Text Styling#

Balatro includes a very basic formatting syntax for styling and formatting displayed text in-game. Where supported, text can be styled with the use of style modifier codes included within the text string. For example, the text string:

{C:blue}+1{} hand

produces

Most SMODS objects that display description text will parse and style text strings automatically when loading from localization files or loc_txt. This includes the text strings of descriptions for Achievements, Consumables, Decks, Jokers, Vouchers, and more.

Style modifiers are not additive - text will only be styled by the modifiers contained within the previous set of curly braces. Using empty braces {} will reset text styling for text after it.

Additionally, multiple modifiers can be combined in a single set of curly braces. For example, the text string:

{X:mult,C:white}X0.5{}

produces

Valid style modifiers are as follows:

Text colour	`{C:colour}`/`{V:colour}`
Background colour	`{X:colour}`/`{B:colour}`
Text motion	`{E:motion-index}`
Text hover tooltip	`{T:tooltip-key}`
Text scale	`{s:scale}`
Text underline	`{u:colour}`
Text strikethrough	`{st:colour}`
Text overline	`{ov:colour}`
Text outline	`{O:colour}`
Font	`{f:font}`
Button	`{button:function-key}`
UI Element	`{element:element-index}`
No modifiers (use default styling)	`{}`

Important

Modifiers are case sensitive - make sure to refer to this list for the appropriate capitalization.

Text colour modifiers `{C:}`/`{V:}`#

{C:colour} or {V:colour} changes the color of the text, where colour is one of the following:

the key of a colour defined in G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS,
a 6-digit RGB hex code or an 8-digit RGBA hex code, or
the index of a custom colour provided as an entry in the loc_vars vars.colours table. See Localization for more details.

Note

This functionality was added by Steamodded in 26.829.0. In older versions and in vanilla Balatro, {C:} only supports the first option, and {V:} only supports the third option.

Examples#

Text string	`loc_vars`	Result
{C:mult}+4{} Mult
{C:attention}1{} free {V:green}Reroll{}
{C:green}#1# іn #2#{} chance	vars = { G.GAME.probabilities.normal, -- 1 card.ability.extra.odds -- 6 }
{C:ff00ff}FF00FF{}
{V:2}#2#{} suit{}	vars = { 'Spade', 'Heart', 'Club', 'Diamond', colours = { G.C.SUITS.Spades, G.C.SUITS.Hearts, G.C.SUITS.Clubs, G.C.SUITS.Diamonds } }

Background colour modifiers `{X:}`/`{B:}`#

{X:colour} or {B:colour} sets the background color of the text, where colour is one of the following:

the key of a colour defined in G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS,
a 6-digit RGB hex code or an 8-digit RGBA hex code, or
the index of a custom colour provided as an entry in the loc_vars vars.colours table. See Localization for more details.

Note

This functionality was added by Steamodded in 26.829.0. In older versions and in vanilla Balatro, {X:} only supports the first option. {B:} is not supported by vanilla Balatro; in older Steamodded versions, it only supports the third option.

These modifiers are usually combined with a text colour modifier to make labels.

The {X:} modifier uniquely strips all whitespace from the styled text, so text like {X:gold} W I D E {} is rendered as . This can be helpful for improving the readability of otherwise dense strings. The {B:} modifier instead leaves the styled text’s whitespace unmodified.

Examples#

Text string	`loc_vars`	Result
{B:mult,C:white}X3{} Mult{}
{X:chips,C:white} X 1 . 5 {} Chips{}
{X:mult,C:white} X#1# {}	vars = { card.ability.extra.xmult -- 0.5 }
{B:00ff00}00FF00{}
{B:1,V:2}Oh no!{} Anyway...	vars = { colours = { {1, 0, 0, 1}, --#FF0000 {0, 0, 0, 1} --#000000 } }
{B:1,V:2}#1#{B:2,C:1}#2#{}	vars = { 'Spa', 'rts', colours = { G.C.SUITS.Spades, G.C.SUITS.Hearts, } }

Text motion modifier `{E:}`#

{E:1} applies a pop-in effect when the text is first displayed, and a floating animation to each letter in the text.

{E:2} applies a bumping animation to each letter in sequence.

{E:} is fully compatible with background modifiers {X:} and {B:} (Added by Steamodded). In vanilla Balatro, if background modifiers are set, {E:1} will only show a pop-in effect with no motion, and {E:2} will be ignored.

You can also apply a custom effect using SMODS.DynaTextEffect, in that case the modifier should be {E:modprefix_key}.

Examples#

Text string	Result
{C:green,E:1}probabilities{}
{E:2}Joker{}
{C:red,E:2}self destructs{}

Text scale modifier `{s:}`#

[!IMPORTANT] This modifier requires the lowercase s, unlike other modifiers which must be UPPERCASE.

