Text object

Defines text for blocks and elements, either as plain text or formatted with mrkdwn.


Used in	Alert block, Card block, Container block, Context block, Header block, Image block, Input block, Section block, Video block, Button element, Checkboxes element, Date picker element, Datetime picker element, Email input element, Feedback buttons element, Icon button element, Multi-select menu element, Number input element, Overflow menu element, Plain-text input element, Radio button group element, Rich text input element, Select menu element, Time picker element, URL input element, Workflow button element

Used in

Alert block, Card block, Container block, Context block, Header block, Image block, Input block, Section block, Video block, Button element, Checkboxes element, Date picker element, Datetime picker element, Email input element, Feedback buttons element, Icon button element, Multi-select menu element, Number input element, Overflow menu element, Plain-text input element, Radio button group element, Rich text input element, Select menu element, Time picker element, URL input element, Workflow button element

Usage

Each block or element sets its own length limit and says whether it accepts mrkdwn (a header, for example, only takes plain_text).

mrkdwn supports:

*bold*, _italic_, ~strike~, `inline code` and ```code blocks```
> at the start of a line for a block quote, and \n for a line break
links: <https://example.com|label> and <mailto:[email protected]|Email sales>
mentions: <@USER_ID>, <#CHANNEL_ID>, <!subteam^DEPARTMENT_ID>, and <!here>, <!channel>, <!everyone>
dates: <!date^1791813600^{date_short} at {time}|Oct 12, 2026 2:00 PM UTC>, shown in the reader’s language and timezone
emoji shortcodes such as :white_check_mark:

Write a literal &, < or > as &, < and >.

Date tokens: {date_num} (2026-10-12), {date} (October 12, 2026), {date_short} (Oct 12, 2026), {date_long} (Monday, October 12, 2026), {date_pretty}, {date_short_pretty} and {date_long_pretty} (the same, or today / yesterday / tomorrow), {day_divider_pretty}, {time}, {time_secs} and {ago} (3 minutes ago).

Fields

Field	Type	Description	Required?
`type`	String	The formatting to use for this text object. Can be one of `plain_text` or `mrkdwn`.	Required
`text`	String	The text. Accepts `mrkdwn` formatting when `type` is `mrkdwn`. The minimum length is 1 and the maximum length is 3000 characters; the block or element holding it may set a lower limit.	Required
`emoji`	Boolean	Whether emoji shortcodes such as `:tada:` are shown as emoji. Defaults to `true`. Only usable when `type` is `plain_text`.	Optional
`verbatim`	Boolean	When `false` (the default on Slack), URLs, conversation names and certain mentions are parsed automatically. When `true`, only explicit `mrkdwn` syntax is processed. Only usable when `type` is `mrkdwn`.	Optional

Repzo never parses plain text automatically — bare URLs, #channel names and @names stay as typed, as if verbatim were always true. Write <https://…|label>, <#CHANNEL_ID> and <@USER_ID> to link them. verbatim is accepted and changes nothing.
User, channel and department ids are Repzo ids. Names are looked up when the message is posted. A private channel shows as #channel, so its name never reaches readers outside it; an id Repzo doesn’t know shows the label after |, or user / channel / team.
<!subteam^ID> (Slack’s user groups) mentions a Repzo department and shows its name.
Dates always include the year, day numbers have no ordinal suffix (October 12, 2026), and the optional link part of <!date^…> is ignored. {date_slash} and {date_long_full} aren’t supported and stay as written, like any unknown token.
Newer blocks (card, alert, container, video, …) also accept a plain string where a text object goes.

Examples

Plain text and mrkdwn

Plain text and mrkdwn — how it renders in Repzo Chat

{
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "header",
      "text": {
        "type": "plain_text",
        "text": "Deal won :tada:",
        "emoji": true
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "section",
      "text": {
        "type": "mrkdwn",
        "text": "*Cedar Retail Group* signed the 3-year CRM contract.\nOwner: <@3f6c2a1e-8b4d-4c7a-9e21-5d0b7f9a1c34|Account owner> · <https://example.com/deals/cedar|Open the deal>\nSigned <!date^1791813600^{date_short_pretty} at {time}|Oct 12, 2026 2:00 PM UTC>"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Quotes, code and mentions

Quotes, code and mentions — how it renders in Repzo Chat

{
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "section",
      "text": {
        "type": "mrkdwn",
        "text": "<!subteam^c2b8e5f1-4a6d-4e9b-8f73-1d5a0c6e9b28|@Customer Success> please review the escalation in <#a7d41c90-2e5b-4f83-b6c1-0e9f2d84a517|support-escalations>.\n>The customer reports error `E-401` when syncing invoices.\n~Waiting on engineering~ Fix deployed _this morning_."
      }
    }
  ]
}