What markdown does Discord support?

Discord supports a curated subset of CommonMark plus some Discord-specific tokens. Formatting: ** bold, * or _ italic, *** bold-italic, __ underline, ~~ strikethrough, || spoiler, ` inline code, ``` fenced code blocks (optional language hint), # / ## / ### headers, -# subtext. Block-level: > quote, >>> multi-line quote, - or * bullets, 1. numbered. Discord-specific tokens: , , , custom emoji, slash command links, dynamic timestamps. Masked links work in embeds and via webhooks.

How do I make text underlined?

Wrap with double underscores: __underlined__. Single underscores around a word render as italic instead (the same way as *italic*), so use double for underline. Mix with ** and ~~ to combine: __**bold underline**__.

How do I write a Discord spoiler?

Wrap text with double pipes: ||hidden text||. Discord renders it blacked out; the reader clicks to reveal. Works inline (||one word|| in a sentence) or across an entire message.

How do I link a slash command?

Use . The reader can click the rendered chip to launch that exact command. Subcommands use . The command_id is the application command's snowflake ID, visible in your bot's API or via Discord's app launcher.

How do I make a clickable text link?

Masked links — [click here](https://example.com) — render as a clickable hyperlink in embeds, in webhook content, in the system messages a bot sends, and in DMs from a bot. Inside a regular user message, masked links don't render — you'll see the raw [text](url) markdown. Discord made this trade-off to stop people hiding malicious URLs behind innocent-looking text.

What language hints does Discord support in code blocks?

Anything highlight.js supports — js, ts, py, rb, rs, go, java, kotlin, swift, php, c, cpp, cs, json, yaml, html, css, sql, md, sh, bash, dockerfile and more. Drop the hint right after the opening triple-backtick on its own line: ```py then your code on the next line. Discord highlights the code in-place.

Free reference

Discord Markdown Cheatsheet

Every formatting marker Discord supports — bold, italic, headers, quotes, lists, spoilers, code blocks, masked links, mentions, role chips, custom emoji, slash command references, dynamic timestamps. Click any line to copy.

Live playground

Type markdown — see exactly how Discord renders it.

Text formatting

Bold

**bold text**

Italic (asterisk)

*italic text*

Italic (underscore)

_italic text_

Bold italic

***bold italic***

Underline

__underline__

Strikethrough

~~struck through~~

Spoiler

||hidden until clicked||

Combined formats

__***bold italic underline***__ ~~with strike~~

Headers + subtext

Heading 1

# Big heading

Heading 2

## Section heading

Heading 3

### Subsection heading

Subtext

-# small grey caption

Lists + quotes

Bullet list

- one
- two
- three

Numbered list

1. first
2. second
3. third

Nested bullet

- top
  - nested

Single-line quote

> quoted line

Multi-line quote

>>> first line
second line
third line

Code

Inline code

`monospaced code`

Code block

```
plain code block
```

Code block (JS)

```js
console.log('hello');
```

Code block (Python)

```py
print('hello')
```

Code block (Diff)

```diff
- old line
+ new line
```

Links

Masked link (embeds + webhooks only)

[click here](https://example.com)

Plain URL

https://example.com

Suppress link preview

<https://example.com>

Mentions + chips

User mention

<@123456789012345678>

@username

Channel mention

<#123456789012345678>

#general

Role mention

<@&123456789012345678>

@Moderator

@everyone

@everyone

@everyone

@here

@here

@here

Slash command link

</play:1234567890>

/play

Slash subcommand

</giveaway create:1234567890>

/giveaway create

Custom emoji

<:phantom:1234567890>

Animated emoji

<a:phantom_anim:1234567890>

Standard emoji

:smile:

😄

Timestamps

Short time

<t:1735689600:t>

18:00

Long time

<t:1735689600:T>

18:00:00

Short date

<t:1735689600:d>

31/12/2026

Long date

<t:1735689600:D>

31 December 2026

Short date-time

<t:1735689600:f>

31 December 2026 18:00

Long date-time

<t:1735689600:F>

Friday, 31 December 2026 18:00

Relative (live)

<t:1735689600:R>

in 3 days

Escapes + gotchas

Escape a marker

\*not italic\*

Escape a backtick

\`literal backtick\`

Empty line in quote

> first paragraph
> 
> second paragraph

Forced newline (use Shift+Enter in chat)

line one
line two

Mention, role, channel, custom emoji, slash command and timestamp tokens render as live chips inside Discord — the previews above mirror Discord's styling. The IDs in the source are placeholders; swap in your own server's IDs.

Quick tips for Discord markdown

1

Headers reset on every newline.

Discord's #, ##, ### only apply to the line they start. Use them for short titles in announcements; pair with -# subtext for byline / metadata.
2

Masked links don't work in user messages.

[text](url) renders inside embeds and webhook content, in DMs from a bot, and in messages bots post via the API. In a message you type yourself, the markdown stays raw — Discord made this trade-off to stop people hiding malicious URLs behind innocent-looking text.
3

Slash command refs need the command's ID.

The format is </name:command_id> — the ID is the snowflake of the registered application command. Subcommands use </parent sub:id>. Phantom shows you these IDs in the dashboard so you can copy them straight into pinned how-to messages.
4

Timestamps render in each viewer's timezone.

Use <t:UNIX:STYLE> for events. The :R style ("in 3 days", "5 minutes ago") updates live. Build them with the Discord Timestamp Generator.

Frequently asked

Why doesn't [text](url) render in my message?

Masked links ([label](https://…)) only render in embeds, webhooks and bot-sent messages — not in messages you type yourself. Inside a regular user message, the markdown stays literal. To ship a polished embed with masked links, use the Discord Embed Creator.

How do I underline + bold at the same time?

Wrap the inner format inside the outer one: __**bold + underlined**__. Add italics with a third pair: __***bold italic underlined***__. Order doesn't matter as long as the markers nest cleanly.

How do I escape a marker?

Backslash before the marker character: \\*not italic\\*, \\`literal backtick\\`. Inside fenced code blocks no escaping is needed — the contents render as plain text.

Can I make text any colour?

Not natively in messages — Discord doesn't ship a colour token. The closest workaround is the diff code block (red minus / green plus lines) or the fix code block (yellow). For real colour, use embeds: each embed has a single accent colour you can set on the left bar. The Embed Creator handles that.

How do I add an empty line in a quote?

Put a > on its own line between paragraphs. A truly empty line breaks the quote and starts a new block. The >>> multi-line variant lets blank lines stay inside the quote without resetting it.

Does Phantom format my announcements with markdown?

Yes — every place Phantom posts (welcomes, levelling messages, ticket transcripts, giveaway embeds, partnerships, automod logs) accepts the full markdown set on this page plus mention / channel / role / timestamp tokens. Install Phantom — free during early access.

Want every Phantom message to come out perfectly formatted by default?

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Moderation

Cases, automod, audit

Security

Lockdown, anti-raid

Tickets

Panels, AI auto-assist

Levelling

XP, roles, leaderboard