Discord Markdown Guide: Text Formatting, Code Blocks & Timestamps
By Alex Vance•Updated 2026-09-25•6 min read
Discord chat supports a modified flavor of Markdown. You can format words, highlight code, hide spoilers, and combine bold text with live dynamic timestamps to build clean, organized server announcements.
Core Discord Text Formatting Syntax
Discord uses a modified subset of Markdown to style chat messages. You can wrap these around normal text or pair them directly with timestamp tags.
| Style | Markdown Syntax | Example Code | Resulting Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold | **text** | **Community Raid** | Strong emphasized text |
| Italics | *text* or _text_ | *Arrive 10m early* | Slanted text |
| Underline | __text__ | __Mandatory__ | Underlined text |
| Strikethrough | ~~text~~ | ~~Old Time 7 PM~~ | Line drawn through text |
| Spoiler | ||text|| | ||Secret Boss|| | Black clickable blur box |
| Inline Code | `code` | `<t:1727280000:R>` | Monospace grey pill box |
| Single Blockquote | > text | > Note from Admin | Indented line with grey bar |
| Header 1 | # Heading | # Event Announcement | Large bold title text |
| Header 2 | ## Heading | ## Squad Rules | Medium bold section header |
| Header 3 | ### Heading | ### Schedule | Small bold subsection header |
Embedding Timestamps Inside Markdown Elements
You can wrap Discord timestamps in bold, italics, quotes, or headers. But there is one big trap: do NOT put timestamps inside backticks (inline code ` `) or multi-line code blocks (` ``` `). Backticks tell Discord to treat everything as literal text, which turns off timestamp parsing completely.
markdown
// THIS RENDERS DYNAMICALLY:
# Raid Night: **<t:1727280000:F>**
> Starting: **<t:1727280000:R>**
> Please join Voice Channel 1.
// THIS WILL DISPLAY RAW TEXT (DON'T DO THIS):
`The event starts at <t:1727280000:R>`Multi-Line Code Blocks with Syntax Highlighting
To format code or server log snippets, wrap the block with triple backticks (```) followed by the language identifier (such as json, js, py, yaml, diff, or ansi).
Frequently Asked Questions
Discord does not have native color tags like HTML, but you can get colored text using ANSI escape code blocks (```ansi) with standard terminal color sequences.