What Is Markdown? How Discord Uses It for Formatting

Markdown is the most widely used lightweight markup language in forums, websites, messaging applications, Discord, and documentation. It lets users format text using plain text symbols. There is no need to use complex code, as Markdown uses simple and modern characters, such as asterisks, backticks, and underscores, for styling like italics, bold, code, quotes, and more. Read the guide to learn what Markdown is and how it’s uses it for discord text formatting.

How Discord Uses Markdown for Text Formatting?

Many digital platforms and forums use Markdown for text formatting. Discord uses a modified and lightweight version of Markdown to allow users to format their messages. Users can highlight the important points, organize text, add comments, bold the key points to focus, and add quotes with ease. Below are the common Markdown styles used by Discord:

1- Italic Text:

Italicized for a certain focus or highlighting the key points.

Syntax: Use the syntax * Your Text Here . . * or _ Your Text Here. . _ for italic text.

2- Bold Text:

Use double asterisks to mark the text in bold for emphasis.

Syntax: ** Your Text Here . . ** or __ Your Text Here . . __

3- Bold and Italic:

Combine the bold and italic together.

Syntax: *** Your Text Here . . ***

4- Strikethrough:

Strikethrough is useful for corrections or removed content.

Syntax: ~~ Your Text Here ~~

5- Underline:

Use the double underscore symbol to underline the text. This is not pure Markdown, but it is still supported by Discord.

Syntax: __ Your Text Here . . __

6- Inline Code:

Displays any text in monospace font. It is best for short code snippets.

Syntax: ` Your Text Here . . `

7- Code Block:

Use triple backticks at the start and end of the text to format a block of text as code.

8- Block Quote:

Use a greater symbol to create an indented block quote

Syntax: > Your Text here . . .

Why Use Markdown?

1- Clean and Readable

Markdown text is easy to understand and learn. It doesn’t have complex code, and the text formatting symbols don’t distract users from the actual message or content.

2- Quick Writing

It lets users write quickly without complex menus, code, tags, and clickable buttons. Users can choose the required symbols or functionalities by clicking the icons.

3- Easy Conversion

Markdown editor quickly converts its code to PDF, HTML, Word document, and more with a single tap, allowing easy sharing and publishing.