DiscordTextTools
HomeDiscord Text Tricks
Complete Reference · Updated 2025

All Discord Text Tricks

Every formatting trick Discord supports — from basic bold and italic to color hacks, ANSI codes, dynamic timestamps, and hidden syntax most people never discover. Copy any example directly into Discord.

Try in Message Editor Jump to Quick Reference

Basic Text Formatting

Discord uses a streamlined subset of Markdown. These core styles work in every context — DMs, server channels, threads, and forum posts alike.

Bold

You type

**your text here**

Discord renders

your text here

Italic

You type

*your text here*

Discord renders

your text here

Single asterisk or single underscore both work: *text* or _text_

Bold + Italic

You type

***your text here***

Discord renders

your text here

Triple asterisks — the most visually punchy combo for emphasis.

Underline

You type

__your text here__

Discord renders

your text here

Double underscore on each side. Note: single underscore is italic, not underline.

Strikethrough

You type

~~your text here~~

Discord renders

your text here

Stacked Styles

You type

__**bold + underline**__
~~*struck + italic*~~
__~~**all three**~~__

Discord renders

bold + underline
struck + italic
all three

Apply any combination by nesting the wrappers — outermost wrapper renders last.

Want to preview as you type?

The Message Editor has toolbar buttons for every style — click to wrap selected text, no syntax memorization needed.

Open Editor

Headings & Text Size

Discord added heading support in 2023. They're ideal for structured announcements, long rule posts, and any message that benefits from clear visual hierarchy.

Heading 1 — Largest

You type

# Section Title

Discord renders

Section Title

Must start at the beginning of a line. The # must be followed by a space.

Heading 2

You type

## Subsection

Discord renders

Subsection

Heading 3 — Smallest

You type

### Detail Heading

Discord renders

Detail Heading

Small Text / Subtext

You type

-# Posted by Admin · June 2025

Discord renders

Posted by Admin · June 2025

Dash-hash (-#) creates Discord's subtext style — rendered smaller and greyed out. Perfect for credits, timestamps, or fine print.

Code & Monospace

Code formatting renders in a fixed-width font inside a dark box — even if you're not sharing actual code. It's great for commands, keybinds, file paths, and anything you want to stand out visually.

Inline Code

You type

`/timeout @username 10m`

Discord renders

/timeout @username 10m

Single backtick on each side. Renders inline within a sentence — no line break.

Code Block

You type

```
Your text here
Line two
```

Discord renders

Your text here Line two

Three backticks open and close the block. Add a language name after the opening ``` for syntax coloring (see Colors section below).

Color Tricks

Discord doesn't support free-form text color — but several code block language tags produce colored syntax highlighting you can repurpose for styled messages. The diff trick is the most widely supported and reliable.

Red Text — diff block

You type

```diff
- This line will appear red
```

Discord renders

- This line will appear red

Any line starting with - inside a diff block renders red. Works on desktop and mobile.

Green Text — diff block

You type

```diff
+ This line will appear green
```

Discord renders

+ This line will appear green

Red + Green Together

You type

```diff
- ❌ Don't do this
+ ✅ Do this instead
```

Discord renders

- ❌ Don't do this
+ ✅ Do this instead

Combine both in one block — perfect for rule lists, changelogs, before/after comparisons.

Blue Keys — yaml block

You type

```yaml
Name: DiscordUser
Server: My Server
Role: Admin
```

Discord renders

Name: DiscordUser
Server: My Server
Role: Admin

YAML keys (anything before a colon) render in light blue. Great for info cards and profiles.

Cyan Strings — bash block

You type

```bash
echo "highlighted cyan text"
```

Discord renders

echo "highlighted cyan text"

Any string inside quotes in a bash block renders in cyan.

ANSI Colors — full spectrum (advanced)

You type

```ansi
Red Green Yellow Blue
Pink Cyan Bold Underline
```

Discord renders

Red Green Yellow Blue
Pink Cyan Bold Underline

ANSI codes give the most control over color. The ESC character (shown as \u001b in the syntax) must be inserted — use the Message Editor's color toolbar button to do this automatically.

ANSI Color Code Reference

CodeEffectPreview
\u001b[30mDark GraySample Text
\u001b[31mRedSample Text
\u001b[32mGreenSample Text
\u001b[33mYellowSample Text
\u001b[34mBlueSample Text
\u001b[35mPink / MagentaSample Text
\u001b[36mCyanSample Text
\u001b[37mWhiteSample Text
\u001b[1mBoldSample Text
\u001b[4mUnderlineSample Text
\u001b[0mReset / end colorSample Text

Colors are tricky to type manually

The Message Editor handles ANSI escape characters automatically — pick a color from the toolbar and it inserts the correct syntax for you.

Open Editor

Spoiler Tags

Spoiler tags hide content behind a click — the recipient sees a dark redacted box. They have to click to reveal it. Great for game plot points, punchlines, or anything you don't want to force on people.

Inline Spoiler

You type

||This is hidden until clicked||

Discord renders

This is hidden until clicked

Double pipe on each side. Hover the preview to see the text — in Discord, you click to toggle reveal.

Spoiler File Upload

You type

SPOILER_yourfile.png

Discord renders

📎SPOILER_yourfile.pngSpoiler

Rename any file to begin with SPOILER_ before uploading. Discord will blur/hide it until clicked.

Block Quotes

Block quotes add a vertical accent bar on the left and visually indent the text. They're excellent for quoting someone, structuring rules posts, or making a specific section of a message stand out.

Single-line Quote

You type

> This is a quoted line

Discord renders

This is a quoted line

Greater-than symbol followed by a space. Only applies to that one line.

