The complete guide to Slack emojis: shortcodes, reactions, status emojis, custom emoji creation, and workspace management. Copy any emoji with one click.
52+ emojis with shortcodes · Custom emoji guide · Etiquette & best practices
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Slack emojis are a core part of how teams communicate on Slack. Unlike standard emojis on your phone, Slack emojis have a dual life: they work as inline text emojis inside messages, and as emoji reactions (called “reacjis” in Slack culture) attached below messages. This reaction system is what makes Slack emojis uniquely powerful for workplace communication.
Every Slack workspace comes with the full set of standard Unicode emojis — the same ones on your phone. But Slack adds three extra capabilities on top: shortcodes (type :thumbsup: to insert 👍), emoji reactions that attach to messages, and custom emojis that let workspaces upload their own images.
Research shows that 58% of employees say using emoji at work communicates more nuance with fewer words, and 54% believe emoji speeds up workplace communication. In the U.S., 69% of workers say emojis allow for greater nuance in their messages. Emoji reactions are especially impactful — after Slack introduced them, teams saw a significant decrease in total messages sent across channels.
Beyond standard emojis, Slack workspaces can upload unlimited custom emojis: unique images that become part of the workspace emoji set. Some teams go all-in — Zapier reportedly has over 16,000 custom Slack emojis. Custom emojis range from company logos and team mascots to animated party parrots and inside-joke reactions.
The most commonly used Slack reactions. These replace full messages and keep channels clean. Click any emoji to copy.
Set these as your Slack status to communicate availability at a glance. Your status emoji appears next to your name everywhere in Slack.
Organize work, track progress, and communicate project status using these emojis in channels, threads, and task updates.
Celebrate wins, recognize team members, and boost morale. Use these in #wins channels or as reactions to great work.
Use these reactions for quick feedback on proposals, code reviews, RFC documents, and team decisions.
Emojis commonly used during Slack huddles and video calls to signal without interrupting the speaker.
Type these shortcodes in Slack to quickly insert emojis. Just type a colon (:), the shortcode name, and another colon. Slack auto-suggests matches as you type.
| Emoji | Shortcode | Common Use in Slack |
|---|---|---|
| 👍 | :thumbsup: | Acknowledged, agree, will do |
| 👎 | :thumbsdown: | Disagree, needs changes |
| 👀 | :eyes: | Looking into it, taking ownership |
| ✅ | :white_check_mark: | Done, completed, approved |
| ❌ | :x: | No, blocked, rejected |
| 🎉 | :tada: | Celebration, congrats, shipped! |
| ➕ | :heavy_plus_sign: | Me too, count me in, +1 |
| 🙏 | :pray: | Thank you, please, gratitude |
| 🔥 | :fire: | Great work, impressive, amazing |
| 🚀 | :rocket: | Shipped, deployed, launch |
| 💯 | :100: | 100% agree, perfect |
| 🐛 | :bug: | Bug found, issue reported |
| 🚧 | :construction: | Work in progress, not ready |
| ⚠️ | :warning: | Heads up, caution, attention |
| 💡 | :bulb: | Idea, suggestion, insight |
| 🏠 | :house: | Working from home (status) |
| 🎧 | :headphones: | Focus mode, do not disturb |
| 📅 | :calendar: | In a meeting (status) |
| 🤔 | :thinking_face: | Considering, need to think |
| ✋ | :raised_hand: | Question, want to speak |
:wave: or use the emoji pickerPro tip — Search by reaction: Use has::emoji: in Slack search to find all messages with a specific reaction. For example, has::white_check_mark: finds all messages marked as done.
Reacji Channeler: Slack's built-in Reacji Channeler app automatically copies messages to a designated channel when someone adds a specific reaction — great for triaging support requests or flagging content for review.
Workflow automations: Reactions can trigger Slack Workflow Builder automations. For example, reacting with ✅ can mark a task as done in your project management tool, or 📌 can save a message to a specific channel.
Custom emojis personalize your workspace with team-specific reactions, company logos, and inside jokes. Every workspace member can use them once uploaded.
For uploading many emojis at once (e.g., an emoji pack), use the Slack Admin API:
admin.emoji.add API method (requires admin privileges)admin.emoji.list to view all custom emojis in the workspaceadmin.emoji.addAlias to create alternative names for existing emojis:ship-it:, :lgtm:, or :happy-friday:.:party-parrot:, :party-cat:, :party-dog:.Workplace Reactions
:lgtm: — Looks Good To Me:shipit: — Ship It squirrel:this: — Pointing arrow:blocked: — Stop sign:loading: — Animated spinnerTeam Culture & Fun
:party-parrot: — Dancing parrot:meow-party: — Party cat:thisisfine: — “This is fine” meme:dumpster-fire: — Universal classic:mic-drop: — Microphone dropFun fact: Uber has over 14,000 custom Slack emojis. Zapier has over 16,000. Some teams treat their emoji library as part of their company culture.
Emoji packs are curated collections of custom emojis designed for Slack workspaces. Instead of uploading emojis one at a time, packs let you add dozens or hundreds of themed emojis at once.
How to add emoji packs: Go to Customize Workspace → Emoji tab → browse available packs from Slack's built-in gallery. Admins can also use the Slack API to bulk-upload packs from external sources.
Popular pack categories: hand gestures, animated reactions, food & drink, animals, flags, memes, party animations, workflow indicators, and brand/logo sets.
There is no limit to how many emoji packs or custom emojis a workspace can have. Community sites offer thousands of free packs covering every category imaginable.
Many Slack emojis have multiple shortcodes that map to the same emoji. For example:
:thumbsup: and :+1: both produce 👍:hankey: and :poop: both produce 💩:slightly_smiling_face: and :) both produce 🙂You can also create aliases for custom emojis via Customize Workspace → Emoji → Add Alias, or via the admin.emoji.addAlias API.
Slack supports skin tone modifiers on hand and people emojis. Click and hold (or long-press on mobile) any supported emoji to choose from six skin tone options. Your chosen skin tone is remembered for future use.
In shortcode form, append the skin tone modifier: :thumbsup::skin-tone-3: for a medium skin tone thumbs up.
React instead of reply. Use emoji reactions for simple acknowledgments. A 👍 replaces “sounds good” without generating a new notification for the entire channel.
Establish team conventions. Agree on what common reactions mean. For example: 👀 = “I'll handle it”, ✅ = “done”, 🚧 = “in progress”. Document these in a pinned channel message.
Set meaningful status emojis. Your status emoji is the first thing colleagues see. Use recognizable emojis so people know your availability at a glance.
Use emoji polls. Post a question and ask people to react with specific emojis to vote: “React with 🍕 for pizza or 🍔 for burgers for team lunch.”
Read the room first. Emoji culture varies between companies. Some teams celebrate with 50 party parrots; others keep it minimal and professional. Observe before going all-in.
Avoid ambiguity in important threads. For decisions, feedback, or approvals, a text reply is clearer than a 🤔 reaction. Use emojis to supplement, not replace, critical communication.