{s:scale} changes the size of the text.

scale is a decimal value where the default size is 1.0.

Vanilla Balatro only uses s:0.8, s:0.85 and s:1.1 text scales.

Examples#

Text string	Result
{s:0.8}0.8 {s:1.0}1.0 {s:1.1}1.1{}

Text underline, strikethrough and overline modifiers `{u:}`/`{st:}`/`{ov:}`#

[!NOTE] These modifiers are added by Steamodded and are not supported by vanilla Balatro. (Added in 26.829.0)

Important

These modifiers must be lowercase, unlike other modifiers which must be UPPERCASE.

Basic usage#

{u:colour}, {st:colour} and {ov:colour} respectively add an underline, strikethrough, or underline to the text. The width of the line is 10% of the text’s height.

colour sets the colour of the line, where colour is one of the following:

the key of a colour defined in G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS,
a 6-digit RGB hex code or an 8-digit RGBA hex code, or
the index of a custom colour provided as an entry in the loc_vars vars.colours table. See Localization for more details.

Advanced usage#

By supplying a table to the text modifier, it is possible to customize the lines further: {u:[c=colour;s=size]}. size is a decimal value with a default of 0.1. It indicates the thickness of the line relative to the height of the text. It is required to specify a colour.

Examples#

Text string	Result
{u:red}Underlined text!	TBD
{st:[c=green;s=0.2]}Thick strikethrough text!	TBD
{ov:[c=blue;s=0.05]}Thin overlined text!	TBD

Text outline modifier `{O:}`#

[!NOTE] This modifier is added by Steamodded and is not supported by vanilla Balatro. (Added in 26.829.0)

Basic usage#

{O:colour} adds an outline to the text.


colour sets the colour of the line, where colour is one of the following:

the key of a colour defined in G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS,
a 6-digit RGB hex code or an 8-digit RGBA hex code, or
the index of a custom colour provided as an entry in the loc_vars vars.colours table. See Localization for more details.



Advanced usage#
By supplying a table to the text modifier, it is possible to customize the outline further: {O:[c=colour;s=size]}. size is a decimal value with a default of 1.0. It indicates the thickness of the outline. Due to implementation constraints, large size values may lead to unexpected results. It is required to specify a colour.


Examples#

 
   Text string   Result 
 
 
  
{O:red}Outlined text!


  
  
   TBD
  
 
 
 
  
{C:blue,O:[c=green;s=0.6]}Thinner outline!


  
  
   TBD



Text font modifier {f:}#

[!NOTE]
This modifier is added by Steamodded and is not supported by vanilla Balatro.


Important
This modifier requires the lowercase f, unlike other modifiers which must be UPPERCASE.

{f:font} changes the font of the text.
font is a f value ranging from 1 to 9 in vanilla, to add custom fonts you need to set the value as the font’s full key (modname_font).

Examples#

 
  Text string
  Font Name
  Assigned Language
  Result
 
 
  
{f:1}Hello{}


  
  m6x11 plus
  Default
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:2}Hello, 你好{}


  
  Noto Sans SC Bold
  Simplified Chinese
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:3}Hello, 您好{}


  
  Noto Sans TC Bold
  Traditional Chinese
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:4}Hello, 안녕하세요{}


  
  Noto Sans KR Bold
  Korean
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:5}こんにちは{}


  
  Noto Sans JP Bold
  Japanese
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:6}Hello, Здравствуйте{}


  
  Noto Sans Bold
  Russian
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:7}Hello{}


  
  m6x11 plus
  None*
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:8}Hello{}


  
  Go Noto Current Bold
  All1**
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:9}Hello{}



  Go Noto CJK Core
  All2**
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
{f:modprefix_fontkey}Hello{}


  
  Custom Font (example: Comic Sans MS)
  Custom
  
   
    
    
   
  
 

*It differs from the default font from the parameters TEXT_HEIGHT_SCALE = 0.9 and TEXT_OFFSET = {x=10,y=15}
**These are the language names given in the original game.lua file.



Text button modifier {button:}#

[!NOTE]
This modifier is added by Steamodded and is not supported by vanilla Balatro.
(Added in 1501a)


Important
This modifier requires the lowercase button, unlike other modifiers which must be UPPERCASE.

{button:function-key} allows text to be clickable.
function-key is the key of the callback function for the button. The function will be under G.FUNCS['function-key'].

Examples#

 
   Text string   Result 
 
 
  
{button:modprefix_function}Click me!


  
  
   TBD
  
 




UI element insertion {element:}#

[!NOTE]
This modifier is added by Steamodded and is not supported by vanilla Balatro.
(Added in 1531zeebee)


Important
This modifier requires the lowercase element, unlike other modifiers which must be UPPERCASE.


Important
Unlike other modifiers, this modifier does not affect the text string after it. Instead, the UI element is inserted directly at the position of the modifier.

