Markdown Cheat Sheet: Complete Syntax Reference (With Examples)

Need a quick Markdown reference while writing README files, documentation, notes, or blog posts?

This Markdown cheat sheet gives you all commonly used syntax in one place — simple, clean, and easy to copy.

Markdown is a lightweight markup language used in GitHub, Obsidian, VS Code, Notion, and many documentation tools. Instead of using buttons, you write simple symbols like #, **, and backticks to format text.

Tip: To practice live, try the Markdown Editor on MDConvertHub with preview support.

Headings

Use # for headings. More # characters mean a smaller heading level.

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Alternative style:

Heading 1
=========

Heading 2
---------

Most tools prefer # style headings.

Bold, italic, strikethrough

Style	Syntax	Example
Bold	**text**	text
Italic	*text*	text
Bold + italic	***text***	text
Strikethrough	~~text~~	text

Example:

This is **bold**, this is *italic*, and this is ~~removed~~.

Paragraphs and line breaks

First paragraph.

Second paragraph.

Line break inside one paragraph (two spaces at end of line):

Line one  
Line two

Links

[MDConvertHub](https://mdconverthub.com)
[Markdown Editor](/tools/markdown-editor "Write Markdown")
<https://example.com>

Images

![Alt text](image.png)

Lists

Unordered list

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item

Ordered list

1. First
2. Second
3. Third

Task lists (GitHub Flavored Markdown)

- [x] Done task
- [ ] Pending task

Blockquotes

> This is a quote.
>
> Multi-line quote.

Inline code

Use `npm install` command.

Code blocks

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

Horizontal line

---

Tables

| Name | Age |
|------|-----|
| John | 25  |
| Sam  | 30  |

Escaping characters

\# Not a heading
\* Not bold

Common mistakes

Problem	Fix
Heading not showing	Add blank line before #
List broken	Maintain spacing and indent
Table broken	Fix separator row (---)
Code block broken	Close triple backticks properly
Link not working	Check [text](url) bracket order

GitHub Markdown guide

GitHub uses GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) — standard Markdown plus tables, task lists, fenced code blocks, and strikethrough.

Best practices for README files:

• Use README.md at the repository root
• Add a ## Installation section for setup steps
• Use fenced code blocks for shell commands
• Use task lists for roadmaps and checklists
• Use tables for configuration options

When your Markdown draft is ready, export it with Markdown to HTML for web pages or Markdown to PDF for shareable documents.

Why learn Markdown?

Markdown is widely used for documentation, GitHub projects, note-taking, and AI workflows. It is simple, fast, and portable compared to HTML or Word formats.

Developers use it for README files, bloggers use it for drafts, and AI users use it to structure clean prompts and notes. If your source is not Markdown yet, convert existing content with HTML to Markdown or Word to Markdown and edit from there.

Try these tools

• Markdown Editor with live preview — write Markdown and see output instantly
• HTML to Markdown converter — turn webpage HTML into Markdown
• Word to Markdown converter — convert .docx files to Markdown
• Markdown to HTML converter — export Markdown as HTML
• Markdown to PDF converter — download a PDF from Markdown
• Markdown to DOCX converter — create an editable Word file

FAQs

What is Markdown used for?

Markdown is used for writing formatted text using simple syntax. It is widely used in GitHub, documentation, blogs, and note-taking apps.

Is Markdown easy to learn?

Yes. Markdown is very easy to learn. You only need a few symbols like #, *, and backticks to get started.

Where can I use Markdown?

You can use Markdown in GitHub, Notion, Obsidian, VS Code, Reddit, and many documentation platforms.

What is GitHub Flavored Markdown?

GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) is an extended version of Markdown used by GitHub. It adds tables, task lists, fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting, and strikethrough.

Try it now

Bookmark this cheat sheet, practice each syntax block in the editor, and export when your draft is ready. More guides are on the MDConvertHub blog.