# 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

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop}
{!message-actions.md!}

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

!!! tip ""

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

    Starred messages have a "starred" label in the bottom right corner of the
    message. You can unstar a message by tapping **Unstar message** in the
    long-press menu.

{end_tabs}

## View your starred messages

{start_tabs}

{tab|desktop}

{relative|message|starred}

{tab|mobile}

1. Tap the **Starred messages**
   (<img src="/static/images/help/mobile-star-icon.svg" alt="star" class="mobile-icon"/>)
   tab at the top of the app.

{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 **Advanced**, 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)