BetterChat
by CodNotAFish
BetterChat lets players format their own chat messages with bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, spoiler, code and emoji markup, all on the client side.
What it does
Formatting is applied by typing markers in a message before sending it. Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, monospace code and a spoiler style that stays scrambled until hovered can be combined, for example bold italic. Placing a backslash before a marker shows the marker as plain text instead of formatting it.
The mod adds a set of 284 emoji that can be typed into chat and an optional Minecraft resource pack that renders them with the game's real item textures. Chat customization is handled by the mod alone, so players can keep the vanilla chat interface while using these options. It is client-side only, so servers need nothing installed, and players without the mod still read the formatted text as regular messages.
Messages are never altered on the way to the server. A message typed with the mod sends exactly the characters that were typed, and arithmetic, variable names and links stay as written. Server chat filters and signed-message verification see the same content, so server rules are not bypassed. BetterChat is published for Fabric only, under the MIT License, and is not open source.
Key features
Inline text formatting
Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and monospace code are typed as markers within the message.
Spoiler text
A spoiler marker hides its text as scrambled characters until the cursor hovers over it.
Emoji set
A set of 284 emoji can be typed into chat, and each one is rendered as a character in the chat window.
Escaping markers
A backslash in front of a marker prints the marker literally, so formatting is skipped where it is not wanted.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Highlighted Friends is Fabric and client-side only for 1.20.5 – 26.2, under All rights reserved and not open source. Hypixel Simple Chat is Fabric and client-side only for 1.21 – 26.3 and is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only. Emoji Type (Recontinued) is Fabric and client-side only for 1.21 – 26.2 and is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, and its focus is emoji input.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetterChat | Fabric | 1.21.10 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-08-12 |
| Highlighted Friends | Fabric | 1.20.5 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-08-25 |
| Hypixel Simple Chat | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-09-18 |
| Emoji Type (Recontinued) | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-06-16 |
Questions
Does BetterChat need to be installed on the server?
Can players without BetterChat read formatted messages?
Which game versions have files for BetterChat?
In the catalog
BetterChat is one of 29,952 Game mechanics mods on ModsFinder, and one of 19,630 Game mechanics mods for Fabric. 13,894 mods support Minecraft 26.2.
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What the author says
Better Chat makes Minecraft chat better: Discord-style text formatting, emoji, searchable history and mention pings. Everything is client-side, so only people who also have the mod see the changes. Your messages are never altered. Type hello and the mod sends exactly hello. Players without the mod read it fine, and…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/better_chat
- Owner
- CodNotAFish
- Published
- 2026-08-12
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-12
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15