This Markdown cheat sheet provides a quick overview of all the Markdown syntax elements. It can’t cover every edge case, so if you need more information about any of these elements, refer to the reference guides for basic syntax and extended syntax.

Basic Syntax

These are the elements outlined in John Gruber’s original design document. All Markdown applications support these elements.

Heading

# for H1

## for H2

### for H3

Bold

**bold text** for bold text

Italic

*italicized text* for italicized text

Blockquote

> blockquote for

blockquote

Ordered List

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Unordered List

- First item
- Second item
- Third item

for

• First item
• Second item
• Third item

Horizontal Rule

Use ---

Link

Use [Markdown Guide](https://www.markdownguide.org)
for links
Markdown Guide

Image

Use 
for image

Extended Syntax

These elements extend the basic syntax by adding additional features. Not all Markdown applications support these elements.

Table

| Syntax | Description |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| Header | Title |
| Paragraph | Text |

Fenced Code Block

```
{ “firstName”: “John”,
“lastName”: “Smith”,
“age”: 25
}
```

{
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Smith",
  "age": 25
}

Footnote

Here’s a sentence with a footnote. [^1]

becomes

Here’s a sentence with a footnote. ¹

Heading ID

My Great Heading {#custom-id}

Definition List

term : definition

Strikethrough

~~The world is flat.~~

becomes

The world is flat.

Task List

- [x] Write the press release
- [ ] Update the website
- [ ] Contact the media

becomes

• Write the press release
• Update the website
• Contact the media

Emoji

That is so funny! :​joy:

becomes

That is so funny! 😂

(See also Copying and Pasting Emoji)

Highlight

This is <mark>very important words</mark>.

becomes

This is very important words.

Subscript

H₂O
becomes
H₂O

Superscript

X²
becomes
X²