Discord text formatting uses simple markdown symbols around your words. Two asterisks make text bold, one makes it italic, two underscores underline it, two tildes strike it through and two vertical bars hide it as a spoiler. For names and nicknames, where markdown does not work, use the Discord fonts generator instead.
Discord markdown basics
Discord formatting is based on markdown, a simple system of symbols around your words. These six styles work in every Discord message on desktop, web and mobile. Type the symbols directly before and after your text, with no spaces between the symbols and the words.
| Style | What to type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | **your text** | Two asterisks on each side |
| Italic | *your text* or _your text_ | One asterisk or one underscore |
| Bold italic | ***your text*** | Three asterisks |
| Underline | __your text__ | Two underscores |
| Strikethrough | ~~your text~~ | Two tildes |
| Spoiler | ||your text|| | Two vertical bars, readers tap to reveal |
You can combine styles by nesting them. For example, __**text**__ gives bold underlined text, and ~~*text*~~ gives italic text with a line through it. Our guide to crossing out text on Discord covers the strikethrough options in more depth.
Discord bold text is the style people reach for most, so it is worth remembering the two asterisks on each side. A Discord spoiler hides words behind a dark bar until a reader taps it, which is perfect for movie endings and game solutions. You can also mark an image as a spoiler before you upload it.
Headers and subtext
Discord also supports larger and smaller text for structure. These must start at the beginning of a line, followed by a space.
| What to type | Result |
|---|---|
# Title | A large header |
## Title | A medium header |
### Title | A small header |
-# note | Small gray subtext |
Headers are useful for rules channels, announcements and event posts. Subtext is handy for a quiet note under a message, such as a credit or a reminder.
Lists, quotes and links
Lists. Start a line with a dash or an asterisk and a space for a bullet point. Start with a number, a full stop and a space for a numbered list. Indent a line with spaces to nest it.
Quotes. Start a line with > and a space to quote one line. Start with >>> and a space to quote everything after it in the message.
Masked links. Write the link text in square brackets followed by the address in round brackets, like [our rules](https://example.com). Discord shows only the text as a clickable link. Be careful with masked links from strangers, since the text can hide where the link really goes.
Code blocks and colored text
Wrap a word in single backticks to show it as inline code. Wrap several lines in three backticks to make a code block, which keeps spacing exactly as typed and shows every symbol without formatting.
Add a language name after the first three backticks, such as js or python, and Discord adds color highlighting. Some people use the ansi language name with special codes to make colored text. This works on the desktop app but often shows as plain text on mobile, so do not rely on it for important messages.
Formatting that does not work in names
Markdown works in messages and in your About Me. It does not work in display names, server nicknames, channel names or server names. If you want a bold, cursive or gothic name, you need Unicode styled letters, which are separate characters that look like a different font.
| Where | Markdown | Unicode fonts |
|---|---|---|
| Messages | Works | Works |
| About Me | Works | Works |
| Display name and nickname | Does not work | Works |
| Channel and server names | Does not work | Works in most cases |
The Discord fonts generator has more than 20 styles that paste straight into these fields. For tiny names, try small caps text. For chaotic names, zalgo text is popular, and our zalgo explainer covers where that style came from.
How to show symbols without formatting
Sometimes you want to show an asterisk or a tilde without Discord using it. Put a backslash in front of the symbol, like \*not italic\*, and Discord shows the symbol as typed. To show a whole block of symbols, put it inside backticks.
Using the desktop formatting toolbar
On the desktop app and in a browser, select text in the message box and a small toolbar appears. It has buttons for bold, italic, strikethrough, code, quote and spoiler. The toolbar simply adds the markdown symbols for you, so the result is the same as typing them.
Common problems and quick fixes
- Formatting shows as symbols. Remove any space between the symbols and the text.
- Header shows as a hashtag. Make sure the hash is the first thing on the line and is followed by a space.
- Spoiler does not hide. Use two vertical bars on each side, not one.
- Bold and italic mix up. Count your asterisks. Two is bold, one is italic, three is both.
- Fancy name rejected. Your login username only accepts basic characters. Use styled letters in your display name instead.
A quick reference to save
Keep this list handy. Bold is two asterisks, italic is one, underline is two underscores, strikethrough is two tildes, spoilers are two vertical bars, headers start with one to three hashes, subtext starts with a dash and a hash, quotes start with an angle bracket, and code uses backticks. For anything markdown cannot do, use styled Unicode letters.