Markdown Cheat Sheet: Complete Guide with Examples

Markdown is the most popular lightweight markup language for writing formatted text. Whether you’re writing documentation, README files, notes, or blog posts — this cheat sheet covers everything you need.

Headings

Use # symbols to create headings. More # symbols = smaller heading.

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

Text Formatting

**Bold text**
*Italic text*
***Bold and italic***
~~Strikethrough~~
`Inline code`

Bold text, Italic text, Bold and italic, Strikethrough, Inline code

Links and Images

[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Title")

![Alt text](image.png)
![Alt text](image.png "Image title")

Lists

Unordered Lists

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Sub-item 2a
  - Sub-item 2b
- Item 3

Ordered Lists

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

Task Lists (GFM)

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [ ] Another task

Blockquotes

> This is a blockquote.
>
> It can span multiple lines.

> Nested blockquotes
>> are also possible.

Code

Inline Code

Use `console.log()` to print output.

Code Blocks

Use triple backticks with an optional language identifier for syntax highlighting:

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

print(hello("World"))
```

Popular language identifiers: python, javascript, typescript, swift, go, rust, java, html, css, sql, bash, json, yaml

Tables

| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---------|:----:|:---:|
| Basic editing | Yes | Yes |
| Export to PDF | No | Yes |
| Custom themes | No | Yes |

Alignment:

• :--- = left-aligned
• :---: = center-aligned
• ---: = right-aligned

Horizontal Rules

---
***
___

All three produce a horizontal line.

Footnotes (GFM)

Here is a statement with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Math Equations (KaTeX)

For Markdown viewers that support KaTeX:

Inline Math

The equation $E = mc^2$ is famous.

Display Math

$$
\frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
$$

Common Math Expressions

$$\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i$$          % Summation
$$\int_0^\infty e^{-x} dx$$     % Integral
$$\frac{a}{b}$$                   % Fraction
$$\sqrt{x^2 + y^2}$$             % Square root
$$\begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix}$$  % Matrix

Mermaid Diagrams

For Markdown viewers that support Mermaid:

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A[Write Markdown] --> B[Preview]
    B --> C{Looks good?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Ship it!]
    C -->|No| A
```

Escaping Characters

Use a backslash to display literal characters:

\* Not italic \*
\# Not a heading
\[Not a link\]

HTML in Markdown

Most Markdown renderers support inline HTML:

<details>
<summary>Click to expand</summary>

Hidden content here.

</details>

<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd> to copy.

Best Practices

1. Use blank lines between different elements (headings, paragraphs, lists)
2. Be consistent with list markers (use - or *, not both)
3. Add alt text to images for accessibility
4. Use fenced code blocks with language identifiers for syntax highlighting
5. Keep lines reasonable — long lines are harder to read in source

Viewing Markdown on Mac

To see your Markdown files rendered beautifully with all these features — including tables, code highlighting, math equations, and Mermaid diagrams — try Simply Markdown. It’s a free, native macOS viewer that supports the full Markdown spec plus KaTeX and Mermaid.

Download Simply Markdown from the Mac App Store