Markdown Cheatsheet: Syntax, Formatting & Structure Quick Reference

Markdown language is used in wikipedia and Hugo. It has support for headers, lists, font style modifications, images, codequotes and tables. Here I keep a short summary of markdown formatting.

This image above is profuced by Flux - text to image AI.

Markdown is a lightweight markup language that you can use to add formatting elements to plaintext text documents. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the most commonly used Markdown syntax, helping you create well-structured and visually appealing documents.

This cheatsheet is part of the Documentation Tools in 2026: Markdown, LaTeX, PDF & Printing Workflows hub.

Markdown Headings (H1–H6)

Headings in Markdown are created using the hash symbol (#). The number of hashes before the heading text indicates the level of the heading.

# H1
## H2
### H3
#### H4
##### H5
###### H6

Bold, Italic, and Emphasis

Markdown provides several ways to emphasize text. You can use asterisks (*) or underscores (_) for italics and double asterisks (**) or double underscores (__) for bold.

Italic

*Italic* or _italic_

Bold

**Bold** or __bold__

Bold and Italic

***Bold and italic*** or ___bold and italic___

Ordered and Unordered Lists

Markdown supports both ordered and unordered lists.

Unordered List

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Subitem 1
  - Subitem 2

Ordered List

1. First item
2. Second item
   1. Subitem 1
   2. Subitem 2

Hyperlinks in Markdown

You can create links by wrapping the link text in square brackets ([]) and then wrapping the URL in parentheses (()).

[Link Text](URL)

Example

Visit [Markdown Guide](https://www.markdownguide.org/) for more information.

Embedding Images

Images are added using an exclamation mark (!) followed by the alt text in square brackets and the image URL in parentheses.

![Alt Text](Image URL)

Example

![Markdown Logo](https://www.markdownguide.org/assets/images/markdown-logo.png)

Blockquotes and Nested Quotes

Blockquotes are created using the greater than symbol (>).

> This is a blockquote.

Nested Blockquotes

> This is the first level of quoting.
>> This is nested blockquote.

Inline Code and Fenced Code Blocks

You can add inline code by wrapping it in backticks (` ). For code blocks, use triple backticks (``` ) before and after the code.

Inline Code

Use `printf()` for printing text in C.

Code Blocks

```python
python def hello_world(): print("Hello, World!")  
```

More about codeblocks in markdown - see separate post: Using Markdown Code Blocks

Horizontal Rules (Dividers)

Horizontal rules are created using three or more dashes (—), asterisks (***), or underscores (___).

---

Tables

Tables in Markdown are created using pipes (|) and hyphens (-).

Example
| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   |
| Cell 3   | Cell 4   |

For alignment options, multi-column formatting, and GFM-specific features, see the Tables in Markdown: Complete Guide.

Task Lists (Checkboxes)

Task lists are a special type of list that allows you to create checkboxes.

Example
- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task

Strikethrough Text

Strikethrough text is created using double tildes (~~).

~~This is strikethrough text.~~

Text Highlighting

Highlighting text is not natively supported in Markdown, but some renderers support it using the == syntax.

Example

==This is highlighted text.==

Subscripts and Superscripts

Subscripts are created using a caret (^) before the text, and superscripts are created using a tilde (~) before the text.

Example

H~2~O is water.
E = mc^2

Math Equations (LaTeX Syntax)

Math equations can be added using LaTeX syntax within dollar signs ($).

Example

$$ E = mc^2 $$

Escaping Special Characters

To escape special characters, use a backslash ().

Example

\*Italic\* or \_italic\_

This comprehensive cheatsheet covers the essential Markdown syntax you need to create well-formatted documents. For more advanced features and customizations, refer to specific renderer documentation or additional resources. If you use Hugo, the Hugo Commands Cheat Sheet is a handy companion reference.

Markdown is also the default storage format for self-hosted wikis and knowledge systems. DokuWiki uses a Markdown-friendly plain-text approach for personal and team knowledge bases. For AI-assisted knowledge systems built on Markdown pages, LLM Wiki explains why the format’s portability and diffability make it the right foundation for compiled knowledge.