Slack Formatting Guide

How to format text in Slack messages using mrkdwn syntax

Note: Slack uses its own format called "mrkdwn" which is similar to Markdown but has some key differences. Standard Markdown syntax may not work.

Supported Formatting

Bold

Uses single asterisks

*bold text*

Italic

Uses underscores

_italic text_

Strikethrough

Uses single tildes

~strikethrough~

Inline Code

Single backticks

`code`

Code Block

Triple backticks

```
code block
```

Block Quote

Greater than symbol

> quoted text

Multi-line Quote

Triple greater than

>>> all following
lines quoted

Bulleted List

Use • or - on new lines

• Item one
• Item two

Numbered List

Number followed by period

1. First
2. Second

Link

URL|display text in angle brackets

<https://example.com|Link Text>

User Mention

Mention a user

<@USER_ID>

Channel Link

Link to a channel

<#CHANNEL_ID>

Emoji

Use emoji shortcodes

:emoji_name:

Not Supported in Slack

  • Headers (H1-H6)
  • Standard Markdown links [text](url)
  • Images in text
  • Tables
  • Footnotes
  • Horizontal rules
  • Bold italic combined
  • Task lists

Slack vs Standard Markdown

FormatMarkdownSlack
Bold**bold***bold*
Italic*italic*_italic_
Strikethrough~~strike~~~strike~
Link[text](url)<url|text>

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