Quote or forward a message

Conversations in Zulip are organized by topic, so it’s generally clear what you’re responding to when you send a message. However, when responding to an older message, you may want to quote all or part of it for reference.

You can also forward a message to another conversation.

The first line of a quoted or forwarded message contains a permanent link to the original message. Zulip automatically turns mentions in the quoted text into silent mentions to avoid unnecessarily mentioning someone twice.

Tip: You can use quote blocks when quoting emails or other non-Zulip content.

Quote a message

Desktop/Web

1. (optional) To quote only part of a message, select the part that you want to quote.
2. Hover over a message to reveal three icons on the right.
3. Click on the ellipsis ().
4. Click Quote message.
5. Send your message.

Keyboard tip: You can also use > to quote to the selected message or text, including selections across several messages.

Mobile

1. Press and hold a message until the long-press menu appears.
2. Tap Quote message.
3. (optional) Delete any parts of the quoted message that are not relevant to your reply.
4. Send your message.

Tip: If you are in a channel view, you can set a different destination topic by tapping the compose box and selecting an existing topic or typing a new topic name.

Forward a message

Desktop/Web

1. (optional) To forward only part of a message, select the part that you want to forward.
2. Hover over a message to reveal three icons on the right.
3. Click on the ellipsis ().
4. Click Forward message.
5. Select the desired destination channel or Direct message from the dropdown in the top left of the compose box.
6. Enter a topic name, or recipient names for a direct message.
7. Send your message.

Keyboard tip: You can also use < to forward the selected message or text, including selections across several messages.

Related articles

• Replying to messages
• Format a quote
• Link to a message or conversation
• Mention a user or group