Markdown Cheat Sheet (2026) – Quick Reference & Copy‑Ready Examples

Markdown Cheat Sheet

A fast, copy‑ready reference for CommonMark and GitHub‑Flavored Markdown (GFM). Every block includes ready-to-copy examples and rendered output hints. Want to customize this guide? Click Start Editing to create your personalized version, then export to Word or PDF.

Tip: On md2word.com you can paste Markdown, then convert to .docx or .pdf with proper headings, tables, images, Mermaid and more.

Table of Contents

• Headings
• Paragraphs & Line Breaks
• Emphasis
• Lists (ul/ol)
• Task Lists (GFM)
• Links
• Images
• Code (inline & fenced)
• Blockquotes
• Horizontal Rule
• Tables (GFM)
• Footnotes (GFM)
• Definition Lists (some parsers)
• Math (LaTeX via extensions)
• Mermaid Diagrams
• Escaping & Special Characters
• HTML in Markdown
• Platform Notes: GitHub / Obsidian / Notion / Discord
• FAQ

Headings

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

Guideline: Use a single # H1 per page; use hierarchical H2–H4 for structure.

Need heading hierarchy, anchor IDs, and TOC-safe section structure instead of just # syntax? Read the full Markdown Heading Guide.

Paragraphs & Line Breaks

• A blank line starts a new paragraph.
• End a line with two spaces or add <br> for a line break.

First line with two spaces␠␠
forced line break.

Emphasis

*italic*  _italic_
**bold**  __bold__
***bold italic***
~~strikethrough~~

Lists (ul/ol)

Unordered

- Item A
- Item B
  - Nested 1
  - Nested 2

Ordered

1. First
2. Second
3. Third

Tip: Numbers auto-increment; 1. for all items is valid on many parsers.

Need numbering rules, task-list portability, and list-plus-code-block structure that survives export? Read the full Markdown List Guide.

Task Lists (GFM)

- [ ] Todo
- [x] Done

Links

[md2word](https://md2word.com)
<https://md2word.com>               # autolink
[title](https://url "hover title")  # optional title

Reference style

[Home][home]

[home]: https://md2word.com

Need stronger anchor text, safer relative-link strategy, and section-link cautions before export? Read the full Markdown Hyperlink Guide.

Images

![alt text](https://example.com/img.png "optional title")

With width (HTML fallback)

<img src="https://example.com/img.png" alt="desc" width="480">

Need the deeper version with captions, relative paths, HTML sizing, and Pandoc figure behavior? Read the full Markdown Images Guide.

Code (inline & fenced)

Inline code uses backticks: Use \code` for inline`

Fenced blocks

```language
# your code...
```

Common languages: bash, python, javascript, json, yaml, mermaid

Blockquotes

> One level
>> Nested

Horizontal Rule

---
***
___

Tables (GFM)

| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| Tables | ✅ |
| Alignment | ✅ |

Alignment

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a    |   b    |     c |

Need a deeper guide on wide tables, HTML fallbacks, CSV/Excel workflows, and Word export behavior? Read the full Markdown Table Guide.

Footnotes (GFM)

Here is a footnote reference.[^1]

[^1]: The footnote text.

Need the deeper version on GFM vs Pandoc footnotes, nested-definition pitfalls, and export-safe note structure? Read the full Markdown Footnote Guide.

Definition Lists (some parsers)

Term
: Definition 1
: Definition 2

Math (LaTeX via extensions)

Requires a renderer like KaTeX/MathJax.

Inline: $E=mc^2$
Block:

$$
\nabla \cdot \vec{E} = \frac{\rho}{\varepsilon_0}
$$

Need the deeper version with KaTeX vs MathJax, inline vs display math, and export-safe delimiter choices? Read the full Markdown LaTeX Guide.

Mermaid Diagrams

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  A[Start] --> B{Choice?}
  B -->|Yes| C[Path 1]
  B -->|No|  D[Path 2]
```

On md2word.com, Mermaid renders to images for clean PDF/Word export.

Need the deeper version with preview vs export differences, width control, and CLI/browser dependencies? Read the full Markdown Mermaid Guide.

Escaping & Special Characters

Use backslash to escape formatting:

\*not italic\*  \#not a heading

HTML in Markdown

Most parsers allow a subset of HTML:

<details><summary>Toggle</summary>
Hidden content
</details>

Platform Notes: GitHub / Obsidian / Notion / Discord

• GitHub (GFM): supports tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolink. No raw HTML in some contexts (READMEs mostly OK).
• Obsidian: supports internal wikilinks [[Note]], callouts > [!note].
• Notion: imports Markdown, but some advanced syntax may be normalized.
• Discord/Reddit: limited subsets; tables may not render—use code blocks.

FAQ

Q: Which standard does this sheet follow?
Primarily CommonMark with GFM additions (tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolink).

Q: How do I get a PDF/Word version? Click Start Editing to open this guide in our editor, customize as needed, then export to .pdf or .docx. Or paste any Markdown into md2word.com for direct conversion.

Q: Why do my tables break in Word?
Use md2word's conversion—tables are normalized to DOCX tables with consistent borders & alignment.

Changelog

• 2025-10-13: Initial release. Covers CommonMark + GFM, includes Mermaid & Math notes.
• 2026-03-19: Updated the entry guide with stronger intent-based links to the in-depth heading, list, hyperlink, image, footnote, table, Mermaid, and LaTeX guides.

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Pro tip: Explore more: Markdown Heading Guide, Markdown List Guide, Markdown Hyperlink Guide, Markdown Mermaid Guide, Markdown LaTeX Guide, Markdown Table Guide, and Markdown to PDF.