textdrop.sh
Guide · Sharing & workflow

How to share long text in Slack.

Slack caps messages at 40,000 characters and collapses anything big into an unreadable snippet. Drop a clean link instead.

June 2, 20264 min read

The short answer

Slack messages are limited to 40,000 characters, and anything beyond a few thousand collapses into a snippet. Paste your text into textdrop.sh instead, copy the link, and drop it into the channel. Slack unfurls it as a preview, the recipient opens it in their browser, and your message stays one tidy line.

How big are everyone's message limits?

Max characters per message
  • SMS (single segment)
    160
  • X / Twitter (free)
    280
  • Discord
    2,000
  • Telegram
    4,096
  • iMessage
    18,996
  • Microsoft Teams
    28,000
  • Slack
    40,000*
  • WhatsApp
    65,536
  • textdrop.sh paste
    no limit

Do this. Not that.

  • Do
  • Paste the full text into textdrop.sh and share the link
  • Use Markdown format if it has headings, lists, or code blocks
  • Use a language preset for code so it gets syntax-highlighted
  • Don't
  • Paste a 30,000-character log into a channel. It collapses into a snippet.
  • Split the message into 10 follow-ups. The thread becomes unreadable.
  • Screenshot the text. It is unsearchable, unreadable on mobile, and unselectable.

Drop your text below

Paste it here, share the link in Slack.

Plain text, Markdown, or syntax-highlighted code. Hit Share, copy the link, paste it in the channel.

Why this matters

A long message is bad for the channel even when it fits. It pushes everyone's scrollback up. Code loses syntax highlighting. Tables break into one column on mobile. The reader has to scroll past your wall to find the next message.

A link is one line. Slack unfurls it with a preview. The reader opens it when they're ready. The channel stays scannable. You can update or delete the paste later without an awkward edit trail. And you can hand the same link to someone outside the workspace.

Common questions

What is Slack's actual message character limit?+

Slack's hard limit is 40,000 characters per message. In practice, anything beyond a few thousand characters gets collapsed into a 'Show more' snippet that breaks formatting, makes code unreadable, and clutters the channel.

Why not just use Slack's built-in snippet?+

Snippets work for short shared code, but they live inside the workspace forever, count against your storage, and aren't viewable by anyone outside Slack. A link works in DMs, threads, email, and outside-the-workspace clients.

What if the text contains something sensitive?+

Turn on burn-after-read and set a short expiry. The paste self-destructs the first time it is opened, so it does not get archived in Slack's search index.

Will the link work for people outside my Slack workspace?+

Yes. textdrop.sh links are public URLs. Anyone with the link can open it in any browser, including guests, freelancers, or coworkers in a different workspace.

Does Slack count emoji and formatting toward the limit?+

Yes. Markdown, mentions, emoji shortcodes, and code-block fences all count toward the 40,000 cap. A long log file with timestamps will hit the limit faster than you'd expect.

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