The complete guide to Slack emojis, reactions, status indicators, shortcodes, and custom emojis. Copy any emoji with one click or learn how to create your own.
Slack emojis are more than just decorative icons. In Slack, emojis serve as a core communication tool that helps teams work faster and reduce message clutter. They are used in three main ways: inline in messages, as emoji reactions (called тАЬreacjisтАЭ), and as status indicators.
Emoji reactions are perhaps the most powerful feature. Instead of typing тАЬOKтАЭ, тАЬgot itтАЭ, or тАЬthanksтАЭ as a new message, you can simply react with ЁЯСН, тЬЕ, or ЁЯЩП. After Slack introduced reactions, their own team saw a noticeable decrease in total messages sent across channels тАФ a welcome reduction in noise.
Research shows that 58% of employees say using emoji at work communicates more nuance with fewer words, and 54% believe emoji can speed up workplace communication. In the U.S., 69% say emojis allow for greater nuance in their messages.
Beyond the standard Unicode emojis, Slack allows workspaces to create custom emojis тАФ unique images uploaded by team members. Some teams have thousands of custom emojis. The Zapier team, for example, has over 16,000 custom Slack emojis.
The most commonly used Slack reactions. These replace full messages and keep channels clean. Click any emoji to copy it.
Set these as your Slack status to let your team know your availability without sending a single message.
Organize work, track progress, and communicate project status using these emojis in channels and threads.
Celebrate wins, recognize team members, and boost morale with these positive reactions.
Use these reactions to give quick feedback on proposals, code reviews, and team decisions.
Type these shortcodes in Slack to quickly insert emojis without using the picker. Just type a colon, the shortcode name, and another colon.
| Emoji | Shortcode | Common Use in Slack |
|---|---|---|
| ЁЯСН | :thumbsup: | Acknowledged, agree, will do |
| ЁЯСА | :eyes: | Looking into it, taking ownership |
| тЬЕ | :white_check_mark: | Done, completed, approved |
| ЁЯОЙ | :tada: | Celebration, great news, congrats |
| тЮХ | :heavy_plus_sign: | Me too, count me in, +1 |
| ЁЯЩП | :pray: | Thank you, please, gratitude |
| ЁЯФе | :fire: | Great work, impressive, amazing |
| ЁЯЪА | :rocket: | Shipped, deployed, launch |
| ЁЯРЫ | :bug: | Bug found, issue reported |
| ЁЯЪз | :construction: | Work in progress, not ready |
| тЪая╕П | :warning: | Heads up, caution, attention |
| ЁЯТб | :bulb: | Idea, suggestion, insight |
| ЁЯПа | :house: | Working from home |
| ЁЯОз | :headphones: | Focus mode, do not disturb |
| ЁЯУЕ | :calendar: | In a meeting |
| ЁЯдФ | :thinking_face: | Considering, need to think |
Custom emojis let you personalize your workspace with team-specific reactions, company logos, and inside jokes. Here's how to add them.
:ship-it: or :happy-friday:.:party- for celebration emojis or :team- for team-specific ones.Agreement emojis: Animated arrows pointing up, тАЬthisтАЭ text emojis, and custom +1 variations.
Celebration emojis: Dancing figures, party parrots, confetti animations for launches and milestones.
Brand emojis: Company logo, product icons, team mascots for building culture.
Workflow emojis: тАЬShip itтАЭ, тАЬLGTMтАЭ, тАЬblockedтАЭ, and тАЬin progressтАЭ indicators.
Fun emojis: Team member faces, office pets, inside jokes that build team identity.
Emoji packs are curated sets of custom emojis designed for Slack. They let you add multiple themed emojis to your workspace at once, saving time compared to uploading one by one.
To add an emoji pack: go to Customize Workspace, select the Emoji tab, and browse available packs. There is no limit to how many emoji packs you can add.
Popular sources for custom Slack emojis include community sites that offer thousands of free emojis covering categories like animals, food, memes, reactions, and workplace-specific icons.
React instead of reply. Use emoji reactions for simple acknowledgments. A ЁЯСН is often better than typing тАЬsounds goodтАЭ and creating another notification for the entire channel.
Establish team conventions. Agree on what common reactions mean. For example, ЁЯСА means тАЬI'll handle itтАЭ and тЬЕ means тАЬdoneтАЭ. This creates a shared language.
Set meaningful status emojis. Your status emoji is the first thing people see. Use recognizable emojis so colleagues know your availability at a glance.
Use emoji for polls. Post a question and ask people to react with specific emojis to vote. For example: тАЬReact with ЁЯНХ for pizza or ЁЯНФ for burgers for team lunch.тАЭ
Observe before going all in. Emoji culture varies wildly between companies. Some teams are emoji-heavy with thousands of custom reactions, while others keep it minimal.