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Discord text formatting

Write your message, press a button to format it, and copy the Markdown into Discord. The preview shows it the way Discord will.

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Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U and Ctrl+Z work here (Cmd on a Mac). Your draft stays in this browser.

How it looks in Discord
TomToday at 9:41 PM
Movie night
When: Friday, November 13, 2026 at 9:00 PM (in 2 days)
Where: the Cinema voice channel
The film is a until we start
Vote in the poll by Thursday
Bring snacks
Hosted by Tom

How to bold, italicize, underline, and strike through on Discord

Type the symbols on each side of the words. They work the same in the desktop app, the browser, and the phone apps.

  • Bold

    Type **text**

    Shortcut Ctrl+B, or Cmd+B on a Mac

    FabianToday at 9:41 PM
    The raid starts at 9 PM sharp.

    Three asterisks each side make it bold and italic: ***like this***.

  • Italic

    Type *text* or _text_

    Shortcut Ctrl+I, or Cmd+I on a Mac

    FabianToday at 9:41 PM
    That was definitely on purpose.

    One asterisk or one underscore each side. Two underscores make underline instead.

  • Underline

    Type __text__

    Shortcut Ctrl+U, or Cmd+U on a Mac

    FabianToday at 9:41 PM
    Read the pinned message first.

    Mix it with bold for a heading inside a line: __**like this**__.

  • Strikethrough

    Type ~~text~~

    Or Select the text and press S in the menu that pops up

    FabianToday at 9:41 PM
    Movie night is Friday Saturday.

    Two tildes each side. On most keyboards the tilde is Shift and the key left of 1.

Hiding text works the same way with two vertical bars. To hide a word or each letter on its own, use the Discord spoiler text tool.

Discord Markdown cheat sheet

Type the symbols around your words, or at the start of a line for headings, subtext, quotes, and lists.

FormatType thisGood to know
Bold**text**Ctrl or Cmd + B in Discord too.
Italic*text* or _text_
Underline__text__Two underscores each side.
Strikethrough~~text~~
Spoiler||text||Hidden until someone presses it. Also /spoiler.
Big heading# textStart of a line, then a space. ## and ### are smaller.
Subtext-# textSmall grey line, good for notes and credits.
Quote one line> text
Quote the rest>>> textEverything after it in the message is quoted.
Bulleted list- textOr *. Indent with spaces to nest.
Numbered list1. text
Inline code`text`No other formatting works inside it.
Code block```text```Add a language after the first ``` for colours, like ```js.
Masked link[text](https://...)Discord asks before opening it.
Green and red lines```diffLines starting with + turn green, - turns red.
Time for everyone<t:1767225600:R>Shows in each reader's time zone. Use the Time button.
Mention everyone@everyonePings the whole server if you have the permission.
Show a symbol\*text\*A backslash stops the formatting.

Coloured text for Discord

Discord has no colour button, but an ansi code block takes colour codes. Add your lines here and copy the block. The phone apps show it as plain text.

Text colour
Background
How it looks in Discord for desktop
FabianToday at 9:41 PM
Server rules
Be kind to everyone
  • Server rules
  • Be kind to everyone

Formatted messages from your own bot

A bot uses the same Markdown. With BotGhost, the no-code Discord bot maker, you write a message once in the command builder and the bot posts it, headings and spoilers included, whenever someone runs a command or joins the server.

BotGhostToday at 9:41 PM
Welcome, Vez!
Read #rules, then grab your roles in #roles.
You are member 1,204

Discord formatting questions

Times and dates have their own codes: make them with the Discord timestamp generator.

How do I make text bold on Discord?
Put two asterisks on each side: **like this**. You can also select the text in Discord and press Ctrl+B (Cmd+B on a Mac).
How do I strikethrough text on Discord?
Put two tildes on each side: ~~like this~~. On desktop you can also select the text and press the strikethrough button in the menu that appears.
How do I italicize text on Discord?
Put one asterisk or one underscore on each side: *like this* or _like this_. Ctrl+I (Cmd+I on a Mac) does it for selected text.
How do I make a spoiler on Discord?
Put two vertical bars on each side: ||like this||. The text stays hidden until someone presses it. For an image, tick "Mark as spoiler" before you send it. The spoiler text tool can hide each word or letter on its own.
How do I make big text on Discord?
Start the line with # and a space for the biggest heading, ## for medium, or ### for small. It only works at the very start of a line.
How do I make small grey text on Discord?
Start the line with -# and a space. Discord calls it subtext.
How do I make coloured text on Discord?
Use a code block with ansi after the first three backticks and colour codes in the text. The coloured text maker on this page writes the codes for you. Colours show on Discord for desktop and in the browser; the phone apps show plain text.
How do I stop Discord formatting my text?
Put a backslash before the symbol, like \*this\*, and Discord shows the asterisks. Inline code with single backticks also shows the text exactly as typed.
Does Discord formatting work in embeds and bots?
Yes. Bots and webhooks use the same Markdown in their messages, and in an embed's description and field values.

More free Discord tools