How to Make Your Text Bold on Discord
On Discord, bold text is made with markdown: two asterisks around your words. This guide covers bold and every other Discord text format, and then shows the second method, Unicode bold, which also works in display names where markdown does nothing.
Method 1: markdown inside messages
Type these codes around your text in any Discord message:
**text**makes bold*text*or_text_makes italic***text***makes bold italic__text__underlines~~text~~strikes through`text`makes inline code, and three backticks make a code block||text||hides a spoiler until clicked# textat the start of a line makes a heading, and> textmakes a quote
The most common mistake is a space inside the markers: ** text ** fails, **text** works. On mobile, the same codes work in the app exactly as on desktop.
Method 2: Unicode bold for names and everywhere else
Markdown only formats message text. Your server nickname, your display name, channel topics and bios ignore it. For those, use ready-made Unicode bold letters from the bold text generator or the Discord fonts page: type your name, copy the bold version, and paste it into your profile or server nickname.
Unicode bold also survives outside Discord: the same pasted name works on other apps, while markdown codes show up as plain asterisks anywhere else.
Which method should you use?
- Chatting in a server: markdown, it is faster to type.
- Display name, nickname, bio or channel topic: Unicode bold.
- Announcements that mix both: markdown for the message body, and a Unicode bold headline pastes well at the top.
Formatting announcements: headings, quotes and lists
Bold is only the start. In text channels, Discord also renders a small document language that makes announcements and resource posts far easier to scan. Start a line with #, ## or ### for three sizes of heading. Start with > for a quote line, or >>> to quote everything that follows. Start lines with - or 1. for bullet and numbered lists.
A structure that works for any announcement: a ## heading with the news in five words, one plain sentence of detail, the date and time in bold, and a bullet list of anything members must do. Mods and community managers reuse the same skeleton weekly, and regulars learn to find the bold line instantly. Headings and quotes are markdown too, so they only work inside Discord messages, never in names or bios: for those, use the Unicode method above.
When formatting seems to disappear
Three channel quirks explain most reports of broken bold. Some servers route messages through bots that repost them as plain text, which strips markdown. Webhook and integration posts have the same limit. And if you wrap text in a code block to show the asterisks as an example, Discord deliberately shows the raw codes instead of formatting them.
The quick test: post the same bold line in your own test channel or a DM with yourself. If it formats there, your codes are right and the server or bot is the difference.
Common questions
Why is my bold not working on Discord?
Check for spaces just inside the asterisks and make sure the text is not inside a code block, where markdown is disabled on purpose.
Can I make coloured text on Discord?
Not with normal markdown. Code blocks with certain language tags (like css or fix) colour text in the desktop app, but it is a code block, not real formatting.
Does bold work the same on Discord mobile?
Yes, markdown codes are identical in the iOS and Android apps.