Markdown Cheatsheet
A complete reference guide for Markdown syntax. Browse examples of all Markdown formatting options including headings, text styling, links, images, lists, code blocks, tables, and GitHub Flavored Markdown extensions.
Headings6
# Heading 1
Largest heading
<h1>Heading 1</h1>## Heading 2
Second level heading
<h2>Heading 2</h2>### Heading 3
Third level heading
<h3>Heading 3</h3>#### Heading 4
Fourth level heading
<h4>Heading 4</h4>##### Heading 5
Fifth level heading
<h5>Heading 5</h5>###### Heading 6
Smallest heading
<h6>Heading 6</h6>Text Formatting5
**bold text**
Use double asterisks or underscores
<strong>bold text</strong>*italic text*
Use single asterisks or underscores
<em>italic text</em>***bold italic***
Combine both
<strong><em>bold italic</em></strong>~~deleted~~
Use double tildes
<del>deleted</del>`code`
Use backticks
<code>code</code>Links & Images4
[text](url)
Text in brackets, URL in parentheses
<a href="url">text</a>[text](url "title")
Add title in quotes
<a href="url" title="title">text</a>
Same as link with ! prefix
<img src="url" alt="alt">
Image with tooltip
<img src="url" alt="alt" title="title">Lists3
- Item 1 - Item 2 - Item 3
Use -, *, or +
<ul><li>Item 1</li><li>Item 2</li><li>Item 3</li></ul>1. First 2. Second 3. Third
Numbers with periods
<ol><li>First</li><li>Second</li><li>Third</li></ol>- Parent - Child - Child
Indent with 2 spaces
Nested list structureBlockquotes & Code4
> Quote text
Use > at start
<blockquote>Quote text</blockquote>> Level 1 >> Level 2
Multiple > for nesting
Nested blockquotes``` code ```
Triple backticks
<pre><code>code</code></pre>```javascript code ```
Add language after backticks
<pre><code class="language-javascript">code</code></pre>Other Elements3
---
Three dashes, asterisks, or underscores
<hr>Line 1 \nLine 2
Two spaces at end of line
Line 1<br>Line 2\*not italic\*
Backslash to escape
*not italic*Tables2
| Header 1 | Header 2 | | -------- | -------- | | Cell 1 | Cell 2 |
Pipes separate columns, dashes for header separator
HTML table| Left | Center | Right | |:-----|:------:|------:| | L | C | R |
Colons indicate alignment
Table with alignmentQuick Reference
# - ######Headings**text**Bold*text*Italic[text](url)LinkImage`code`Inline Code- itemUnordered List1. itemOrdered List> quoteBlockquote---Horizontal Rule~~text~~Strikethrough```langCode BlockFAQ
What Markdown flavors are covered?
This cheatsheet covers standard Markdown syntax plus GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extensions including tables, task lists, strikethrough, and fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting.
Is Markdown hard to learn?
Not at all! Markdown is designed to be readable and intuitive. Most people can learn the basics in just a few minutes. This cheatsheet helps you quickly find the syntax you need.
Where can I use Markdown?
Markdown is widely supported on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, Reddit, Stack Overflow, Discord, Notion, and many documentation systems. It is also the standard for README files and technical docs.