{element:index} inserts a UI element  provided as an entry in the loc_vars vars.elements table. Instances of Node (e.g. CardArea, Sprite, UIBox) are automatically wrapped in an object node. See Localization for more details.
index is the array index of the element entry in the vars.elements table.

Examples#


 
   Text string   loc_vars   Result 
 
 
  
{element:1} <-- Cool sprite


  
  
vars = {
  elements = {
    { n=G.UIT.R, config = { align="cm" }, nodes = {
     { n=G.UIT.O, config= { object =
         SMODS.create_sprite(0, 0, 20, 20, "modprefix_atlaskey", {x = 0, y = 0})
     } }
   } },
  }
}


  
  
   TBD
  
 




Combinations#
Most style codes can be combined within one set of curly braces, like {X:mult,C:white}.

All combinations that aren’t explicitly listed here are valid.
{C:} and {V:} are exclusive - if both are used, {C:} will be ignored.
{X:} and {B:} are exclusive - if both are used, {X:} will be ignored.
{element:} does not interact with any other modifiers. Any additional modifiers will function as if {element:} wasn’t present.
In vanilla Balatro only, the text motion modifier {E:} is incompatible with background modifiers {X:} and {B:} - if background modifiers are set, {E:1} will only show a pop-in effect with no motion, and {E:2} will be ignored. Modern versions of Steamodded fully lift this restriction.


Examples#

 
   Text string   loc_vars   Result 
 
 
  
{X:mult,C:white}X0.5{}


  
  
   
  
 
  
 
 
  
{C:edition,E:1,s:2}YOU WIN!{}


  
  
   
  
 
  
 
 
  
{s:0.8}({V:1,s:0.8}lvl.#1#
{s:0.8}){} Level up{}


  
  
vars = {
  G.GAME.hands[card.config.hand_type].level,
  colours = {
    G.C.HAND_LEVELS[math.min(7,
      G.GAME.hands[card.config.hand_type].level
    )]
  }
}


  
  
   
    
    
   
  
 




Named colours dictionary (G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS)#



 
   Colour   Key   Value   Example   Note 
 
 
  
   
  
  
   red
  
  
   G.C.RED
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   mult
  
  
   G.C.MULT
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   blue
  
  
   G.C.BLUE
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   chips
  
  
   G.C.CHIPS
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   green
  
  
   G.C.GREEN
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   money
  
  
   G.C.MONEY
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   gold
  
  
   G.C.GOLD
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   attention
  
  
   G.C.FILTER
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   purple
  
  
   G.C.PURPLE
  
  
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   white
  
  
   G.C.WHITE
  
  
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   inactive
  
  
   G.C.UI.TEXT_INACTIVE
  
  
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   spades
  
  
   G.C.SUITS.Spades
  
  
   
  
  
   Suit colours
affected by
High Contrast
setting
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   hearts
  
  
   G.C.SUITS.Hearts
  
  
   
  
 
  
  
   
  
  
   clubs
  
  
   G.C.SUITS.Clubs
  
  
   
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   diamonds
  
  
   G.C.SUITS.Diamonds
  
  
   
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   tarot
  
  
   G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Tarot
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   planet
  
  
   G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Planet
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   spectral
  
  
   G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Spectral
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
   
 
 
  
   
  
  
   edition
  
  
   G.C.EDITION
  
  
   
  
  
   Animated colours
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   dark_edition
  
  
   G.C.DARK_EDITION
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   common
  
  
   G.C.RARITY.Common
  
  
   
    
   
  
  
   Added by
Steamodded
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   uncommon
  
  
   G.C.RARITY.Uncommon
  
  
   
    
   
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   rare
  
  
   G.C.RARITY.Rare
  
  
   
    
   
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   legendary
  
  
   G.C.RARITY[4] (vanilla)
 G.C.RARITY.Legendary (SMODS)
  
  
   
    
    
   
  
  
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   enhanced
  
  
   G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Enhanced
  
  
   
  
  
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   default
  
  
 G.C.UI.TEXT_DARK
  
  
   
  
   
 

  
   

  
  
   blind
  
  
 G.C.DYN_UI.DARK
  
  
   

  
  
   Added by
Steamodded

   since 1.0.0~BETA-1531zeebee
  
 

This dictionary is initially assigned by the loc_colour function in functions/misc_functions.lua.
Steamodded automatically adds additional entries to LOC_COLOURS for all custom objects in:

SMODS.Rarity
SMODS.Gradient
SMODS.ConsumableType
SMODS.Suit

which can be used as colour keys in the same way by {C:}/{V:} and {X:}/{B:}. When referring to custom Rarity, Gradient or Suit colours added by SMODS, the key must be prefixed with the mod prefix.

