Markdown cheat sheet

Markdown is plain text with a few marks in it: a hash in front of a line to make it a heading, asterisks around a word to emphasise it, a dash at the start of a line to make it a list item. This page lists the marks Markdown Studio understands, with the text you type on one side and the result it produces on the other — and the results are produced by the same renderer the editor uses, so this page is a record of what the product does rather than a description of it. The base is CommonMark, the published markdown specification most tools follow; six additions sit on top of it and are listed separately below, because a general markdown reference will not always cover them. Three things are worth knowing before you start. A fenced code block whose language you name wrongly, or in a name nothing here recognises, is shown as an ordinary code block and never as an error. When a formula or a diagram cannot be drawn, only that one block is replaced by a short note in its place and the rest of the document renders as usual. And a table wider than the space it is given scrolls sideways inside a frame of its own rather than squeezing its columns into ribbons.

Core markdown

	What you type	What you get
Headings — one to six hashes at the start of the line, then a space; more hashes, smaller heading	### Release notes #### Fixed in this version	Release notes Fixed in this version
Bold and italic — one asterisk on each side for italic, two for bold	Italic, bold, and *both at once*.	Italic, bold, and both at once.
Lists — a dash for bullets, a number and a dot for numbered ones; indent to nest	- A bullet - Another bullet - Indented under it 1. First 2. Second	A bullet Another bullet Indented under it First Second
Links — the words in square brackets, the address after them in round ones	[Markdown Studio](https://markdownstudio.org)	Markdown Studio
Inline code — backticks around it inside a sentence; not a block, and not highlighted	Run `npm run build` before you publish.	Run `npm run build` before you publish.
Code block — three backticks on their own line above and below; no language named, no highlighting	``` plain block, no language named ```	`plain block, no language named`
Quotes — a greater-than sign at the start of every quoted line	> Every document stays on your device. > There is no server holding your text.	Every document stays on your device. There is no server holding your text.
Horizontal rule — three or more dashes on a line of their own	Above the rule. --- Below it.	Above the rule. Below it.
Paragraphs and line breaks — a blank line starts a new paragraph; a single line break does not	One paragraph. A single line break keeps you in it. A blank line starts a new one.	One paragraph. A single line break keeps you in it. A blank line starts a new one.

Extensions to core markdown

What you type What you get

Tables — cells between pipe characters, dashes under the header row

| Format | Extension |
| --- | --- |
| Markdown | .md |
| Plain text | .txt |

Format	Extension
Markdown	.md
Plain text	.txt

Task lists — items that come out as boxes, ticked or empty

- [x] Draft the release note
- [ ] Send it round

Draft the release note
Send it round

Strikethrough — two tildes on each side

~~Superseded~~ and replaced.

~~Superseded~~ and replaced.

Code with highlighting — name the language after the opening fence

```ts
const greeting: string = `hello`;
```

const greeting: string = `hello`;

Formulas — TeX between dollar signs, one pair inline and two for a block

Inline $E = mc^2$, and a block:

$$
\int_0^1 x^2 \, dx = \frac{1}{3}
$$

Inline $E = mc^2$ , and a block:

\int_0^1 x^2 \, dx = \frac{1}{3}

Diagrams — a fenced block whose language is mermaid

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  Write[Write markdown] --> See[See it formatted]
  See --> Export[Export a file]
```

What is not here

A few things you may have met in other markdown tools are not part of what this page describes. A block of settings at the very top of a file, the kind some site generators read before the document starts, is not treated as settings here and is shown as part of the document. Double-bracket links between notes, the sort wiki-style note apps use, stay as plain text. A note or warning box written as a quote with a tag on its first line comes out as an ordinary quote. And any script or event handler written into a document as raw HTML is removed before anything is shown, which is why nothing in a document you open here can run.

Open the editor and try any of it

Markdown cheat sheet

Core markdown

Release notes

Fixed in this version

Extensions to core markdown

What is not here