Messages

Writing a message

Write in the composer at the top of Home or the Dashboard, then choose Post. You need a verified email address before you can post, reply, push or quote.

Formatting: lightweight Markdown: emphasis, inline code, links, lists and code blocks. Links and @mentions turn into links automatically.
Hashtags: type #tag in the text. For tags with spaces, open Options and use Extra tags (comma-separated, up to 10 per message).
Mentions: type @ and pick a person from the suggestions. Whether they're notified depends on their own privacy settings.
Images and video: use the image button to add up to 8 images or 1 video, and give each one alt text. See Media formats for sizes and file types.
Visibility: the menu beside the image button sets who can see the message.

Visibility	Who sees it
Public	Anyone, including people who aren't signed in
Followers	Your approved followers
Only me	Just you

Your default visibility is set in Settings → Preferences.

Message length

The counter under the composer shows your length and your limit. The default limit is 666 characters. You can set your own anywhere from 100 to 5,000 under Max message length in Settings → Preferences.

When you've chosen accounts to cross-post to, the counter also shows the tightest limit among them. If a message is too long for a network, it's split into a numbered thread there, and the composer offers an auto-threads as N parts preview. See Cross-posting.

More options

Open Options in the composer for:

Extra tags for tags that contain spaces.
Schedule: a date and time, in your time zone, to publish later.
Content warning: a short note of up to 200 characters shown before the message.
Cross-post to: the connected accounts this message goes to. They start from your defaults. Connect an account to see them here.

Drafts

The composer saves your draft automatically while you write. Find your drafts at Drafts, where you can edit, publish or delete them.

Scheduling

Pick a time under Options → Schedule and the button changes to Schedule. The message is published at that exact minute. You can have up to 500 scheduled messages waiting.

Manage them at Scheduled: change the time or the cross-post accounts, Publish now, or cancel, which moves the message back to your drafts. Replies can't be scheduled.

Your timeline

Home has four tabs:

Following: your own messages, messages from people you follow, messages with hashtags you follow, and pushes by people you follow. Each message appears once.
Everything: all public messages.
Mine: your own messages.
Followers: messages from people who follow you.

Replies stay out of the timeline by default and appear in the thread instead. Turn on Show replies in timeline in Settings → Preferences to see them inline. You can also pick your default tab there, and how many messages load per page.

To follow a hashtag, open its page (for example /tags/music) and choose Follow.

Replies and threads

Choose Reply under a message to answer it. Replies are shown as a nested thread on the message's own page, at /@handle/m/…. After 6 levels, a Continue thread → link opens the rest.

Digs, pushes and quotes

I Dig! is a lightweight reaction. You can dig a message once; choose it again to take it back.
Push shares someone's message with your followers as it is. Unpush removes it.
Push & Comment shares it with your own comment added.

Only public messages can be pushed or quoted. If the original is later deleted, pushes and quotes show a "deleted" placeholder.

The bookmark button saves a message to your private Bookmarks. The link button offers Copy link and, for public messages, Copy embed code, which lets you show the message on another website.

Editing and deleting

Open More actions (…) on your own message:

Edit changes the text, content warning or visibility. Visibility can only be narrowed after posting. Edited messages show an edited badge, which opens the full edit history. If the message was cross-posted, you can also edit the copies on networks that support editing.
Delete removes the message now and purges it after 30 days. Replies stay under a "deleted" placeholder. For cross-posted messages, you choose whether to keep or delete the copies on other networks.

Reporting a message

On someone else's message, open More actions (…) and choose Report. Pick a reason (Spam, Harassment, Misinformation, Inappropriate, Illegal or Other) and add details if you like. Reporting the same message again updates your earlier report. See Reporting & safety.

Posting limits

To stop abuse, you can post up to 30 messages an hour and 300 a day. See Fair-use limits for everything else.