Markdown Cheat Sheet

Your complete reference guide. Every example is copy-ready—just click the copy button and paste into your document.

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Headings Text Formatting Links Images Lists Task Lists Blockquotes Code Blocks Tables Horizontal Rules Line Breaks & Paragraphs Escaping Characters

Headings

Use # symbols to create headings. More # symbols = smaller heading.

Largest heading (page title)

# Heading 1

Section heading

## Heading 2

Subsection heading

### Heading 3

Smaller subsection

#### Heading 4

Minor heading

##### Heading 5

Smallest heading

###### Heading 6

Text Formatting

Add emphasis to your text with bold, italic, or strikethrough styling.

Bold (strong emphasis)

**bold text**

Italic (emphasis)

*italic text*

Bold + Italic combined

***bold and italic***

Strikethrough (deleted text)

~~strikethrough~~

Inline code (monospace)

`inline code`

Links

Create clickable hyperlinks to other pages or websites.

Basic link

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

Link with tooltip

[Hover for title](https://example.com "Visit Example")

Auto-linked URL

<https://example.com>

Auto-linked email

<email@example.com>

Reference-style (reusable)

[Reference Link][1]

[1]: https://example.com

Images

Embed images with alt text for accessibility.

Basic image

![Alt Text](image.jpg)

Image with tooltip

![Alt Text](image.jpg "Image caption")

Image as a link

[![Clickable](img.jpg)](https://link.com)

Lists

Organize content with bullet points or numbered steps.

Unordered list (-, *, or +)

- Apple
- Banana
- Cherry

Ordered (numbered) list

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

Nested list (2-space indent)

- Fruits
  - Apple
  - Banana
- Vegetables
  - Carrot

Task Lists

Create interactive checklists for to-do items.

[x] = checked, [ ] = unchecked

- [x] Write documentation
- [x] Push to GitHub
- [ ] Deploy to production
- [ ] Celebrate 🎉

Blockquotes

Highlight quoted text or important callouts.

Single line quote

> This is a quote.

Multi-line quote with attribution

> "The only way to do great work
> is to love what you do."
>
> — Steve Jobs

Nested blockquotes

> Note: Important information
>> Warning: Be careful here

Code Blocks

Display code with optional syntax highlighting.

Inline code

`const x = 42;`

JavaScript with syntax highlighting

```javascript
function greet(name) {
  return `Hello, ${name}!`;
}
```

Python with syntax highlighting

```python
def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"
```

Plain code (no highlighting)

```
No language specified
Plain code block
```

Tables

Display structured data in rows and columns.

Basic table

| Name    | Role      |
|---------|-----------|
| Alice   | Developer |
| Bob     | Designer  |

Column alignment with :

| Left   | Center  | Right  |
|:-------|:-------:|-------:|
| L      |    C    |      R |
| Text   |  Text   |   Text |

Horizontal Rules

Add a visual divider between sections.

Three dashes (most common)

---

Three asterisks

***

Three underscores

___

Line Breaks & Paragraphs

Control spacing and line breaks in your text.

Line break: two spaces at end

Line one  
Line two

New paragraph: blank line

Paragraph one.

Paragraph two.

HTML line break (works in most renderers)

Line one<br>Line two

Escaping Characters

Display special Markdown characters literally.

Escaped asterisks

\*not italic\*

Escaped hash

\# Not a heading

Escaped brackets

\[Not a link\](url)

Escaped dollar sign

Price: \$100

Pro Tips

⌨️
Use a Live Editor
VS Code, Typora, and Obsidian show real-time previews as you type.
🚀
Start Simple
Master headings, bold, italic, and links first. Add tables and code blocks later.
📋
Copy Often
Don't memorize syntax. Copy examples from here and modify them.
⚠️
Flavors Differ
GitHub, Notion, and Discord have slight variations. Test your syntax there.