Slack Emoji Guide
Slack treats emojis as first-class communication, and this guide covers everything beyond the default smiley. It explains the shortcode system — typing colon commands like :thumbsup: — and how Slack's autocomplete makes shortcodes faster than any picker once you know the names. The article walks through custom emoji: how workspace admins upload them, the size and format requirements, naming conventions that keep hundreds of custom emoji findable, and the cultural role custom emoji play inside teams, from in-jokes to reaction-based voting workflows. It covers emoji reactions as lightweight process tools — using the eyes emoji for "looking," the check mark for "done," and the rotating hourglass for "in progress" — plus how to search messages by reaction. The guide finishes with practical tips: emoji that render poorly at Slack's small sizes, accessibility notes for screen reader users in busy channels, and how to copy standard emojis from Emoji Reference when you need them in messages rather than reactions. Explore more guides on the emoji blog or browse the emoji catalog.