Emoji and emoticons

Add emoji to a message

There are several ways to add emoji to a message: typing emoji codes, selecting from an emoji picker, using emoticons, or pasting from another site.

Type an emoji code

  1. Open the compose box.

  2. Type : followed by a few letters to open the emoji autocomplete. The letters don't have to be at the beginning of the emoji name; :ppl will match :apple:

If you don't know the code for an emoji, you can see what it's called in the emoji picker, or hover over the emoji in a message.

Select from the emoji picker

  1. Open the compose box.

  2. Click the smiley face () icon at the bottom of the compose box.

  3. Select an emoji. You can type to search, use the arrow keys, or click on an emoji with your mouse.

Use emoticons

Use :) and :/ instead of typing :smile: and :confused:.

  1. Go to Display settings.

  2. Under Emoji settings, select Convert emoticons before sending.

The list of supported emoticons is available here.

Paste from another site

Copying and pasting emoji from other sites generally works. Contact us if you find a site where it doesn't!

Change your emoji set

Your emoji set determines how you see emoji. It has no effect on the emoji you send. Zulip emoji are compatible with screen readers and other accessibility tools.

  1. Go to Display settings.

  2. Under Theme, select Google, Twitter, Plain text, or Google blobs for the emoji theme.

Google blobs is an old style of Google emoji that has not been maintained by Google since 2017, when they switched to a more modern style. Zulip allows you to still use blob emoji, but any new emoji that have been released since 2017 will be displayed in the modern Google style.