Markdown Cheat Sheet

The complete guide to Markdown syntax with interactive examples you can copy and try

Quick Navigation

Headings Emphasis Lists Links Images Code Tables Blockquotes Horizontal Rules Task Lists Footnotes Other

Looking for platform-specific syntax?

R Markdown•Obsidian•Discord•Jupyter•GitHub

Headings

Try it

Create headings using # symbols. The number of # symbols determines the heading level (1-6).

Markdown

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Output

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Tips

Always put a space after the # symbols
Use heading levels hierarchically

Common Mistakes

Skipping heading levels (e.g., going from H1 to H3)

Alternative Headings

Try it

Alternative syntax for H1 and H2 using underlines.

Markdown

Heading 1
=========

Heading 2
---------

Output

Heading 1

Heading 2

Emphasis

Bold

Try it

Make text bold using double asterisks or underscores.

Markdown

**bold text**
__also bold__

Output

bold text
also bold

Tips

Asterisks are more commonly used and work in more contexts

Italic

Try it

Make text italic using single asterisks or underscores.

Markdown

*italic text*
_also italic_

Output

italic text
also italic

Bold & Italic

Try it

Combine bold and italic using triple asterisks or underscores.

Markdown

***bold and italic***
___also bold and italic___

Output

bold and italic
also bold and italic

Strikethrough

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Strike through text using double tildes.

Markdown

~~strikethrough text~~

Output

~~strikethrough text~~

Highlight

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Highlight text using double equals signs. Note: Not standard Markdown.

Markdown

==highlighted text==

Output

==highlighted text==

Tips

This is an extended syntax, not supported everywhere

Lists

Unordered List

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Create bullet lists using dashes, asterisks, or plus signs.

Markdown

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Nested item
  - Another nested
- Item 3

Output

Item 1
Item 2
- Nested item
- Another nested
Item 3

Tips

Use 2 spaces for nesting
Be consistent with your list marker

Ordered List

Try it

Create numbered lists using numbers followed by periods.

Markdown

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
   1. Nested item
   2. Another nested

Output

First item
Second item
Third item
1. Nested item
2. Another nested

Tips

Numbers don't need to be in order - Markdown will auto-number

Links

Inline Link

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Create a clickable link with custom text.

Markdown

[Link text](https://example.com)

Output

Link text

Link with Title

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Add a tooltip title that appears on hover.

Markdown

[Link text](https://example.com "Title on hover")

Output

Link text

Reference Link

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Define links separately for cleaner text.

Markdown

[Link text][ref]

[ref]: https://example.com

Output

Link text

Tips

Great for documents with many links to the same URL

Autolink

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Automatically convert URLs to clickable links.

Markdown

<https://example.com>

Output

https://example.com

Images

Image

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Embed an image with alt text.

Markdown

![Alt text](https://example.com/image.jpg)

Output

Alt text

Tips

Always include descriptive alt text for accessibility

Image with Title

Try it

Add a tooltip title to an image.

Markdown

![Alt text](https://example.com/image.jpg "Image title")

Output

Alt text

Linked Image

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Make an image clickable by wrapping it in a link.

Markdown

[![Alt text](https://example.com/image.jpg)](https://example.com)

Output

Code

Inline Code

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Format code inline using backticks.

Markdown

Use `code` inline

Output

Use code inline

Code Block

Try it

Create a code block with syntax highlighting.

Markdown

```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, World!";
console.log(greeting);
```

Output

const greeting = "Hello, World!";
console.log(greeting);

Tips

Specify the language after the opening backticks for syntax highlighting

Indented Code Block

Try it

Create a code block using 4 spaces indentation.

Markdown

    const greeting = "Hello";
    console.log(greeting);

Output

const greeting = "Hello";
console.log(greeting);

Tables

Table

Try it

Create tables using pipes and dashes.

Markdown

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Output

Header 1	Header 2	Header 3
Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3
Cell 4	Cell 5	Cell 6

Tips

Columns don't need to be perfectly aligned
Use colons for alignment

Table Alignment

Try it

Align table columns using colons.

Markdown

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| L    | C      | R     |

Output

Left	Center	Right
L	C	R

Blockquotes

Blockquote

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Create a blockquote using the > character.

Markdown

> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.

Output

This is a blockquote.
It can span multiple lines.

Nested Blockquote

Try it

Nest blockquotes using multiple > characters.

Markdown

> Outer quote
>> Nested quote
>>> Even more nested

Output

Outer quote

Nested quote

Even more nested

Horizontal Rules

Horizontal Rule

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Create a horizontal line using three or more dashes, asterisks, or underscores.

Markdown

---

***

___

Output

Task Lists

Task List

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Create interactive checklists using brackets.

Markdown

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [ ] Another task

Output

Completed task
Incomplete task
Another task

Footnotes

Footnote

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Add footnotes to your document.

Markdown

Here's a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Output

Here's a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Other

Line Break

Try it

Create a line break by ending a line with two spaces.

Markdown

First line
Second line

Output

First line
Second line

Tips

Two spaces at the end of a line creates a <br>

Escaping Characters

Try it

Escape special characters using backslash.

Markdown

\*Not italic\*
\# Not a heading

Output

*Not italic*
# Not a heading

Emoji

Try it

Insert emojis using shortcodes.

Markdown

:smile: :heart: :thumbsup:

Output

:smile: :heart: :thumbsup:

Tips

GitHub supports a wide range of emoji shortcodes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. It was created by John Gruber in 2004 and is now one of the most popular markup languages in the world.

Is Markdown the same everywhere?

While core Markdown syntax is consistent across platforms, different platforms (GitHub, Discord, Obsidian, etc.) may support additional features or have slight variations. This is often called "flavored Markdown".

What can I use Markdown for?

Markdown is used for documentation, README files, blog posts, notes, emails, and more. It's supported by GitHub, GitLab, Reddit, Discord, Slack, Notion, Obsidian, and many other platforms.

Do I need special software to write Markdown?

No, you can write Markdown in any plain text editor. However, specialized Markdown editors like VS Code, Obsidian, or Typora provide live preview and additional features.

Markdown Cheat Sheet

Headings

Headings

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Alternative Headings

Heading 1

Heading 2

Emphasis

Bold

Italic

Bold & Italic

Strikethrough

Highlight

Lists

Unordered List

Ordered List

Links

Inline Link

Link with Title

Reference Link

Autolink

Images

Image

Image with Title

Linked Image

Code

Inline Code

Code Block

Indented Code Block

Tables

Table

Table Alignment

Blockquotes

Blockquote

Nested Blockquote

Horizontal Rules

Horizontal Rule

Task Lists

Task List

Footnotes

Footnote

Other

Line Break

Escaping Characters

Emoji

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Markdown?

Is Markdown the same everywhere?

What can I use Markdown for?

Do I need special software to write Markdown?

Related Tools

Markdown Editor

Table Generator

Quote Generator