Steam Description Formatter – Live BBCode Preview

Steam BBCode Tag Reference

This is the full set of tags this tool supports for Steam store descriptions, based on Valve's official Events/import documentation, the community "Comprehensive Formatting Help" guide, and cross-referenced third-party Steam BBCode tooling. Bookmark this table -- it's plain, static reference text, not something you need JavaScript to read.

Supported tags for the Steam store description editor
Tag	Syntax	Renders as
Heading 1	`[h1]Text[/h1]`	Large heading
Heading 2	`[h2]Text[/h2]`	Medium heading
Heading 3	`[h3]Text[/h3]`	Small heading
Bold	`[b]Text[/b]`	Bold text
Italic	`[i]Text[/i]`	Italic text
Underline	`[u]Text[/u]`	Underlined text
Strikethrough	`[strike]Text[/strike]`	Strikethrough text
Spoiler	`[spoiler]Text[/spoiler]`	Blacked-out block, click/hover to reveal
Horizontal rule	`[hr][/hr]`	Divider line
No-parse	`[noparse]Text[/noparse]`	Shows the literal bracket text, nested tags are not interpreted
Link	`[url=https://example.com]Text[/url]`	Styled link text
Unordered list	`[list][]a[]b[/list]`	Bulleted list
Ordered list	`[olist][]a[]b[/olist]`	Numbered list
Quote	`[quote=Author]Text[/quote]`	Indented/boxed blockquote (author optional)
Code	`[code]Text[/code]`	Monospace block, whitespace preserved
Table	`[table][tr][th]H[/th][/tr][tr][td]D[/td][/tr][/table]`	HTML table
Image	`[img]https://example.com/pic.jpg[/img]`	Image unconfirmed for store pages

Not supported in the store description field (these belong to Steam's forum/guide BBCode dialect): [color=], [size=], [left], [center], [right], [list=1]/[list=A] roman or alpha list variants, [email], [thread], and [previewyoutube]. This tool flags any of these with a lint warning instead of silently rendering them.

Auto-embeds: a bare recognized URL on its own line (for example a YouTube or store.steampowered.com link with no [url] wrapper) is automatically turned into an embedded widget by Steam. You don't need to wrap it in tags, and this tool won't flag it as an error.

How to Format a Steam Store Description

Start by typing or pasting your description text into the left-hand editor. Use the toolbar buttons to wrap selected text in a tag, or to insert a tag template at your cursor -- for example, select a sentence and click "B" to bold it, or click "List" to drop in a ready-made bulleted list. The right-hand pane updates instantly with a styled approximation of how the text will look in Steam's dark description area.

Before you ship, check the lint panel below the editor. It flags unclosed tags (like a stray [b] with no matching [/b]), raw HTML that Steam won't render, and tags that aren't part of the store description BBCode set. Fix anything flagged, then click "Copy BBCode" to copy the raw source to your clipboard and paste it straight into the description field in your Steamworks partner dashboard.

Description Tips That Convert

Lead with the hook, not the feature list. The first two lines are what shows before "Read more" -- make them count. Save exhaustive feature lists for further down.
Use headings to break up long descriptions. Wall-of-text descriptions get skimmed, not read. A short [h2] every few paragraphs gives scanners something to latch onto.
Bulleted lists outperform paragraphs for features. Players scan for bullets. Keep each [*] item to one line if you can.
Don't overuse spoiler tags. They're great for plot twists in narrative games, but hiding key info (like system requirements) behind a spoiler just frustrates buyers.
Quotes work best when they're specific. "Amazing game 10/10" convinces nobody. A quote that names a specific mechanic or moment reads as credible.
Test your description on mobile. A large chunk of Steam traffic browses on phones and the Steam mobile app; long unbroken paragraphs are much harder to read there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this tool upload or store my description anywhere?

No. Everything runs locally in your browser with plain JavaScript. Your text is never uploaded, saved to a server, or tracked -- closing the tab clears it.

Will [img] tags actually display images in my Steam store description?

It's unconfirmed. Valve's official docs confirm the [img] to <img> mapping only for a different editor (Events), and community reports on store descriptions conflict. This tool renders it and flags it with an unconfirmed badge so you know to double-check on the real store page before relying on it.

Why doesn't my raw HTML show up formatted in the preview?

Steam's store description field does not render HTML -- it only understands its own BBCode-style tags such as [b] and [list]. Any HTML you type will appear as literal text on the real store page, and this tool warns you when it detects HTML in your input.

What happens if I paste a bare YouTube or Steam link on its own line?

Steam automatically turns certain bare URLs on their own line (like YouTube or store.steampowered.com links) into embedded widgets on the real store page. You don't need to wrap them in [url] tags, and this tool will not treat that as a syntax error.

Are [color], [size], or [center] tags supported?

No. Those tags belong to Steam's forum and guide BBCode dialect, not the store description editor. This tool flags them as unsupported if you type them so you don't ship broken formatting.