Cheatsheet: Markdown

Last updated 2026-06-21

Text and structure

Headings use one to six # characters.

# H1
## H2
### H3
#### H4
##### H5
###### H6

Bold, italic, and combined emphasis.

*Italic*
**Bold**
***Bold and Italic***

Strikethrough is supported by GitHub Flavored Markdown.

~~Removed text~~

Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.

First paragraph.

Second paragraph.

Create a hard line break with two trailing spaces or a backslash.

Line one  
Line two

Line one\
Line two

Use a horizontal rule to separate sections.

---

***

___

Lists, links, and media

Unordered lists use -, *, or + markers.

- Apples
- Bananas
  - Cavendish

Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods.

1. Install
2. Configure
3. Run

Task lists use checkboxes in GitHub Flavored Markdown.

- [x] Write docs
- [ ] Publish release

Inline links use link text and a URL.

[DevTools Daily](https://www.devtoolsdaily.com/)

Reference-style links keep URLs elsewhere in the document.

Read the [docs][docs-link].

[docs-link]: https://example.com/docs

Images use link syntax prefixed with an exclamation point.

![Alt Text](https://example.com/image.png)

Code, quotes, and tables

Inline code is wrapped in backticks.

Use `npm run build` to build.

Fenced code blocks use triple backticks and can include a language hint.

```ts
const message: string = 'hello';
```

Indented code blocks use four leading spaces.

const value = 42;

Blockquotes start with > and can be nested.

> Quote
>
> > Nested quote

Tables use pipes and a separator row.

| Name | Role |
| --- | --- |
| Ada | Admin |
| Lin | User |

Align table columns with colons in the separator row.

| Left | Center | Right |
| :--- | :---: | ---: |
| a | b | c |

Escape Markdown punctuation with a backslash when you need literal characters.

\*not italic\*
\[not a link\](url)
\# not a heading

See also: