Message Formatting: Platform-Specific Best Practices
Master the formatting conventions for every platform so your agent's messages look polished and native everywhere.
What You Will Get
After this guide, your OpenClaw agent will send beautifully formatted messages on every connected platform. Each platform has its own formatting syntax and capabilities, and your agent will use the right approach for each one automatically.
Poorly formatted messages look unprofessional and are harder to read. A message that renders perfectly on Telegram might look like raw markup on WhatsApp. By configuring platform-specific formatting rules, your agent adapts its output to match each platform's native conventions.
You will learn the formatting capabilities of each major platform, configure automatic format conversion, and set up templates that ensure consistent, professional-looking responses regardless of where the message is delivered.
Step-by-Step Configuration
Set up platform-aware formatting for all your connected channels.
Audit Your Connected Channels
List all your active channels and note each platform's formatting capabilities. Telegram supports Markdown and HTML. Slack uses Block Kit. Discord has rich embeds and Markdown. WhatsApp supports basic bold, italic, and monospace. SMS is plain text only. This audit tells you what each platform can handle.
Configure the Format Engine
Open your agent's Settings and navigate to the Formatting section. Enable the automatic format conversion engine. This takes your agent's raw response and converts it to the appropriate format for each channel. Set the source format to Markdown since it is the most flexible starting point.
Set Up Telegram Formatting
For Telegram, choose between Markdown V2 and HTML mode. Markdown V2 requires escaping special characters but is simpler to write. HTML mode offers more control with tags like <b>, <i>, <code>, and <pre>. Configure inline code blocks for technical content and preview how messages render in the Telegram client.
Configure Slack Block Kit
For Slack, enable Block Kit formatting. Define templates with sections, dividers, and context blocks. Use mrkdwn (Slack's Markdown variant) for text within blocks. Configure rich attachment layouts for data-heavy responses with fields, images, and action buttons.
Set Up Discord Embeds
For Discord, configure rich embed defaults including the sidebar color, author name, footer text, and thumbnail image. Enable inline fields for structured data display. Set up code block formatting with language hints for syntax highlighting in technical responses.
Handle Plain Text Fallbacks
For channels that do not support rich formatting like SMS, configure clean plain text fallback rules. Strip all Markdown syntax, replace bold markers with capitalization or emphasis through word choice, and ensure URLs are displayed in full. Test fallback output to make sure it reads naturally without any formatting artifacts.
Test Across All Platforms
Send the same question to your agent through each connected channel. Compare the responses to verify that formatting looks native on every platform. Check for escaped characters, broken links, or formatting artifacts. Adjust the conversion rules until each platform's output is clean and readable.
Tips and Best Practices
Use Code Blocks for Technical Content
Wrap code snippets, file paths, and technical terms in code blocks or inline code formatting. This improves readability and prevents special characters from being interpreted as formatting.
Keep Lists Consistent
Use numbered lists for sequential steps and bullet points for unordered items. Most platforms support basic list formatting, making this a safe and effective way to structure information.
Limit Message Length
Each platform has different maximum message lengths. Configure your agent to split long responses into multiple messages when needed, with natural break points between paragraphs or sections.
Formatting Support by Platform
Rich Formatting
- Telegram: Markdown V2, HTML, inline keyboards
- Discord: Markdown, rich embeds, code blocks
- Slack: Block Kit, mrkdwn, attachments
- Email: Full HTML with CSS styling
Basic Formatting
- WhatsApp: Bold, italic, strikethrough, monospace
- SMS: Plain text only, no formatting
- Signal: Basic Markdown support
- iMessage: Rich links, no Markdown
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Pages
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