Markdown Cheatsheet — Complete Quick Reference for Every Element

This cheatsheet covers every common markdown element in a single reference. Use it when you forget a syntax detail — or bookmark it and keep it open while you write. Each section shows the exact characters to type and what the output looks like. For anything you want to practice, open the live editor and type alongside this reference.

Text Formatting — Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Inline Code

What to type	Result
**bold** or __bold__	bold
*italic* or _italic_	italic
***bold italic***	bold italic
~~strikethrough~~	strikethrough
`inline code`	inline code

Rules to remember: asterisks and underscores both work for bold and italic. Use asterisks in the middle of words (un*believ*able) — underscores do not work mid-word in most parsers. Inline code uses the backtick character (the key above Tab on most keyboards).

Headings — H1 Through H6

What to type	Heading level	Use for
# Heading	H1	Page title — one per document
## Heading	H2	Major sections
### Heading	H3	Subsections
#### Heading	H4	Rarely needed
##### Heading	H5	Almost never needed
###### Heading	H6	Avoid — use restructured content instead

Always include a space between the hash(es) and the heading text. #Heading without a space does not render as a heading in most parsers. Most well-structured documents only need H1, H2, and H3.

Lists — Bullet, Numbered, Nested, and Task Lists

Unordered (bullet) list — use -, *, or +:

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item (2 spaces indent)
  - Another nested item
- Item three

Ordered (numbered) list — use numbers followed by a period:

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

You can use 1. for every line — parsers renumber automatically. This prevents needing to renumber when inserting items.

Task list (checkboxes) — supported on GitHub, Notion, and most modern parsers:

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Pending task
- [ ] Another pending task

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Links, Images, and Blockquotes

Links:

[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Hover title")
[Reference-style link][ref-id]

[ref-id]: https://example.com

Images — same as links but with an exclamation mark prefix:

![Alt text](image.jpg)
![Alt text](https://example.com/image.png "Optional title")

Blockquotes — use the greater-than sign:

> This is a blockquote.
> Multiple lines stay in the same block.

> Nested:
>> Second level blockquote.

Blockquotes are good for pull quotes, callouts, or citing a source inline. The live preview renders the visual indented style so you can see how it looks immediately.

Code Blocks and Tables

Fenced code block — triple backticks with an optional language name:

```javascript
const x = 42;
console.log(x);
```

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

Common language names for syntax highlighting: javascript, python, bash, html, css, sql, json, yaml, markdown.

Table — pipes separate columns, second row sets alignment:

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a    |   b    |     c |
| d    |   e    |     f |

The colons in the separator row control alignment: left-colon = left, both colons = center, right-colon = right. No colons defaults to left-aligned.

Horizontal Rules, Line Breaks, and Escaping Characters

Horizontal rule — three or more dashes, asterisks, or underscores on their own line:

---
***
___

Line break — end a line with two spaces, then press Enter. A blank line between paragraphs creates a paragraph break.

Escaping characters — put a backslash before a markdown character to display it literally:

\*This text has literal asterisks\*
\# This is not a heading

HTML in markdown — most parsers allow raw HTML inline:

<sub>subscript</sub> and <sup>superscript</sup>
<mark>highlighted text</mark>

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the markdown syntax for bold and italic?

For bold, wrap text in double asterisks: **bold**. For italic, wrap in single asterisks: *italic*. For bold italic, use triple asterisks: ***bold italic***.

How do I create a table in markdown?

Use pipe characters to separate columns and a second row of dashes as the header separator. Example: | Col 1 | Col 2 | on the first line, then |---|---| on the second, then data rows below.

How do I add a checkbox in markdown?

Use a task list item: start with a dash, space, bracket-space-bracket for unchecked (- [ ]) or bracket-x-bracket for checked (- [x]). This renders as checkboxes on GitHub and many modern editors.

Can I practice these examples in a live editor?

Yes. Open the free WildandFree Markdown Editor and type alongside this cheatsheet. The rendered preview updates on every keystroke so you can immediately see how each syntax element looks.