Colour	Key	Value	Example	Note
	`red`	`G.C.RED`
	`mult`	`G.C.MULT`
	`blue`	`G.C.BLUE`
	`chips`	`G.C.CHIPS`
	`green`	`G.C.GREEN`
	`money`	`G.C.MONEY`
	`gold`	`G.C.GOLD`
	`attention`	`G.C.FILTER`
	`purple`	`G.C.PURPLE`
	`white`	`G.C.WHITE`
	`inactive`	`G.C.UI.TEXT_INACTIVE`
	`spades`	`G.C.SUITS.Spades`		Suit colours affected by High Contrast setting
	`hearts`	`G.C.SUITS.Hearts`
	`clubs`	`G.C.SUITS.Clubs`
	`diamonds`	`G.C.SUITS.Diamonds`
	`tarot`	`G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Tarot`
	`planet`	`G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Planet`
	`spectral`	`G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Spectral`
	`edition`	`G.C.EDITION`		Animated colours
	`dark_edition`	`G.C.DARK_EDITION`		Animated colours
	`common`	`G.C.RARITY.Common`		Added by Steamodded
	`uncommon`	`G.C.RARITY.Uncommon`
	`rare`	`G.C.RARITY.Rare`
	`legendary`	`G.C.RARITY[4]` (vanilla) `G.C.RARITY.Legendary` (SMODS)
	`enhanced`	`G.C.SECONDARY_SET.Enhanced`
	default	`G.C.UI.TEXT_DARK`
	blind	`G.C.DYN_UI.DARK`		Added by Steamodded since `1.0.0~BETA-1531zeebee`

Text Styling#

Text colour modifiers `{C:}`/`{V:}`#

Examples#

Background colour modifiers `{X:}`/`{B:}`#

Examples#

Text motion modifier `{E:}`#

Examples#

Text hover tooltip modifier `{T:}`#

Examples#

Text scale modifier `{s:}`#

Examples#

Text underline, strikethrough and overline modifiers `{u:}`/`{st:}`/`{ov:}`#

Basic usage#

Advanced usage#

Examples#

Text outline modifier `{O:}`#

Basic usage#

Advanced usage#

Examples#

Text font modifier `{f:}`#

Examples#

Text button modifier `{button:}`#

Examples#

UI element insertion `{element:}`#

Examples#

Combinations#

Examples#

Named colours dictionary (`G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS`)#

Text string	Result
{C:tarot,T:v_crystal_ball}Crystal Ball{}
"Shop can have {C:perishable,T:[key=perishable;1=5;2=5]}Perishable{} Jokers"	TBD
"{T:[key=bl_arm;set=Blind]}The Arm{}"	TBD

Text string	Result
{O:red}Outlined text!	TBD
{C:blue,O:[c=green;s=0.6]}Thinner outline!	TBD

Text string	Font Name	Assigned Language	Result
{f:1}Hello{}	m6x11 plus	Default
{f:2}Hello, 你好{}	Noto Sans SC Bold	Simplified Chinese
{f:3}Hello, 您好{}	Noto Sans TC Bold	Traditional Chinese
{f:4}Hello, 안녕하세요{}	Noto Sans KR Bold	Korean
{f:5}こんにちは{}	Noto Sans JP Bold	Japanese
{f:6}Hello, Здравствуйте{}	Noto Sans Bold	Russian
{f:7}Hello{}	m6x11 plus	None*
{f:8}Hello{}	Go Noto Current Bold	All1**
{f:9}Hello{}	Go Noto CJK Core	All2**
{f:modprefix_fontkey}Hello{}	Custom Font (example: Comic Sans MS)	Custom

Text Styling#

Text colour modifiers {C:}/{V:}#

Examples#

Background colour modifiers {X:}/{B:}#

Examples#

Text motion modifier {E:}#

Examples#

Text hover tooltip modifier {T:}#

Examples#

Text scale modifier {s:}#

Examples#

Text underline, strikethrough and overline modifiers {u:}/{st:}/{ov:}#

Basic usage#

Advanced usage#

Examples#

Text outline modifier {O:}#

Basic usage#

Advanced usage#

Examples#

Text font modifier {f:}#

Examples#

Text button modifier {button:}#

Examples#

UI element insertion {element:}#

Examples#

Combinations#

Examples#

Named colours dictionary (G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS)#

Text colour modifiers `{C:}`/`{V:}`#

Background colour modifiers `{X:}`/`{B:}`#

Text motion modifier `{E:}`#

Text hover tooltip modifier `{T:}`#

Text scale modifier `{s:}`#

Text underline, strikethrough and overline modifiers `{u:}`/`{st:}`/`{ov:}`#

Text outline modifier `{O:}`#

Text font modifier `{f:}`#

Text button modifier `{button:}`#

UI element insertion `{element:}`#

Named colours dictionary (`G.ARGS.LOC_COLOURS`)#