Markdown Cheat Sheet
Free Markdown cheat sheet: headings, lists, links, images, code blocks, tables, and GitHub-flavored extras.
Text Basics
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Headings One # per level. Keep a single H1 per document. | # H1 … ###### H6 | ## Section title |
| Bold / Italic Also ***bold italic*** with three asterisks. | **bold**, *italic* | **important** and *emphasis* |
| Strikethrough GitHub-flavored Markdown (GFM). | ~~text~~ | ~~old plan~~ |
| Line break Markdown ignores single newlines inside a paragraph. | blank line = new paragraph | Two spaces at line end = soft break |
Learn it in a lesson: Introduction to Markdown · Basic Formatting
Lists & Links
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bullet list Indent two spaces for nested bullets. | - item | - first
- second |
| Numbered list Numbers auto-correct — you can write 1. for every line. | 1. item | 1. step one
2. step two |
| Task list GFM checkboxes — render as real checkboxes on GitHub. | - [ ] todo / - [x] done | - [x] write README |
| Link Add a title: [text](url "tooltip"). | [text](url) | [docs](https://example.com) |
| Image Same as a link with a leading ! — alt text matters. |  |  |
Learn it in a lesson: Lists and Tables · Links and Images
Code
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Inline code Backticks render in monospace. | `code` | Use `npm install` first |
| Code block Naming the language enables syntax highlighting. | ```lang … ``` | ```js
console.log("hi");
``` |
| Backtick inside code Wrap in more backticks than the content contains. | ``a ` b`` | ``use ` like this`` |
| Blockquote Nest with >>. | > quote | > Stay curious. |
| Horizontal rule Three or more dashes on their own line. | --- | --- |
Learn it in a lesson: Basic Formatting
Tables & Extras
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Table Colons in the divider set alignment: :--- left, :---: center. | | a | b | + divider row | | Name | Age |
|------|-----|
| Ada | 36 | |
| Footnote Supported on GitHub and most renderers. | text[^1] … [^1]: note | Fact[^1] |
| Escape characters Backslash shows the literal character. | \* \_ \# | \*not italic\* |
| HTML fallback When Markdown can't do it, plain HTML usually can. | inline HTML allowed | <details><summary>More</summary>…</details> |
Learn it in a lesson: Advanced Markdown Features · Lists and Tables
Tables
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Basic table The dashed row is required — without it you get a paragraph of pipes. | | a | b |
|---|---| | | Name | Age |
|------|-----|
| Ada | 36 | |
| Align columns Colons on the dashed row set left, centre and right. | :--- | :---: | ---: | |:-----|:----:|-----:| |
| Pipe inside a cell Escape it, or the cell splits there. | \| | | a \| b | c | |
Learn it in a lesson: Lists and Tables · Advanced Markdown Features
Links & Media
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reference link Keeps long URLs out of the prose. | [text][id] then [id]: url | [docs][1]
[1]: https://example.com |
| Image with title The alt text is not optional — it is what a screen reader reads. |  |  |
| Auto link | <https://example.com> | <https://example.com> |
| Anchor to a heading Lowercase the heading, replace spaces with hyphens, drop punctuation. | [text](#heading-slug) | [Setup](#getting-started) |
Learn it in a lesson: Links and Images · Advanced Markdown Features
Structure
| Concept | Syntax | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Blockquote | > text | > Note: this is a quote |
| Nested list | indent by two spaces | - one
- nested |
| Task list Renders as checkboxes on GitHub and most wikis. | - [ ] / - [x] | - [x] Write the draft
- [ ] Edit it |
| Horizontal rule Put a blank line above it, or the line before becomes a heading. | --- | --- |
| Line break A single newline does NOT break the line in most Markdown. | two trailing spaces, or a backslash | line one
line two |
| Footnote | text[^1] then [^1]: note | Sales rose[^1]
[^1]: Q3 figures |
Learn it in a lesson: Basic Formatting · Lists and Tables · Advanced Markdown Features