# Star a message

Starring messages is a good way to keep track of important messages, such as
tasks you need to go back to or documents you reference often.

## Star a message

Starred messages have a filled in star (<i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-star-filled"></i>)
to their right.

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop-web}

{!message-actions.md!}

1. Click the **star** (<i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-star"></i>) icon.

!!! tip ""

    You can unstar a message using the same instructions used to star it.

!!! keyboard_tip ""

    You can use <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>S</kbd> to star or unstar the selected
    message.

{tab|mobile}

{!message-long-press-menu.md!}

1. Tap **Star message**.

!!! tip ""

    You can unstar a message by tapping **Unstar message** in the
    long-press menu.

{end_tabs}

## View your starred messages

{!view-starred-messages.md!}

## Unstar all messages in a topic

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop-web}

{!topic-actions.md!}

1. Click **Unstar all messages in topic**. If you don't see this option,
   then you have no starred messages in the selected topic.

1. Approve by clicking **Confirm**.

{end_tabs}

## Unstar all messages

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop-web}

1. Hover over <i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-star"></i> **Starred messages**
   in the **views** section of the left sidebar.

1. Click on the **ellipsis** (<i class="zulip-icon zulip-icon-more-vertical"></i>).

1. Click **Unstar all messages**. If you don't see this option,
   then you have no starred messages.

1. Approve by clicking **Confirm**.

!!! tip ""

    If the **views** section in the left sidebar is collapsed, click the
    triangle to the left of **views** to uncollapse it.

{end_tabs}

## Toggle starred messages counter

By default, Zulip displays the number of starred messages in the left
sidebar; this allows you to use them as an inbox of messages you'd
like to come back to. If you are using starred messages for something
else and would prefer not to see the count in your left sidebar, you
can disable that feature.

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop-web}

{settings_tab|preferences}

1. Under **Information**, toggle **Show counts for starred messages**.

{end_tabs}

## Related articles

* [Marking messages as unread](/help/marking-messages-as-unread)
* [Reading strategies](/help/reading-strategies)
* [Searching for messages](/help/search-for-messages)
