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TFM — Telegram-Flavored Markdown

TFM is an extended Markdown format for Telegram messages. It produces rich text rendered inside Telegram messages.

Escaping

Use backslashes to escape special characters outside of code blocks: \ * ~ ` $ [ ] < > { } | ^

Do not escape characters inside code spans or code blocks. Their content is literal.

Inline formatting

Format Syntax Notes
Bold **text**
Italic _text_
Strikethrough ~~text~~
Underline <u>text</u>
Spoiler <spoiler>text</spoiler> Hidden until user taps
Inline code `code` Tapping copies text to clipboard
Link [label](URL) Supports URLs, deep-links (t.me/, tg://)
Custom emoji ![alt](id) See Custom emoji

Blocks

Lists

- item
- item

1. item
2. item

Lists cannot be nested.

Code block

```language
code
```

language is optional. Content is literal — do not escape inside.

Blockquote

> line one
> line two

The <blockquote> tag is equivalent and additionally supports the expandable attribute:

<blockquote expandable>
Long content collapsed by default and expanded on tap.
</blockquote>

Blockquotes cannot be nested inside other blockquotes.

Custom emoji

Syntax looks like an image but is not an image — it inserts a Telegram custom emoji (static or animated):

![alt](id)
  • alt — UTF-8 emoji shown as fallback (old clients, OS notifications)
  • id — numeric custom emoji ID (e.g. 5368324170671202286)

Date and time

Renders as an interactive, localized and timezone-aware timestamp. Users can tap it to add a calendar event or reminder.

<time unix="TIMESTAMP" format="FORMAT">fallback text</time>
  • unix — UNIX timestamp in seconds (required)
  • format — optional string matching r|w?[dD]?[tT]?
  • fallback text — shown where interactive time is unsupported (e.g. OS notifications)

Format control characters:

Char Output example Notes
r "in 2 hours" Relative. Cannot combine.
w "Wednesday" Day of week
d "17.03.22" Short date
D "March 17, 2022" Long date
t "22:45" Short time
T "22:45:00" Long time

If format is omitted or empty, fallback text is shown as plain text but remains tappable.

Valid format examples: d, Dt, wDT, r

Nesting

  • Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, and spoiler may be freely nested within each other.
  • Inline code and code blocks do not support inner formatting — content is literal.
  • Links, custom emoji, and <time> cannot be nested inside one another.
  • Blockquotes cannot be nested inside other blockquotes.

Not supported

Do not use these — they have no equivalent in Telegram messages:

  • Headings (#, ##, etc.)
  • Images (![alt](url) with a URL — see Custom emoji for the similar but distinct syntax)
  • Tables
  • Task lists, footnotes, highlights

Complete example

**Project update** — here's what's happening:

- Shipped the _new parser_ ~~last week~~ yesterday
- Docs are at [tfm.dev](https://tfm.dev)
- PIN: `AX-7743` (tap to copy)

<blockquote expandable>
**Full changelog:**

Added support for <u>underline</u> and <spoiler>spoiler</spoiler> text.

Fixed escaping of `\*` and `\_` outside code blocks.
</blockquote>

Next sync: <time unix="1711540800" format="wDt">Wed, Mar 27</time>

Reactions welcome: ![❤️](5368324170671202286)