Markdown Cheat Sheet

Markdown turns plain text into formatted HTML using a handful of symbols. This sheet lists the syntax defined by CommonMark (the standard most tools follow) and GitHub Flavored Markdown (tables, task lists, strikethrough and bare-URL links), with the exact HTML each example produces. Features that only GitHub.com renders, such as footnotes and alert boxes, are marked separately so you know where they will not work.

How to use this tool

1. Scan the table, or type a word such as table or link in the filter.
2. Use the Show menu to limit the list to CommonMark, GFM extensions or GitHub-only features.
3. Paste your own Markdown into Try it to see the HTML it turns into.
4. Copy the HTML, or adjust the Markdown until the output looks right.

Formula

Markdown text → HTML (CommonMark + GFM rules)

The HTML column and the Try it box are generated in your browser with the marked library in GFM mode, which follows the CommonMark and GFM specifications closely; in rare edge cases other renderers can differ. Line breaks inside a paragraph are not turned into <br> unless the line ends with two spaces or a backslash.

Example

In the sample, - [x] Milk becomes a list item with a checked, disabled checkbox, Bread becomes <strong>Bread</strong>, and the divider row | :--- | ---: | makes the Item column left-aligned and the Qty column right-aligned (align="right" on the 12). The backticks around npm test produce <code>npm test</code>.