Markdown Cheat Sheet

Markdown is a simple way to format text that looks great on any device. It doesn’t do anything fancy like change the font size, color, or type – just the essentials, using keyboard symbols you already know. This is the complete reference: every rule shown next to its rendered result.

Headings

Use # symbols before your text – one # for the biggest heading, up to six for the smallest. The top two levels also have an “underline” style.

Markdown	Result
`# Heading 1 Heading 1 =========`	Heading 1
`## Heading 2 Heading 2 ---------`	Heading 2
`### Heading 3`	Heading 3
`#### Heading 4`	Heading 4
`##### Heading 5`	Heading 5
`###### Heading 6`	Heading 6

Emphasis

Wrap text in symbols to make it bold, italic, or ~~struck through~~. Asterisks and underscores work the same way.

Markdown	Result
`Italic _Italic_`	Italic
`Bold __Bold__`	Bold
`*Bold & italic*`	*Bold & italic*
`~~Strikethrough~~`	~~Strikethrough~~

Blockquotes

Start a line with > to quote text. Add another > to nest quotes, and blank > lines to separate paragraphs.

Markdown	Result
`> This is a blockquote.`	This is a blockquote.
`> First paragraph. > > Second paragraph.`	First paragraph. Second paragraph.
`> Level one >> Level two`	Level one Level two

Lists

Bullet lists start with -, *, or +. Numbered lists use 1., 2., 3. Indent by two spaces to nest a sub-list.

Markdown	Result
`- First item - Second item - Third item`	First item Second item Third item
`1. First item 2. Second item 3. Third item`	First item Second item Third item
`1. First item - Sub-item - Sub-item 2. Second item`	First item Sub-item Sub-item Second item

Task lists

Add [ ] for an empty checkbox or [x] for a checked one right after the bullet. Great for to-do lists on GitHub.

Markdown	Result
`- [x] Learn Markdown - [ ] Master Markdown - [ ] Teach a friend`	Learn Markdown Master Markdown Teach a friend

Links

Put the visible text in [ ] and the address in ( ). Reference links keep the address at the bottom, and bare URLs become links automatically.

Markdown	Result
`[Markdown69](https://markdown69.com)`	Markdown69
`[Hover me](https://markdown69.com "Best cheat sheet")`	Hover me
`[Reference link][site] [site]: https://markdown69.com`	Reference link
`<https://markdown69.com>`	https://markdown69.com
`[Jump to top](#top)`	Jump to top

Images

The same as links, with a ! in front. The text in [ ] becomes the alt text shown when the image can’t load.

Markdown	Result
`![Markdown logo](/img/markdown.png)`
`![Logo](/img/markdown.png "Markdown")`
`[![Clickable](/img/markdown.png)](https://markdown69.com)`

Code

Wrap inline code in single backticks. For a whole block, use three backticks (optionally naming the language) or indent every line by four spaces.

Markdown	Result
Use the `print()` function.	Use the `print()` function.
``` plain code block ```	`plain code block`
```python def hello(): print("Hi!") ```	`def hello(): print("Hi!")`

Tables

Separate columns with pipes | and the header from the body with dashes -. Add colons : in the divider row to align a column left, center, or right.

Markdown Result

| Syntax | Description |
| ------ | ----------- |
| Header | Title |
| Cell | Text |

Syntax	Description
Header	Title
Cell	Text

| Left | Center | Right |
| :--- | :----: | ----: |
| a | b | c |

Left	Center	Right
a	b	c

Horizontal rule

Three or more dashes, asterisks, or underscores on their own line draw a divider.

Markdown	Result
`--- *** ___`

Line breaks

End a line with two spaces to break it without starting a new paragraph. A blank line always starts a new paragraph.

Markdown Result

First line··
Second line

First line
Second line

New paragraph

after a blank line

New paragraph

after a blank line

Escaping characters

Put a backslash \ before a symbol to show it literally instead of formatting the text.

Markdown	Result
`\Not italic\`	Not italic
`1\. Not a list`	1. Not a list

Footnotes

Mark a spot with [^1] and write the note anywhere on its own line. The reader jumps between them by clicking.

Markdown	Result
`Here is a note.[^1] [^1]: The footnote text.`	Here is a note.¹ The footnote text. ↩

Emoji

Many editors (GitHub, Slack, Discord) turn :shortcodes: into emoji. You can also paste the emoji character directly.

Markdown	Result
`:tada: Shipped it! :rocket:`	🎉 Shipped it! 🚀
`Looks good :+1:`	Looks good 👍

Inline HTML

When Markdown isn’t enough, drop in raw HTML and it renders as-is.

Markdown	Result
`Text with <sub>subscript</sub> and <sup>superscript</sup>.`	Text with _subscript and ^superscript.
`<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd>`	`Ctrl` + `C`

Embedding videos

Markdown can’t embed a video player, but you can link a thumbnail image to the video. Clicking the image opens the video.

Markdown	Result
`[![Watch the video](/img/markdown.png)](https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID)`

Online Markdown Editor with Live Preview