Markdown Syntax Guide: From Basics to Advanced
Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It lets you write formatted text using plain text syntax that is easy to read and write. Markdown is used everywhere: GitHub READMEs, documentation sites, blog platforms, note-taking apps, and messaging tools like Slack and Discord.
Headings
Use # symbols to create headings. One # is an h1, two is an h2, and so on up to six levels:
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
Text Formatting
| Syntax | Result |
|---|---|
| **bold** | bold |
| *italic* | italic |
| ~~strikethrough~~ | strikethrough |
| `inline code` | inline code |
| ***bold and italic*** | bold and italic |
Lists
Unordered lists use -, *, or + as bullet markers. Ordered lists use numbers followed by a period. Indent with two or four spaces for nested lists:
- Item one
- Item two
- Nested item
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
Links and Images
[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Title")
Code Blocks
Wrap code in triple backticks for fenced code blocks. Add a language identifier after the opening backticks for syntax highlighting:
```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
console.log(greeting);
```
Tables
Create tables using pipes and hyphens. Use colons for alignment:
| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a | b | c |
| d | e | f |
Blockquotes
Use > for blockquotes. Nest them by adding more > symbols:
> This is a blockquote
>
> > This is nested
Task Lists
GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) adds task list support with checkboxes:
- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Pending task
- [ ] Another pending task
Where Markdown is Used
- GitHub. README files, issues, pull requests, comments, and wikis all use GFM.
- Documentation. Tools like Docusaurus, MkDocs, and VitePress use Markdown files as the source of truth.
- Blogs. Static site generators like Hugo, Jekyll, and Astro build pages from Markdown.
- Note-taking. Obsidian, Notion, and Bear all support Markdown syntax.
- Messaging. Slack, Discord, and Teams support a subset of Markdown formatting.
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