Markdown guide: syntax with examples
Markdown lets you format text with a few simple characters. Learn the basic syntax in a few minutes, then add tables, task lists and code blocks.
Open the tool: Markdown Editor
Basic syntax
| Element | Markdown |
|---|---|
| Heading | # Title, ## Section, ### Subsection |
| Bold | **text** or __text__ |
| Italic | *text* or _text_ |
| Link | [text](https://example.com) |
| Image |  |
| List | - item or 1. item |
| Quote | > text |
| Line break | Two spaces at the end of a line |
Extended syntax
GitHub-flavoured Markdown adds tables made with pipes and hyphens, task lists with - [ ] and - [x], strikethrough with ~~two tildes~~, code blocks fenced with three backticks, and web addresses that turn into links on their own.
Not every app supports every extension. Reddit and GitHub support tables, Discord does not, and Slack uses its own simpler format, so check the preview where your text will be published.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the blank line before a list or heading, so it joins the paragraph above.
- Putting a space inside the stars, such as ** text **, which stops the bold.
- Mixing tabs and spaces in nested lists.
- Leaving out the line of hyphens under a table's header row.