HONK(5)

HONK(5) File Formats Manual HONK(5)

## NAME

`honk` — status composition

## DESCRIPTION

Status updates composed in `honk` have many features beyond just plain text.

The process begins by pressing the button marked “it's honking time” to activate the honk form.

Honks are posted publicly.

### Basics

A subset of markdown is supported.

bold
  **bold text**
italics
  *italicized text*
quotes
  > This text is quoted.
code
  Inline `code fragments` with single ticks.

      ```c
      /* triple tick code blocks support syntax highlighting */
      int main() { return 0; }
      ```

headings
  Heading lines starting with #.
lists
  Lists of items starting with either ‘+’ or ‘-’.
tables
  Table cells separated by |.
images
  Inline images with img tags.

      <img alt="Lifecycle of a honk" src="https://example.com/diagram.png">

  A src of a single number (1, 2, etc.) may refer to an attachment.

links
  URLs beginning with “http” or “https” will be autolinked.
rules
  Exactly three dashes on a line, “---”, will become a horizontal rule.
spoilers
  Hide blocks of text between triple colon delimted regions.

      ::: warning
      text that should be hidden behind a warning
      :::

If the first line of a honk begins with “DZ:” (danger zone) or any other combination of two letters and a colon, it will be used a summary and the post marked sensitive.

Mentioning a specfic user such as (@user@example.social) will send a copy of the message to them. Several forms are supported. ‘`@name`’ will work using the short name from the honkers table and be expanded automatically. ‘`@handle@domain`’ will work for anyone. ‘`@https://example.com`’ works as well. When honking back, the author of the parent post is automatically mentioned.

### Extras

Custom emoji may be included by colon wrapping the image name. (:hellsyeah:) A meme (sticker, reaction gif) may be included with the meme operator followed by the file name.

`meme: honk.mp4`
A full list of emoji and memes may be found in the funzone. See honk(8) for more about the funzone.

Custom flag emoji may be generated on the fly by specifying comma separated hexadecimal RGB values, one for each stripe.

`flag:306,002,dcf`
Vertical stripes may be selected by specfying "vert" for the first value.

There are no length restrictions, but remember, somebody is going to have to read this noise.

One may attach a file to a post. Images are automatically rescaled and reduced in size for federation. A description, or caption, is encouraged. Text files and PDFs are also supported as attachments. Other formats are not supported. Multiple files may be attached to the some post, but be wary of depending on a particular presentation order.

One may also live dangerously by posting assassination coordinates. The available fields, all optional, are name, url, latitude, and longitude. By default, location data is rounded to approximately 1/100 decimal degree accuracy. Pressing the check in button a second time will refine this to more a precise location.

Adding a time to a post turns it into an event. Supported formats for start time are HH:MM or YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM. A 24 hour clock is assumed, unless am or pm are specified. The duration is optional and may be specified as XdYhZm for X days, Y hours, and Z minutes (1d12h would be a 36 hour event).

Clicking the pretty circle face will open the emu peeker to add in the selection of emus.

When everything is at last ready to go, press the “it's gonna be honked” button.

### Advanced

Some additional fields exist which modify the post's metadata.

cc to add a recipient without inlining their address.

link to add an http Link to the post.

name to give a title to the link.

tags to add additional hashtags without cluttering the text.

## EXAMPLES

(Slightly dated screenshots.)

Composing a new honk with an attached image and location.

screenshot of honk composition

After posting.

screenshot of honk after posting

## SEE ALSO

honk(1)

## CAVEATS

Markdown support is implemented with regexes. Preview is recommended.

OpenBSD 7.7 July 2, 2025 HONK(5)