Markdown Cheat Sheet Free Online Tool 2026

Last updated March 22, 2026

Headings

Use hash symbols to create headings from H1 to H6:

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

Alternative underline syntax for H1 and H2:

Heading 1
=========

Heading 2
---------

Text Formatting

**Bold text** or __Bold text__
*Italic text* or _Italic text_
***Bold and italic*** or ___Bold and italic___
~~Strikethrough~~
`Inline code`
==Highlighted text== (some flavors)
^Superscript^ (some flavors)
~Subscript~ (some flavors)

Lists

Unordered lists use hyphens, asterisks, or plus signs:

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item
  - Another nested item
- Item three

* Also valid
+ Also valid

Ordered lists:

1. First item
2. Second item
   1. Nested ordered item
   2. Another nested item
3. Third item

Task lists (GitHub Flavored Markdown):

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

Links and Images

Inline link:
[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Hover title")

Reference-style link:
[Link text][ref-id]
[ref-id]: https://example.com "Optional title"

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

Image with link:
[![Alt text](image.jpg)](https://example.com)

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks with language specification for syntax highlighting:

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

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

```sql
SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = 1;
```

Indented code block (4 spaces or 1 tab):

    This is a code block
    indented with 4 spaces

Tables (GitHub Flavored Markdown)

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Column alignment:
| Left     | Center   | Right    |
|:---------|:--------:|---------:|
| text     | text     | 42       |
| text     | text     | 100      |

Blockquotes

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

> Nested blockquote:
>> This is nested one level.
>>> This is nested two levels.

> **Bold in blockquote**
> - List in blockquote
> - Another item

Horizontal Rules

---
***
___

(Three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores)

Escaping Special Characters

Use a backslash to display characters that have special meaning in Markdown:

\*Not italic\*
\**Not bold\**
\# Not a heading
\[Not a link\]
\`Not code\`
\- Not a list item

Characters that need escaping:
\ ` * _ { } [ ] ( ) # + - . !

Footnotes (Extended Markdown)

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

Another sentence with a footnote.[^note]

[^1]: This is the first footnote.
[^note]: This is a named footnote.

Definition Lists (Extended Markdown)

Term 1
: Definition of term 1

Term 2
: First definition of term 2
: Second definition of term 2

HTML in Markdown

Raw HTML is allowed in most Markdown processors:

This is **Markdown** with <em>HTML</em> mixed in.

<div class="custom-box">
  This entire div is raw HTML inside Markdown.

Use HTML for elements Markdown doesn't support:
<kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd> to copy
<mark>Highlighted text</mark>
<details>
  <summary>Click to expand</summary>
  Hidden content here.
</details>