Emoji & Shortcode Converter
Convert emojis to text shortcodes like :smile: and shortcodes back to emojis. Handy for Discord, Slack, GitHub and Markdown. Free and runs in your browser.
Universal Emoji Engine
Protocol: Symbol → Shortcode
Unicode 15.1
Full support for complex sequences, skin tones, and the latest release of universal emojis.
Zero Latency
Conversion is performed instantly in your browser's RAM for maximum speed and security.
Privacy First
Your text and emojis never touch our servers. Processing is 100% client-side.
About this tool
Convert emojis into their text shortcodes — 😄 becomes :smile: — or decode shortcodes back into rendered emoji, matching the syntax Discord, Slack, and GitHub use. Documentation writers and community managers rely on it to keep emoji rendering predictable across platforms that each draw them differently.
How to Convert Emojis and Shortcodes
- 1
Paste text in either direction: rendered emoji you want as shortcodes, or shortcode-style text like :rocket: you want displayed as actual symbols.
- 2
Run the conversion — the tool swaps each emoji for its canonical shortcode name, or resolves each shortcode into its Unicode character.
- 3
Copy the converted text into your markdown file, Slack message, GitHub comment, or documentation source.
Why Convert Emojis with Wrklyst
- Translation Without Transmission
- The emoji-to-shortcode mapping is applied inside your browser session; message drafts and docs never travel to a server for conversion.
- Whole Documents at Once
- Rather than looking up names one emoji at a time, an entire README or announcement converts in a single operation.
- Free Both Directions
- Encoding and decoding are equally unrestricted — no premium direction, no cap on conversions.
Emoji Workflow Tips
- Standardize on shortcodes in any file that lives in git — emoji in diffs are unreadable, shortcodes are self-documenting.
- Building a bot or template? Store shortcodes and render at display time for platform-correct output.
- Slack and Discord accept shortcodes in messages directly — type :ship: rather than opening the picker.
- Keep a house list of approved emoji names so team documentation stays consistent.
Frequently asked questions
What are emoji shortcodes and where do they work?
Shortcodes are colon-wrapped names — :tada:, :warning:, :+1: — that platforms like GitHub, Slack, and Discord render as emoji automatically. In source files and markdown, shortcodes stay legible in plain text and version-control diffs, then display as symbols wherever the platform supports them.
Why would I use shortcodes instead of pasting the emoji directly?
Raw emoji can render inconsistently across editors, get corrupted by tools with poor Unicode handling, and are hard to read in code review. A shortcode survives every text pipeline unchanged and documents its own meaning — :warning: is unambiguous even in a terminal that shows the emoji as a box.
Do all platforms use the same shortcode names?
Mostly, with edge-case differences. The core set — :smile:, :heart:, :fire: — is consistent across GitHub, Slack, and Discord, but each platform adds custom names and occasionally maps a shared name to a different glyph. When exact appearance matters, preview on the destination platform before publishing.
What happens to emojis that have no shortcode?
Very new emoji sometimes haven't been assigned a common shortcode name yet. Those are left as-is rather than being guessed at, so your text is never corrupted by an invented code that no platform would recognize. Everything with an established name converts cleanly.