By default, you can use the formatting toolbar to format your messages in Slack. If you prefer to use markup instead, you can set a preference to hide the toolbar from the message composer. If you set this preference, here’s what to expect:

• Formatting will be applied to messages after you send them.
• Messages that you copy and paste will appear in plain text.
• Automatic formatting for bulleted, numbered, and indented lists won't be applied.

Set your message formatting preference

Use markup

Once you’ve set your formatting preference, you can use the following markup actions to format your messages.

Formatting	Description
Bold	Surround text with asterisks:  *your text*
Italic	Surround text with underscores: _your text_
Strikethrough	Surround text with tildes: ~your text~
Code	Surround text with backticks: `your text`
Block quote	Add an angled bracket in front of text: >your text
Code block	Surround text with three backticks: ```your text```
Link	Surround text with brackets, then surround the link with parentheses: [your text](the link)