Markdown Syntax Guide — Everything You Need to Know

Markdown is the go-to formatting language for GitHub READMEs, documentation, blogs, and developer tools. It’s simple, readable as plain text, and renders beautifully as HTML.

Headings

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4

Use # symbols followed by a space. More # = smaller heading. Most documents use H1 for the title and H2-H3 for sections.

Text Formatting

**bold text**
*italic text*
***bold and italic***
~~strikethrough~~
`inline code`

Links and Images

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

Lists

Unordered:
- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item

Ordered:
1. First
2. Second
3. Third

Code Blocks

Wrap code in triple backticks. Add a language name for syntax highlighting:

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

Tables

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Align columns with colons: :--- (left), :---: (center), ---: (right).

Blockquotes

> This is a quote.
> It can span multiple lines.
>
> > Nested quotes work too.

Horizontal Rules

---

Three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores create a horizontal line.

Task Lists

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [ ] Another task

Supported by GitHub and many Markdown renderers.

Tips for Writing Good Markdown

• Use blank lines between blocks (headings, paragraphs, lists) for reliable rendering
• Keep lines readable — many style guides recommend 80-100 character line lengths
• Preview as you write — use our Markdown Preview tool to see the rendered output in real-time
• Use reference-style links for long URLs to keep your source readable