Markdown Syntax Guide
The complete cheat sheet for writing standard and GitHub-flavored Markdown. Find exactly what you need.
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Basic Formatting
Bold text
Italic text
Bold and italic
Strikethrough text
Headings
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Lists
- First item
- Second item
- Sub-item 1
- Sub-item 2
- First item
- Second item
- Write the code
- Write the tests
- Write documentation
Links & Images
Code Blocks
Use the print() function.
function helloWorld() {
console.log("Hello, world!");
}Tables
| Syntax | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Title | Done |
| Paragraph | Text | WIP |
Blockquotes
This is a blockquote.
It can span multiple lines and paragraphs.
You can even nest them.
Footnotes & Misc
Here is a sentence with a footnote.1
1. This is the footnote text at the bottom.
What is Markdown?
Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain-text formatting syntax. Created in 2004 by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz, its primary goal is to be highly readable in its raw form, while being easily convertible to standard HTML. Today, Markdown has become the de facto standard for writing documentation, README files, blog posts, and forum comments across platforms like GitHub, Reddit, and Stack Overflow.
Why Use Markdown?
- Easy to Learn: The syntax uses standard characters like asterisks and hashes, making it intuitive to pick up compared to writing raw HTML tags.
- Focus on Content: By using simple symbols for formatting, writers can focus on the content itself rather than getting bogged down in complex formatting rules or GUI editors.
- Universal Support: Almost every modern CMS, static site generator, and developer platform supports Markdown natively or via plugins.
- Platform Independent: Since it's plain text, you can write Markdown in any text editor, and it will remain accessible forever, unencumbered by proprietary file formats like `.docx`.
Markdown Flavors
While standard Markdown handles basic formatting, several "flavors" have emerged to add extended functionality. GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) is the most prominent, adding support for tables, task lists, and fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting. Other variations include MultiMarkdown and CommonMark, which aims to provide a strict, standard specification for Markdown parsers.