diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9e9d928..a53a20f 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ go 1.25.6
 
 require (
 	github.com/cockroachdb/pebble v1.1.5
+	github.com/forPelevin/gomoji v1.4.1
 	github.com/knadh/koanf/parsers/yaml v1.1.0
 	github.com/knadh/koanf/providers/confmap v1.0.0
 	github.com/knadh/koanf/providers/file v1.2.1
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/common v0.42.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.9.0 // indirect
+	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7 // indirect
 	github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.14.1 // indirect
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.3 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index b128f9f..02c6f34 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ github.com/cockroachdb/tokenbucket v0.0.0-20230807174530-cc333fc44b06/go.mod h1:
 github.com/creack/pty v1.1.9/go.mod h1:oKZEueFk5CKHvIhNR5MUki03XCEU+Q6VDXinZuGJ33E=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/forPelevin/gomoji v1.4.1 h1:7U+Bl8o6RV/dOQz7coQFWj/jX6Ram6/cWFOuFDEPEUo=
+github.com/forPelevin/gomoji v1.4.1/go.mod h1:mM6GtmCgpoQP2usDArc6GjbXrti5+FffolyQfGgPboQ=
 github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.9.0 h1:2Ml+OJNzbYCTzsxtv8vKSFD9PbJjmhYF14k/jKC7S9k=
 github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:8jBTzvmWwFyi3Pb8djgCCO5IBqzKJ/Jwo8TRcHyHii0=
 github.com/getsentry/sentry-go v0.27.0 h1:Pv98CIbtB3LkMWmXi4Joa5OOcwbmnX88sF5qbK3r3Ps=
@@ -82,6 +84,8 @@ github.com/prometheus/common v0.42.0 h1:EKsfXEYo4JpWMHH5cg+KOUWeuJSov1Id8zGR8eeI
 github.com/prometheus/common v0.42.0/go.mod h1:xBwqVerjNdUDjgODMpudtOMwlOwf2SaTr1yjz4b7Zbc=
 github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.9.0 h1:wzCHvIvM5SxWqYvwgVL7yJY8Lz3PKn49KQtpgMYJfhI=
 github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.9.0/go.mod h1:+pB4zwohETzFnmlpe6yd2lSc+0/46IYZRB/chUwxUZY=
+github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7 h1:WUdvkW8uEhrYfLC4ZzdpI2ztxP1I582+49Oc5Mq64VQ=
+github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7/go.mod h1:FN3SvrM+Zdj16jyLfmOkMNblXMcoc8DfTHruCPUcx88=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.9.0/go.mod h1:WtVeX8xhTBvf0smdhujwtBcq4Qrzq/fJaraNFVN+nFs=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.14.1 h1:UQB4HGPB6osV0SQTLymcB4TgvyWu6ZyliaW0tI/otEQ=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.14.1/go.mod h1:MaRKkUm5W0goXpeCfT7UZI6fk/L7L7so1lCWt35ZSgc=
diff --git a/internal/calendar/handler.go b/internal/calendar/handler.go
index eb857e1..612300d 100644
--- a/internal/calendar/handler.go
+++ b/internal/calendar/handler.go
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func (s *Syncer) syncStatus(ctx context.Context) error {
 		if err := s.store.SetStatus(stored); err != nil {
 			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("store status: %w", err))
 		}
-		s.logger.Info().Str("text", st.Text).Time("expiry", st.Expiration).Msg("synced status")
+		s.logger.Info().Str("emoji", st.Emoji).Str("text", st.Text).Time("expiry", st.Expiration).Msg("synced status")
 	} else {
 		if err := s.store.DeleteStatus(); err != nil {
 			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("delete status: %w", err))
diff --git a/internal/github/target.go b/internal/github/target.go
index 517f96f..f90ebdd 100644
--- a/internal/github/target.go
+++ b/internal/github/target.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/forPelevin/gomoji"
 	"github.com/gldraphael/status/internal/target"
 )
 
@@ -18,8 +19,8 @@ import (
 //
 // Required token scope: user
 type Target struct {
-	token    string
-	client   *http.Client
+	token  string
+	client *http.Client
 }
 
 // NewTarget creates a GitHub target for the given personal access token.
@@ -34,6 +35,14 @@ func NewTarget(token string) *Target {
 
 // Sync implements target.Target. A nil status clears the GitHub user profile status.
 func (t *Target) Sync(ctx context.Context, st *target.Status) error {
+	if st != nil {
+		emoji, text := extractFirstEmoji(st.Text)
+		if emoji != "" {
+			st.Emoji = emoji
+			st.Text = text
+		}
+	}
+
 	mutation := buildGraphQLMutation(st)
 	payload := map[string]string{"query": mutation}
 
@@ -119,3 +128,16 @@ func escapeGraphQLString(s string) string {
 	s = strings.ReplaceAll(s, `"`, `\"`)
 	return fmt.Sprintf(`"%s"`, s)
 }
+
+// extractFirstEmoji returns the first emoji found in the string and the remaining text.
+func extractFirstEmoji(s string) (string, string) {
+	emojis := gomoji.CollectAll(s)
+	if len(emojis) == 0 {
+		return "", s
+	}
+
+	first := emojis[0].Character
+	// Remove ONLY the first occurrence of the emoji character.
+	rest := strings.Replace(s, first, "", 1)
+	return first, strings.TrimSpace(rest)
+}
diff --git a/internal/github/target_test.go b/internal/github/target_test.go
index fe7828f..1e5d4b4 100644
--- a/internal/github/target_test.go
+++ b/internal/github/target_test.go
@@ -124,3 +124,49 @@ func TestNewTarget(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("http client should be initialized")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestExtractFirstEmoji(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		input     string
+		wantEmoji string
+		wantText  string
+	}{
+		{
+			input:     "💡 Focusing... 🎯",
+			wantEmoji: "💡",
+			wantText:  "Focusing... 🎯",
+		},
+		{
+			input:     "🌘 Unwinding...",
+			wantEmoji: "🌘",
+			wantText:  "Unwinding...",
+		},
+		{
+			input:     "Meeting",
+			wantEmoji: "",
+			wantText:  "Meeting",
+		},
+		{
+			input:     "🚀 Rocket! 🚀",
+			wantEmoji: "🚀",
+			wantText:  "Rocket! 🚀",
+		},
+		{
+			input:     "Flag 🇺🇸 in middle",
+			wantEmoji: "🇺🇸",
+			wantText:  "Flag  in middle", // Note: double space
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.input, func(t *testing.T) {
+			gotEmoji, gotText := extractFirstEmoji(tt.input)
+			if gotEmoji != tt.wantEmoji {
+				t.Errorf("extractFirstEmoji() gotEmoji = %v, want %v", gotEmoji, tt.wantEmoji)
+			}
+			if gotText != tt.wantText {
+				t.Errorf("extractFirstEmoji() gotText = %v, want %v", gotText, tt.wantText)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}