Alternatively, for H1 and H2, an underline-ish style:
- a task list item
- list syntax required
- normal formatting, @mentions, #1234 refs
- incomplete
- completed
This is intended as a quick reference and showcase. For more complete info, see John Gruber's original spec and the Github-flavored Markdown info page.
This cheatsheet is specifically Markdown Here's version of Github-flavored Markdown. This differs slightly in styling and syntax from what Github uses, so what you see below might vary a little from what you get in a Markdown Here email, but it should be pretty close.
You can play around with Markdown on our live demo page.
foo.html
This is B
There are two spaces at the end of this line
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
There is only one space at the end of this line Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
There are no spaces at the end of this line Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
There are two trailing spaces at the end of this line.
that is easy to manage, but there is a lot of repeated code in there and we as developers HATE repeated code. We have the technology to make this better.
There is only one trailing space at the end of this line Looking at the previous example, just about all the code is duplicated, except for the class names. icon-strategy, icon-strategy_01, icon-chevron-right and icon-chevron-left for instance. Let's take this and using a simple feature in HAML we can write code that will
There is no trailing space at the end of this line loop through a list of these names and then write out the HTML we need for the browser. In the following example, we will take those ico-font class names and place them in an array.
Headers
Emphasis
Lists
Links
Images
Code and Syntax Highlighting
Tables
Blockquotes
Inline HTML
Horizontal Rule
Line Breaks
# H1
## H2
### H3
#### H4
##### H5
###### H6
Alternatively, for H1 and H2, an underline-ish style:
Alt-H1
======
Alt-H2
------
Alternatively, for H1 and H2, an underline-ish style:
## EmphasisEmphasis, aka italics, with *asterisks* or _underscores_.
Strong emphasis, aka bold, with **asterisks** or __underscores__.
Combined emphasis with **asterisks and _underscores_**.
Strikethrough uses two tildes. ~~Scratch this.~~
Emphasis, aka italics, with asterisks or underscores.
Strong emphasis, aka bold, with asterisks or underscores.
Combined emphasis with asterisks and underscores.
Strikethrough uses two tildes. Scratch this.
1. First ordered list item
2. Another item
* Unordered sub-list.
1. Actual numbers don't matter, just that it's a number
1. Ordered sub-list
4. And another item.
Some text that should be aligned with the above item.
* Unordered list can use asterisks
- Or minuses
+ Or pluses
- First ordered list item
- Another item
- Unordered sub-list.
-
Actual numbers don't matter, just that it's a number
-
Ordered sub-list
-
And another item.
Some text that should be aligned with the above item.
- Unordered list can use asterisks
- Or minuses
- sub list
- sub sub list
- sub list
- Or pluses
There are two ways to create links.
[I'm an inline-style link](https://www.google.com)
[I'm a reference-style link][Arbitrary case-insensitive reference text]
[You can use numbers for reference-style link definitions][1]
Or leave it empty and use the [link text itself][]
Some text to show that the reference links can follow later.
[arbitrary case-insensitive reference text]: https://www.mozilla.org
[1]: http://slashdot.org
[link text itself]: http://www.reddit.com
You can use numbers for reference-style link definitions
Or leave it empty and use the link text itself
Some text to show that the reference links can follow later.
## ImagesHere's our logo (hover to see the title text):
Inline-style:

Reference-style:
![alt text][logo]
[logo]: https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/raw/master/src/common/images/icon48.png "Logo Title Text 2"
Here's our logo (hover to see the title text):
Inline-style:
Reference-style:
Code blocks are part of the Markdown spec, but syntax highlighting isn't. However, many renderers -- like Github's and Markdown Here -- support syntax highlighting. Markdown Here supports highlighting for dozens of languages (and not-really-languages, like diffs and HTTP headers); to see the complete list, and how to write the language names, see the highlight.js demo page.
Inline `code` has `back-ticks around` it.
Inline code
has back-ticks around
it.
Blocks of code are either fenced by lines with three back-ticks ```
, or are indented with four spaces. I recommend only using the fenced code blocks -- they're easier and only they support syntax highlighting.
```javascript
var s = "JavaScript syntax highlighting";
alert(s);
```
```python
s = "Python syntax highlighting"
print s
```
```
No language indicated, so no syntax highlighting.
But let's throw in a <b>tag</b>.
```
var s = "JavaScript syntax highlighting";
alert(s);
s = "Python syntax highlighting"
print s
No language indicated, so no syntax highlighting in Markdown Here (varies on Github).
But let's throw in a <b>tag</b>.
(Github Wiki pages don't seem to support syntax highlighting, so the above won't be colourful (the strings are not red, for example). Try it out in a Markdown Here email or a Github Markdown README or Github Issue -- you can preview a new Issue without submitting it.)
Again, to see what languages are available for highlighting, and how to write those language names, see the highlight.js demo page.
