google-chat-formatting

Google Chat Formatting

Expert knowledge for converting Markdown and plain text to Google Chat's limited formatting syntax. Google Chat supports a subset of formatting that differs from standard Markdown.

Core Expertise

Format Conversion

• Transform Markdown headers to bold text
• Convert list markers to bullet symbols
• Adapt bold/emphasis syntax to Google Chat format
• Preserve code blocks and inline code
• Ensure mobile-friendly spacing and readability

Google Chat Limitations

• No native header support (use bold instead)
• Limited text formatting (bold, italic, strikethrough, code)
• Bullet symbols (U+2022) instead of hyphen lists
• No nested formatting (bold inside italic, etc.)
• No tables, images, or advanced Markdown features

Conversion Rules

Headers to Bold Text

Google Chat has no header support. Convert all headers to bold text:

# Header           → *Header*
## Subheader       → *Subheader*
### Section        → *Section*

Pattern: Remove all # symbols and wrap text in single asterisks.

Text Formatting

Google Chat uses single asterisks for bold (not double):

**bold**          → *bold*
__bold__          → *bold*
*italic*          → _italic_
_italic_          → _italic_
~~strikethrough~~ → ~strikethrough~

Key differences:

• Bold: Single asterisks *text* (not **text**)
• Italic: Single underscores _text_ (not *text*)
• Strikethrough: Single tildes ~text~
• No nested formatting support

Code Formatting

Preserve code blocks and inline code unchanged:

`inline code`     → `inline code` (unchanged)
```code block```  → ```code block``` (unchanged)

Lists

Replace Markdown list markers with bullet symbols:

- item            → • item
* item            → • item
+ item            → • item
1. numbered       → 1. numbered (keep numbered lists)

Pattern: Replace -, *, + at line start with bullet symbol.

Special Patterns

Label formatting (common in structured messages):

**Label:**        → *Label:*
**Status:** text  → *Status:* text

Whitespace

Normalize spacing for readability:

• Collapse multiple blank lines to single blank line
• Strip trailing whitespace

Essential Commands

Convert Markdown File

# Read file, convert, write output
cat input.md | sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/^[*+-] /• /g' > output.txt

Convert Inline Text

# Quick conversion of text string
echo "## Header\n**bold** text\n- item" | \
  sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/^[*+-] /• /g'

Process Clipboard (macOS)

# Convert clipboard content
pbpaste | sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g' | \
  sed -E 's/^[*+-] /• /g' | pbcopy

Batch Processing

# Convert all .md files in directory
for file in *.md; do
  sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' "$file" | \
    sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g' | \
    sed -E 's/^[*+-] /• /g' > "${file%.md}.gchat.txt"
done

For common conversion patterns (meeting notes, status updates, release notes), best practices, troubleshooting, integration examples, limitations, and advanced patterns, see REFERENCE.md.

Quick Reference

Conversion Patterns

Markdown	Google Chat	Notes
# Header	*Header*	All header levels
**bold**	*bold*	Single asterisks
__bold__	*bold*	Underscores to asterisks
*italic*	_italic_	Single underscores
- item	• item	Bullet symbol
`code`	`code`	Unchanged

Sed Commands

# Headers
sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g'

# Bold (asterisks)
sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g'

# Bold (underscores)
sed -E 's/__([^_]+)__/\*\1\*/g'

# Lists
sed -E 's/^[*+-] /• /g'

# Collapse blank lines
sed -E '/^$/N;/^\n$/D'

# Strip trailing whitespace
sed -E 's/[ \t]+$//'

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Quick convert file	sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' file.md | sed -E 's/\*\*([^*]+)\*\*/\*\1\*/g'
Check for unconverted	grep -E '^\#|^\*\*' output.txt
Clipboard convert	pbpaste | sed -E 's/^#{1,6} (.+)$/*\1*/g' | pbcopy

Resources

• Google Chat Formatting: https://support.google.com/chat/answer/7649118
• Markdown Guide: https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/
• Sed Reference: https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/sed.html
• Unicode Bullet: U+2022