dotfiles/ai-instructions/slack-formatting.md

Slack Message Formatting Guide

When sending Slack messages via MCP tools, use standard Markdown formatting.

What Works

• **bold** and *italic*, _italic_, ~~strikethrough~~, `inline code`
• Code blocks with triple backticks (with or without language tag)
• Unordered lists with - dashes (nested lists with indentation work)
• Numbered lists with 1. style
• Links with [text](url) — raw URLs are also auto-unfurled
• Blockquotes with >
• Blank lines between paragraphs

What Does NOT Work (Avoid)

• Tables — render as garbled text. Use a Google Doc, Slack canvas, or a simple list instead.
• Horizontal rules (---, ***) — not rendered. Use blank lines for separation.
• Headings (#, ##) — show as plain text with # symbols. Use **bold text** on its own line instead.
• HTML tags — render as plain text. Use Markdown equivalents.
• Images (![alt](url)) — no inline display. Alt text shows as a clickable link. Use sparingly and only when necessary.

Key Rules

• Use standard Markdown [text](url) — NOT Slack mrkdwn <url|text>
• Use - dashes for bullets — NOT • unicode bullets
• Use **bold** on its own line for section headers — NOT # headings
• Use blank lines for separation — NOT horizontal rules