Markdown Cheat Sheet: Syntax Guide With Examples

A complete reference for Markdown syntax — headings, formatting, tables, code, lists, and everything in between. Bookmark it, print it, or keep a copy in your project.

Headings

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

Use a space after #. One # per level — no mixing === underlines unless you're writing old-school Markdown.

Text Formatting

Strikethrough (~~text~~) is a GitHub-flavoured Markdown extension, not part of original Markdown. It's supported by GitHub, GitLab, Discord, Slack, and most modern renderers.

Lists

Unordered

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item (indent 2 spaces)
  - Another nested item
- Item three

Ordered

1. First item
2. Second item
   1. Nested numbered item (indent 3 spaces)
3. Third item

Numbers don't have to be sequential — Markdown renders them in order regardless:

1. First
1. Second
1. Third

All three render as 1, 2, 3.

Task Lists

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

• Completed task
• Incomplete task

Task lists are a GitHub-flavoured extension. Works on GitHub, GitLab, and most Markdown note apps.

Links

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

[Link with title](https://example.com "Optional title")

[Reference-style link][ref]

[ref]: https://example.com "Optional title"

Automatic link: <https://example.com>

Reference-style links keep the document readable: define [ref]: url once at the bottom, use [ref] inline anywhere.

Images

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

![Alt text with title](https://example.com/image.png "Optional title")

![Reference image][img-ref]

[img-ref]: https://example.com/image.png

Images are identical to links but with a ! prefix. The alt text is important for accessibility and shows when the image fails to load.

Code

Inline Code

Wrap text with single backticks: `const x = 1` renders as const x = 1.

Use double backticks when the code itself contains a backtick: `` `escaped` ``

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks (recommended):

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, world!")
```

Indented code blocks (original Markdown):

    Indent every line by 4 spaces
    to create a code block

Specify the language after the opening triple backticks for syntax highlighting: ```javascript, ```bash, ```json, etc.

Tables

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|:--------:|---------:|
| Left     | Center   |    Right |
| Default  | aligned  | aligned  |

Alignment is controlled by colons in the separator row:

• :--- — left-aligned (default)
• :---: — center-aligned
• ---: — right-aligned

Tables are a GitHub-flavoured extension. Not all Markdown renderers support them.

Blockquotes

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

> Nested blockquotes work too:
>> Second level
>>> Third level

This is a blockquote. It can span multiple lines.

Nested blockquotes work too:

Horizontal Rules

---
***
___

All three produce a horizontal line. Use three or more characters — --- is the most common.

Frontmatter (YAML)

---
title: My Document
date: 2026-11-03
tags: [markdown, reference]
---

Frontmatter is a block of YAML between --- delimiters at the top of the file. It's parsed by static site generators (Jekyll, Hugo), note apps (Obsidian), and documentation tools — but ignored by standard Markdown renderers.

Escaping Special Characters

Prefix any Markdown character with \ to render it literally:

\*Not italic\*
\# Not a heading
\[Not a link\]

Line Breaks and Paragraphs

• Paragraph: separate blocks of text with a blank line.
• Line break: end a line with two spaces then Enter, or use <br>.
• Soft wrap: just hit Enter — in most renderers the text wraps but stays in the same paragraph.

HTML in Markdown

Raw HTML works inline in most renderers:

<div style="color: red">Red text</div>

<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>
Hidden content here.
</details>

Useful for features Markdown doesn't cover: <details>, <kbd>, <sup>, alignment, and custom styling.

Quick Reference Card

Related

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• How to Open an .md File on Any Device
• Complete Guide to Markdown Files
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