Markdown Cheat Sheet

A quick reference to the Markdown syntax.

Overview

This Markdown cheat sheet provides a quick overview of all the Markdown syntax elements. It can’t cover every edge case, so if you need more information about any of these elements, refer to the reference guides for basic syntax and extended syntax.

Basic Syntax

These are the elements outlined in John Gruber’s original design document. All Markdown applications support these elements.

Element Markdown Syntax
Heading # H1
## H2
### H3
Bold **bold text**
Italic *italicized text*
Blockquote > blockquote
Ordered List 1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
Unordered List - First item
- Second item
- Third item
Code `code`
Horizontal Rule ---
Link [title](https://www.example.com)
Image ![alt text](image.jpg)

Extended Syntax

These elements extend the basic syntax by adding additional features. Not all Markdown applications support these elements.

Element Markdown Syntax
Table | Syntax | Description |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| Header | Title |
| Paragraph | Text |
Fenced Code Block ```
{
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Smith",
  "age": 25
}
```
Footnote Here's a sentence with a footnote. [^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote.
Heading ID ### My Great Heading {#custom-id}
Definition List term
: definition
Strikethrough ~~The world is flat.~~
Task List - [x] Write the press release
- [ ] Update the website
- [ ] Contact the media
Emoji
(see also Copying and Pasting Emoji)
That is so funny! :joy:
Highlight I need to highlight these ==very important words==.
Subscript H~2~O
Superscript X^2^

Downloads

You can download this cheat sheet as a Markdown file for use in your Markdown application.

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