## TablesTables aren't part of the core Markdown spec, but they are part of GFM and Markdown Here supports them. They are an easy way of adding tables to your email -- a task that would otherwise require copy-pasting from another application.
Colons can be used to align columns.
| Tables | Are | Cool |
| ------------- |:-------------:| -----:|
| col 3 is | right-aligned | $1600 |
| col 2 is | centered | $12 |
| zebra stripes | are neat | $1 |
The outer pipes (|) are optional, and you don't need to make the raw Markdown line up prettily. You can also use inline Markdown.
Markdown | Less | Pretty
--- | --- | ---
*Still* | `renders` | **nicely**
1 | 2 | 3
Colons can be used to align columns.
Tables | Are | Cool |
---|---|---|
col 3 is | right-aligned | $1600 |
col 2 is | centered | $12 |
zebra stripes | are neat | $1 |
The outer pipes (|) are optional, and you don't need to make the raw Markdown line up prettily. You can also use inline Markdown.
Markdown | Less | Pretty |
---|---|---|
Still | renders |
nicely |
1 | 2 | 3 |
> Blockquotes are very handy in email to emulate reply text.
> This line is part of the same quote.
Quote break.
> This is a very long line that will still be quoted properly when it wraps. Oh boy let's keep writing to make sure this is long enough to actually wrap for everyone. Oh, you can *put* **Markdown** into a blockquote.
Blockquotes are very handy in email to emulate reply text. This line is part of the same quote.
Quote break.
## Inline HTMLThis is a very long line that will still be quoted properly when it wraps. Oh boy let's keep writing to make sure this is long enough to actually wrap for everyone. Oh, you can put Markdown into a blockquote.
You can also use raw HTML in your Markdown, and it'll mostly work pretty well.
<dl>
<dt>Definition list</dt>
<dd>Is something people use sometimes.</dd>
<dt>Markdown in HTML</dt>
<dd>Does *not* work **very** well. Use HTML <em>tags</em>.</dd>
</dl>
- Definition list
- Is something people use sometimes.
- Markdown in HTML
- Does *not* work **very** well. Use HTML tags.
Three or more...
---
Hyphens
***
Asterisks
___
Underscores
Three or more...
Hyphens
Asterisks
Underscores
## Line BreaksMy basic recommendation for learning how line breaks work is to experiment and discover -- hit <Enter> once (i.e., insert one newline), then hit it twice (i.e., insert two newlines), see what happens. You'll soon learn to get what you want. "Markdown Toggle" is your friend.
Here are some things to try out:
Here's a line for us to start with.
This line is separated from the one above by two newlines, so it will be a *separate paragraph*.
This line is also a separate paragraph, but...
This line is only separated by a single newline, so it's a separate line in the *same paragraph*.
Here's a line for us to start with.
This line is separated from the one above by two newlines, so it will be a separate paragraph.
This line is also begins a separate paragraph, but...
This line is only separated by a single newline, so it's a separate line in the same paragraph.
(Technical note: Markdown Here uses GFM line breaks, so there's no need to use MD's two-space line breaks.)
Hello there! This is a sample post for gist.io, a super-lightweight writing soapbox for hackers.
Now look up. Further. Above the post title. See that grey text with the gist ID?
Now back to me. That grey text is a link! Open that sucker in a new tab to see the source for this post. Also, I'm on a horse.
If you peek at it with a web inspector, you'll see that it is a second-level heading. You can use first level headings, but they'll look just like the second level ones, and the gods of the HTML5 outlining algorithm will frown upon you.
There's nothing stopping you from using H3
, H4
, or H5
. They are all appropriately styled with a nod to Bringhurst, and you can check out a preview of how they look below.
Classy, eh? Those are actually real small-caps, courtesy of the lovely argentine typeface, Alegreya (available from Google webfonts in regular and small-caps variants). Here, have some slipsum in a <blockquote>
:
Now that we know who you are, I know who I am. I'm not a mistake! It all makes sense! In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain's going to be? He's the exact opposite of the hero. And most times they're friends, like you and me! I should've known way back when... You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr Glass.
Down here we are quite in the weeds already. I guess this is a good a time as any to say that lists are appropriately styled:
- Bananas
- Cocoa
- Milk
Add bananas, chocolate milk powder, and milk to blender. Blend at high-speed until suitably frothy. Drink and then instagram a pic of your milkshake moustache for extra hipster cool points or something.
- Discard your blender to remove temptation.
- Don't make milkshakes.
- Repeat step 2 until unreasonable desire for milkshakes has abated.
By the way, the "Milkshakes ingredients" subtitle was a fifth-level heading. It's rare that you need those, and I don't think you'll ever need a H6, so I didn't style those at all.
Since you've come this far, you are probably wondering why I don't support something you want me to support. You can help make gist.io better by contributing to the project or filing a bug/feature request.
You can embed images in posts too, and they'll respect the width of your browser:
A photo I took of a woman bathing in the Ganges river