Markdown Syntax Cheatsheet
A comprehensive reference for Markdown syntax, covering standard Markdown, common extensions, and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM).
Headings
Standard ATX-style headings use # symbols. The number of # symbols determines the heading level (1 through 6).
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6
Alternate (Setext) syntax is available for H1 and H2 only. Underline the text with = for H1 or - for H2.
Heading 1
=========
Heading 2
---------
Both produce identical output. The Setext style can be more readable in raw form for top-level headings.
Text Formatting
Bold
**bold text**
__also bold__
Renders as strong/bold text. The ** form is preferred since __ can behave unexpectedly mid-word.
Italic
*italic text*
_also italic_
Renders as emphasized/italic text.
Bold and Italic
***bold and italic***
___bold and italic___
**_bold and italic_**
*__bold and italic__*
All four produce text that is both bold and italic.
Strikethrough
~~struck through~~
Renders as struck through text. This is a GFM extension, not standard Markdown.
Subscript and Superscript
H~2~O <!-- subscript (some parsers / GFM) -->
X^2^ <!-- superscript (some parsers) -->
Support varies by renderer. When unsupported, fall back to HTML:
H<sub>2</sub>O
X<sup>2</sup>
Highlight / Mark
==highlighted text==
Supported by some parsers (not standard Markdown or GFM). HTML fallback:
<mark>highlighted text</mark>
Lists
Unordered Lists
Use *, -, or + as bullet markers. Pick one and stay consistent.
- Item one
- Item two
- Item three
Ordered Lists
1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
The actual numbers do not matter in most parsers. This also produces a 1-2-3 list:
1. First item
1. Second item
1. Third item
Nested Lists
Indent by two or four spaces (depending on the parser) to create sub-lists.
- Fruits
- Apple
- Banana
- Vegetables
1. Carrot
2. Broccoli
Task Lists (Checkboxes)
A GFM extension. Use - [ ] for unchecked and - [x] for checked items.
- [x] Write the draft
- [x] Review the draft
- [ ] Publish the post
Links
Inline Links
[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Title on hover")
Reference Links
Define the URL elsewhere in the document. Useful when the same URL appears multiple times.
[Link text][ref-id]
<!-- anywhere else in the file -->
[ref-id]: https://example.com "Optional Title"
You can also use the link text itself as the reference ID:
[example.com][]
[example.com]: https://example.com
Autolinks
Wrap a bare URL or email in angle brackets to make it clickable.
<https://example.com>
<user@example.com>
GFM also auto-links bare URLs without angle brackets (e.g., https://example.com).
Relative Links
Useful inside repositories to link to other files.
[Contributing guide](./CONTRIBUTING.md)
[Source code](../src/main.js)
Anchor Links (Within-Page)
Link to any heading in the same document. The anchor is the heading text, lowercased, with spaces replaced by hyphens and special characters removed.
[Jump to Lists](#lists)
[Jump to Bold and Italic](#bold-and-italic)
Images
Inline Images
Reference Images
![Alt text][img-ref]
[img-ref]: https://example.com/image.png "Optional title"
Linked Images
Wrap an image in a link by nesting the image syntax inside link syntax.
[](https://example.com)
Image Sizing
Standard Markdown has no size control. Use HTML when you need it.
<img src="https://example.com/image.png" alt="Alt text" width="300">
Some extended parsers support a non-standard size suffix:
Code
Inline Code
Wrap text in single backticks.
Use the `printf()` function.
To include a literal backtick inside inline code, use double backticks.
``There is a literal ` backtick here.``
Fenced Code Blocks
Use triple backticks (or triple tildes) with an optional language identifier for syntax highlighting.
```python
def greet(name):
return f"Hello, {name}!"
```
~~~javascript
console.log("Hello, world!");
~~~
Indented Code Blocks
Indent every line by four spaces (or one tab). No syntax highlighting is available with this method.
function hello() {
console.log("Hello");
}
Blockquotes
Basic Blockquotes
> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.
Nested Blockquotes
> Outer quote
>
>> Nested quote
>>
>>> Deeply nested quote
Blockquotes with Other Elements
> #### A heading inside a quote
>
> - Item one
> - Item two
>
> **Bold** and *italic* work inside quotes too.
>
> ```python
> print("code inside a quote")
> ```
Tables
Basic Table
| Name | Age | Role |
|---------|-----|------------|
| Alice | 30 | Engineer |
| Bob | 25 | Designer |
| Charlie | 35 | Manager |
Column Alignment
Use colons in the separator row to control alignment.
| Left-aligned | Center-aligned | Right-aligned |
|:-------------|:--------------:|--------------:|
| left | center | right |
| text | text | text |
:---or---aligns left (default).:---:aligns center.---:aligns right.
Horizontal Rules
Any of these produce a horizontal line. Use a blank line above and below.
---
***
___
Three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores on a line by themselves.
Line Breaks and Paragraphs
Paragraphs
Separate paragraphs with a blank line.
This is the first paragraph.
This is the second paragraph.
Line Breaks
End a line with two or more spaces (a trailing-space line break) or use a <br> tag.
First line.
Second line (note the two trailing spaces above).
Or use HTML:<br>
Next line.
A backslash at the end of a line also produces a line break in some parsers:
First line.\
Second line.
Escaping Characters
Prefix a special character with a backslash to display it literally.
\*not italic\*
\# not a heading
\[not a link\]
\`not code\`
Characters that can be escaped: \ ` * _ { } [ ] ( ) # + - . ! | ~
HTML in Markdown
Most Markdown renderers allow inline HTML. This is useful for features Markdown does not cover.
This has a <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>C</kbd> shortcut.
<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>
Hidden content goes here. **Markdown works** inside HTML blocks
if you leave blank lines around it.
</details>
<dl>
<dt>Term</dt>
<dd>Definition of the term.</dd>
</dl>
GitHub Flavored Markdown Extras
Emoji
Use shortcodes between colons.
:thumbsup: :rocket: :warning: :white_check_mark:
Footnotes
Here is a sentence with a footnote.[^1]
[^1]: This is the footnote content.
The footnote content is rendered at the bottom of the page regardless of where it is defined.
Alerts / Admonitions
GFM supports callout blocks using a special blockquote syntax.
> [!NOTE]
> Useful information the reader should know.
> [!TIP]
> Helpful advice for doing things better.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> Key information the reader needs to know.
> [!WARNING]
> Urgent info that needs immediate attention.
> [!CAUTION]
> Potential negative outcomes of an action.
Collapsed Sections
Use HTML <details> and <summary> tags.
<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>
This content is hidden by default.
- You can use **Markdown** inside.
- Leave blank lines after `<summary>` and before `</details>`.
</details>
Mermaid Diagrams
GitHub renders fenced code blocks with the mermaid language tag as diagrams.
```mermaid
graph LR
A[Start] --> B{Decision}
B -->|Yes| C[Do something]
B -->|No| D[Do something else]
```
Useful Tips
Linking to Headings
Every heading automatically gets an anchor ID. Link to it with # followed by the slugified heading.
## My Great Section
<!-- elsewhere in the document -->
[Go to section](#my-great-section)
Rules for the slug: lowercase, spaces become hyphens, special characters are removed.
Relative Links in Repositories
Reference other files in the repo using relative paths. GitHub resolves them based on the current file’s location.
See the [setup guide](docs/setup.md) for details.
Check the [source](../src/index.js).
Badge Syntax
Badges are images wrapped in links. Common in README files.
[](https://github.com/user/repo/actions)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/package-name)
The general pattern is:
[](link-url)