tried all the steps above and still receive the "Interaction failed" error on every prompt, the issue is likely a localized backend outage affecting your specific billing cluster or Discord shard.
* **Check billing status:** Log into your account on Midjourney.com to ensure your subscription is active and has not been paused due to a payment failure.
* **Reach out on Discord:** If your subscription is active, join the official Midjourney Discord and post a message in the **#member-support** channel. Mention that you have cleared your cache, tried DMs, and verified your internet latency, but the error persists.