Naming Custom Emojis So People Can Actually Find Them
Nobody browses the emoji list. They type a colon and guess. Name for the guess.
Keep names short and lowercase
People summon emojis by typing a colon and the first few letters. The name that wins is the first thing a coworker would type: party, rage, shipit. Two or three short words beat one long one, separated by underscores or dashes depending on the platform.
Use prefixes for sets
If you upload a whole pack, prefix it: cat-happy, cat-grumpy, cat-keyboard. Typing one word then shows the entire set in autocomplete, which is how a pack actually gets used instead of forgotten.
Avoid names that fight the defaults
If a built-in emoji already owns :fire:, naming your custom one the same thing just creates confusion about which one appears first. Slight variations like :fire-spin: or :thisisfine: keep both findable.
Prune as you go
Every workspace accumulates uploads from 2021 that nobody can name. A quick pass every few months, deleting the ones with zero uses, keeps autocomplete sharp. The goal is a set people use, not an archive.