BBCode Format Guide

About BBCode Format

BBCode (Bulletin Board Code) is a lightweight markup language used to format posts in many web forums and message boards. It uses square bracket tags like [b]bold[/b], [i]italic[/i], [url]link[/url], and [img]image[/img] to provide rich text formatting without allowing raw HTML, which could pose security risks in user-generated content.

Originally developed for phpBB forum software in the late 1990s, BBCode became the de facto standard for forum formatting across platforms including vBulletin, SMF (Simple Machines Forum), XenForo, Discourse, and many gaming communities. While each platform may implement slightly different tag sets, the core tags ([b], [i], [u], [url], [img], [code], [quote], [list]) are nearly universal.

Available Conversions

BBCode Format Features

• Text Formatting: [b]bold[/b], [i]italic[/i], [u]underline[/u], [s]strikethrough[/s]
• Links: [url]http://...[/url] and [url=http://...]text[/url]
• Images: [img]url[/img] for embedding images
• Code Blocks: [code]preformatted text[/code]
• Quotes: [quote]quoted text[/quote] and [quote=author]text[/quote]
• Lists: [list][*]item 1[*]item 2[/list] for bullet and numbered lists
• Colors & Sizes: [color=red]text[/color], [size=18]text[/size]

Common Uses

• Web Forums: phpBB, vBulletin, SMF, XenForo, Discourse
• Gaming Communities: Game guides, walkthroughs, modding forums
• Support Forums: Technical support and Q&A boards
• Content Management: User-generated content with safe formatting
• Archive Migration: Converting legacy forum content to modern formats
• Documentation: Community-maintained guides and tutorials
• Social Platforms: Some social platforms support BBCode subsets