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Discord Markdown Syntax Cheatsheet

Discord Markdown Cheat Sheet

Master Discord's markdown syntax for better message formatting. Learn how to use bold, italic, code blocks, spoilers, mentions, and more to enhance your Discord communication.

Quick Reference

Jump to any Discord syntax to get started quickly

Inline Elements

(18 items)

Block Elements

(8 items)

Discord Markdown Syntax

Essential Discord markdown elements for formatting messages, creating emphasis, and organizing content. These features help you communicate more effectively on Discord servers and direct messages.

Inline Elements

Plain Text

inline

Basic text content without any special formatting.

Discord Input

Plain text message.

Rendered Output

Plain text message.

💡 Tips

  • No special syntax needed for regular text.
  • Forms the foundation of all Discord messages.

Bold Text

inline

Make text bold using double asterisks.

Discord Input

**bold text**

Rendered Output

bold text

💡 Tips

  • Use double asterisks: **text**
  • Works within sentences and across multiple words.
  • Cannot be nested with other formatting without closing tags properly.

Italic Text

inline

Make text italic using single asterisks or underscores.

Discord Input

*italic text* or _italic text_

Rendered Output

italic text

💡 Tips

  • Use single asterisks: *text* or underscores: _text_.
  • Both methods work identically.
  • Avoid mixing symbols in the same phrase to prevent parsing issues.

Bold Italic Text

inline

Combine bold and italic formatting using triple asterisks.

Discord Input

***bold italic text***

Rendered Output

bold italic text

💡 Tips

  • Use triple asterisks: ***text***.
  • Combines both bold and italic formatting.
  • Ensure you have exactly three asterisks on each side.

Underlined Text

inline

Underline text using double underscores.

Discord Input

__underlined text__

Rendered Output

underlined text

💡 Tips

  • Use double underscores: __text__.
  • Discord-specific formatting not available in standard Markdown.
  • Useful for highlighting important information.

Strikethrough Text

inline

Cross out text using double tildes.

Discord Input

~~strikethrough text~~

Rendered Output

strikethrough text

💡 Tips

  • Use double tildes: ~~text~~.
  • Useful for showing corrections or humor.
  • Can be combined with other formatting if nested properly.

Spoiler Text

inline

Hide text behind spoiler bars using double pipes.

Discord Input

||spoiler text||

Rendered Output

spoiler text

💡 Tips

  • Use double pipes: ||text||.
  • Text is hidden until clicked by users.
  • Perfect for plot spoilers or sensitive content.
  • Discord-specific feature.

Inline Code

inline

Display code inline using single backticks.

Discord Input

`inline code`

Rendered Output

inline code

💡 Tips

  • Use single backticks: `code`.
  • Text appears in monospace font with a gray background.
  • Useful for commands, variables, or short code snippets.

User Mentions

inline

Mention users using @ symbol with user ID.

Discord Input

<@123456789012345678>

Rendered Output

@username

💡 Tips

  • Format: `<@userID>`.
  • User receives a notification when mentioned.
  • ID can be obtained by enabling Developer Mode in Discord.
  • Appears as clickable username in Discord.

Channel Mentions

inline

Link to channels using the hash symbol with channel ID.

Discord Input

<#123456789012345678>

Rendered Output

#channel-name

💡 Tips

  • Format: `<#channelID>`.
  • Creates a clickable link to the channel.
  • Appears as #channel-name in Discord.
  • Users can click to navigate to the channel.

Role Mentions

inline

Mention roles using @ symbol with role ID.

Discord Input

<@&123456789012345678>

Rendered Output

@role-name

💡 Tips

  • Format: `<@&roleID>`.
  • All users with that role get notified.
  • Use carefully to avoid spam notifications.
  • Appears in role color if configured.

@everyone Mention

inline

Notify all members in the current channel.

Discord Input

@everyone Attention!

Rendered Output

@everyone

💡 Tips

  • Type `@everyone` to notify everyone in the channel, whether online or offline.
  • Use sparingly—overuse can lead to annoyance or being muted by admins.
  • Cannot be suppressed by role permissions unless specifically disabled.

@here Mention

inline

Notify all online members in the current channel.

Discord Input

@here Show of hands!

Rendered Output

@here

💡 Tips

  • Type `@here` to notify only those currently online or idle.
  • Won’t ping offline members.
  • Useful for getting attention without disturbing everyone offline.

Unicode Emojis

inline

Use standard Unicode emojis directly in text or via shortcodes.

Discord Input

:smile: :thumbsup: or 😀 👍

Rendered Output

😄 👍

💡 Tips

  • Copy and paste Unicode emojis directly into messages.
  • Alternatively use shortcode `:shortcode:`, e.g., `:smile:`.
  • Client automatically replaces shortcodes with corresponding emojis.
  • Works on all platforms—no special server permissions needed.