Multi-line Block Quote

You type

>>> Everything below this
becomes part of the quote.
No closing tag needed.

Discord renders

Everything below this
becomes part of the quote.
No closing tag needed.

Triple >>> captures every line below it until the end of the message.

Lists

Discord renders both bullet and numbered lists. These are particularly powerful in pinned posts, rule channels, and any long structured message.

Bullet List

You type

- Item one
- Item two
- Item three

Discord renders

  • Item one
  • Item two
  • Item three

Dash followed by a space. Also works with * as the bullet character.

Numbered List

You type

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

Discord renders

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

Nested / Indented List

You type

- Main item
  - Sub-item A
  - Sub-item B
- Another main item

Discord renders

  • Main item
    • Sub-item A
    • Sub-item B
  • Another main item

Indent sub-items with exactly 2 spaces before the dash.

Dynamic Timestamps

Discord timestamps automatically convert to every reader's local timezone and continue updating in real time. They're essential for scheduling events, posting countdowns, or sharing exact meeting times across a global server.

Relative Time (most used)

You type

<t:1735689600:R>

Discord renders

in 6 months

:R shows relative time — '2 hours ago', 'in 5 days', etc. It updates live as time passes.

Full Date + Time

You type

<t:1735689600:F>

Discord renders

Thursday, January 1, 2026 12:00 AM

Replace 1735689600 with your own Unix timestamp. Use our Timestamp Generator to get the right number.

All Timestamp Format Flags

SyntaxFormatExample output
<t:…:t>Short time9:00 AM
<t:…:T>Long time9:00:00 AM
<t:…:d>Short date01/01/2026
<t:…:D>Long dateJanuary 1, 2026
<t:…:f>Short date/timeJanuary 1, 2026 9:00 AM
<t:…:F>Long date/timeThursday, January 1, 2026 9:00 AM
<t:…:R>Relative (live)in 6 months
⏱

Skip the Unix math

Our Timestamp Generator lets you pick any date and time from a calendar and outputs the exact <t:…:R> syntax — no calculation required.

Quick Reference

Every trick at a glance. Hover any row to reveal the copy button.

EffectSyntaxCopy
Bold**text**
Italic*text*
Bold Italic***text***
Underline__text__
Strikethrough~~text~~
Spoiler||text||
Inline code`text`
Code block``` text ```
Heading 1# text
Heading 2## text
Heading 3### text
Small / subtext-# text
Block quote> text
Multi-line quote>>> text
Bullet list- item
Numbered list1. item
Red text (diff)```diff - text ```
Green text (diff)```diff + text ```
Blue keys (yaml)```yaml Key: Value ```
Relative timestamp<t:UNIX:R>
Full timestamp<t:UNIX:F>

See every trick in action

The DiscordTextTools Message Editor lets you type and preview every format in this guide in real time — toolbar buttons, instant Discord-accurate preview, and one-click copy for your finished message.

Open Message Editor

Frequently asked questions

What markdown does Discord actually support?

Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, three header levels, subtext, block quotes, bulleted and numbered lists, masked links, spoilers, inline code, and fenced code blocks. Discord deliberately leaves out images, tables, and font control in message bodies, so any tool promising those is really producing Unicode lookalikes rather than real formatting.

How do I make colored text in Discord?

Use a fenced code block with a language hint. The ansi hint gives the fullest palette via escape codes, while diff colors lines starting with - red and + green, and fix turns a whole block yellow. There is no way to color ordinary message text outside a code block.

How do I hide text behind a spoiler?

Wrap it in double pipes, like ||this||. Readers see a grey block they have to tap or click to reveal. It works in messages, embeds, and bios, and you can also mark an uploaded image as a spoiler from the upload dialog.

Why does my formatting show as raw symbols?

Either the syntax is inside a code block, which disables formatting by design, or a character has been escaped with a backslash. Unmatched markers are the other common cause: **bold with only one closing asterisk renders literally.

Can I use these tricks in server rules and announcements?

Yes, and they are worth using. Headers and subtext give a long rules channel real structure, block quotes set apart the important lines, and masked links keep announcements tidy instead of full of raw URLs. Keep colored code blocks decorative, since they render differently on mobile.

Do formatting tricks work in bios, channel names, and nicknames?

Only partly. Bios support most markdown. Channel names, server names, and nicknames support no markdown at all — they only accept plain characters, which is why Unicode font styles are the usual workaround there.

Read more on this

Longer write-ups covering the background, edge cases and worked examples behind this tool.

Discord Text Tools: The Complete Formatting Toolkit (2026)

Every Discord text tool you actually need: a markdown previewer with colored code blocks, a fancy font generator, a 2000-character message splitter, and a Unix timestamp builder.

How to Make Text Small, Colored, or Hidden in Discord

A complete guide to formatting your Discord messages: from colors and markdown to shrinking text and hiding spoilers.

Other tools in the suite

Message Editor

Write Discord markdown with a live, pixel-accurate preview — bold, colors, spoilers, headers and code blocks.

Bio Templates

100+ Discord bio ideas with a real profile-card preview and a live 190-character counter.

File Compressor

Shrink video, GIFs, images and audio under Discord's 20 MB upload limit without uploading anything.

Message Splitter

Break messages past the 2,000-character limit into clean parts without mangling markdown.

Timestamp Generator

Build timestamp codes that render in every member's own timezone automatically.

Font Transformer

Turn plain text into cursive, gothic, bubble and 20+ other Unicode styles you can paste anywhere.

How this tool handles your data

Nothing is uploadedEverything runs as JavaScript in your own browser. We do not operate a database that could store what you type or open.

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