Why Your Markdown Is Not Working in Slack
If you paste Markdown into Slack and the bold shows literal asterisks, the links go flat and the headings do nothing, you are not doing anything wrong. Slack does not use standard Markdown. It uses its own dialect called mrkdwn, and a few rules differ.
Slack uses mrkdwn, not Markdown
- Bold is a single asterisk in Slack (*bold*), not the double asterisk Markdown uses (**bold**), so **bold** shows literal asterisks.
- Slack has no headings. A Markdown heading line is best turned into a bold line.
- Links use the angle-bracket form <url|text>, not the Markdown [text](url) form, or they will not be clickable.
- Slack does not auto-convert pasted Markdown, so you have to paste mrkdwn directly.
The one-click fix
Paste your Markdown below. It is rewritten into Slack mrkdwn instantly. Copy the result and paste it into Slack, where it renders correctly.
Detected source
Waiting for text…
Paste destination
Paste here
Ready for Slack
Your converted, copy-ready text appears here.
Verified for Slack
Copies the converted text the moment you paste or pick a destination, with no Copy click needed.Runs entirely in your browser. Your text never leaves your device.
Broken vs fixed
| Markdown (breaks in Slack) | Slack mrkdwn (works) |
|---|---|
| **bold** | *bold* |
| ~~strike~~ | ~strike~ |
| [docs](https://x.com) | <https://x.com|docs> |
| ## Heading | *Heading* |
Frequently asked
- Why does double-asterisk bold show asterisks in Slack?
- Slack uses a single asterisk for bold. A double asterisk is standard Markdown, which Slack does not understand, so it shows the literal asterisks.
- Does Slack support Markdown headings?
- No. Slack has no heading syntax, so a Markdown heading line is best converted to a bold line.
- How do I paste Markdown into Slack?
- Convert it to Slack mrkdwn first. Paste your Markdown into the converter above and copy the result, then paste that into Slack.