Escaped Characters

inline

Display Discord formatting characters literally using backslashes.

Discord Input

\*not italic\* \`not code\`

Rendered Output

*not italic* `not code`

💡 Tips

  • Use backslash before special characters (\*, \_, \`, \~, \|) to display them literally.
  • Useful when you want to show Discord syntax without formatting.
  • Ensure you escape each special character you want to show.

Timestamps

inline

Display dynamic timestamps using Unix timestamp format.

Discord Input

<t:1640995200:F>

Rendered Output

December 31, 2021 4:00 PM

💡 Tips

  • Format: `<t:timestamp:style>`.
  • Styles: `t` (short time), `T` (long time), `d` (short date), `D` (long date), `f` (short datetime), `F` (long datetime), `R` (relative).
  • Timestamp must be an integer Unix time (seconds since epoch).
  • Automatically adjusts to each user’s timezone.

Block Elements

Block Spoiler

block

Hide multi-line spoilers (text or images) using >! and !<.

Discord Input

>! This is a hidden spoiler line
And this line is also hidden !<

Rendered Output

This is a hidden spoiler line
And this line is also hidden

💡 Tips

  • Use `>!` at the start and `!<` at the end of the content to hide.
  • Everything between `>!` and `!<` will be concealed until clicked.
  • Supports multiple lines and even images when between the tags.

Code Blocks

block

Display multiple lines of code using triple backticks.

Discord Input

```
multi-line
code block
```

Rendered Output

multi-line
code block

💡 Tips

  • Use triple backticks for multi-line code.
  • All text inside is displayed in monospace font.
  • Preserves formatting and line breaks.
  • Does not perform syntax highlighting by default.

Syntax Highlighted Code Blocks

block

Add syntax highlighting by specifying a language after the opening backticks.

Discord Input

```javascript
function hello() {
  console.log("Hello Discord!");
}
```

Rendered Output

function hello() {
  console.log("Hello Discord!");
}

💡 Tips

  • Add the language name (e.g., javascript, python, css, diff, yaml) immediately after the opening triple backticks.
  • Supports many languages: javascript, python, css, html, diff, yaml, bash, etc.
  • Makes code more readable with color coding in supported Discord clients.

Diff Highlight

block

Highlight additions and deletions using diff syntax in a code block.

Discord Input

```diff
+ Added line
- Removed line
```

Rendered Output

+ Added line
- Removed line

💡 Tips

  • Use ```diff to start a diff-highlighted block.
  • + at the beginning of a line highlights it in green; - highlights in red.
  • Great for showing code changes or patches.

Block Quotes

block

Create quote blocks using the greater-than symbol.

Discord Input

> This is a quote
> spanning multiple lines

Rendered Output

This is a quote
spanning multiple lines

💡 Tips

  • Use `>` at the beginning of each line you want to quote.
  • Great for quoting other messages or emphasizing text.
  • Can contain other formatting like bold or italic inside.

Multi-line Block Quotes

block

Create multi-line quotes using triple greater-than symbols.

Discord Input

>>> This is a multi-line quote
All text after >>> will be quoted
Until the message ends

Rendered Output

This is a multi-line quote
All text after >>> will be quoted
Until the message ends

💡 Tips

  • Use `>>>` at the beginning for multi-line quotes.
  • Everything after `>>>` becomes part of the quote until the message ends.
  • No need to add `>` to each subsequent line.
  • Discord-specific feature; requires no additional `>` on each line.

Headers

block

Create headers using hash symbols (limited Discord support).

Discord Input

# Large Header
## Medium Header
### Small Header

Rendered Output

Large Header

Medium Header

Small Header

💡 Tips

  • Limited support in Discord—mainly works in embeds (bot messages or rich embed content).
  • In normal chat, Discord does not automatically resize header text.
  • Better to use **bold text** or **__underline__** for emphasis in regular messages.

Lists

block

Create simple lists using hyphens or numbers (limited Discord support).

Discord Input

- First item
- Second item
- Third item

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

- Parent item
  - Child item
    - Grandchild item

Rendered Output

  • First item
  • Second item
  • Third item
  1. First step
  2. Second step
  3. Third step
  • Parent item
    • Child item
      • Grandchild item

💡 Tips

  • Unordered lists: use hyphens (`- `) at the start of each line.
  • Ordered lists: use numbers with periods (`1. `) at the start.
  • Nested lists require indentation (two spaces per level) in Discord to visually appear nested.
  • Lists in normal chat do not auto-indent; they simply display bullet or number prefixes.

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