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learn.fttgsolutions.com · Cheat Sheets

Markdown Cheat Sheet

Write. Format. Render.

Headings

H1	`# Heading 1`	Top-level heading. There should typically be only one H1 per document.
H2	`## Heading 2`	Second-level heading — used for major sections.
H3	`### Heading 3`	Third-level heading — used for sub-sections.
H4 – H6	`#### H4 ##### H5 ###### H6`	Deeper heading levels using 4, 5, or 6 hash symbols.
Setext H1	`Heading 1 =========`	Alternate H1 syntax using a line of = signs beneath the text.
Setext H2	`Heading 2 ---------`	Alternate H2 syntax using a line of - signs beneath the text.

Emphasis

Bold	`bold text`	Wrap text in double asterisks or double underscores (__bold__) for bold.
Italic	`italic text`	Wrap text in single asterisks or single underscores (_italic_) for italic.
Bold + Italic	`*bold and italic*`	Triple asterisks (or underscores) for combined bold and italic emphasis.
Strikethrough	`~~strikethrough~~`	Wrap text in double tildes to render with a strikethrough line. (GFM extension)
Inline code	`inline code`	Wrap text in backticks to render as monospaced code inline.
Highlight	`==highlighted==`	Some renderers (like Obsidian) support == for highlighted text.

Lists

Unordered list	`- Item 1 - Item 2 - Item 3`	Use -, *, or + as bullet markers. All three are interchangeable.
Ordered list	`1. First 2. Second 3. Third`	Number followed by a period. Numbers don't need to be sequential — the renderer counts them.
Nested list	`- Item 1 - Sub-item A - Sub-item B - Item 2`	Indent sub-items by 2–4 spaces (or one tab) to create nesting.
Task / checkbox	`- [ ] Unchecked task - [x] Completed task`	GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) renders these as interactive checkboxes. x = checked.

Links

Inline link	`[Link text](https://example.com)`	Square brackets hold the display text, parentheses hold the URL.
Link with title	`[Link text](https://example.com "Tooltip text")`	Add a quoted title inside the parentheses to show a tooltip on hover.
Reference link	`[Link text][ref] [ref]: https://example.com`	Define the URL separately using a label. Keeps the text clean for long URLs used multiple times.
Bare URL	`<https://example.com>`	Angle brackets auto-link a URL. Also works for email: <user@example.com>.
Anchor link	`[Go to section](#section-heading)`	Link to a heading within the same document. Headings become anchors (lowercase, hyphens for spaces).

Images

Basic image	`![Alt text](image.png)`	Same as a link but with a ! prefix. Alt text improves accessibility and SEO.
Image with title	`![Alt text](image.png "Title here")`	Adds a tooltip title that appears on hover.
Reference image	`![Alt text][img-ref] [img-ref]: image.png`	Define the image URL separately using a reference label.
Linked image	`[![Alt text](image.png)](https://example.com)`	Wrap an image in a link by nesting the image syntax inside link brackets.

Code

Inline code	`const x = 1;`	Single backticks render code inline with monospaced font.
Fenced code block	```javascript console.log('hello'); ```	Triple backticks create a code block. Add a language identifier for syntax highlighting.
Tilde fence	`~~~css .btn { color: red; } ~~~`	Alternative to backtick fencing. Useful when your code contains backticks.
Indented code block	`// 4 spaces indent const x = 1;`	Indent each line by 4 spaces or 1 tab. Works in basic Markdown without backticks.

Blockquotes

Basic blockquote	`> This is a blockquote.`	Prefix lines with > to create a blockquote.
Multi-line	`> Line one > Line two > Line three`	Prefix each line with > for a multi-line blockquote.
Nested blockquote	`> Outer quote > > > Inner (nested) quote`	Use >> (with a blank > line between) to nest blockquotes.
Blockquote with content	`> ### Heading inside quote > Some text.`	Blockquotes can contain other Markdown elements like headings and lists.

Tables

Basic table	`\| Name \| Age \| \|-------\|-----\| \| Alice \| 30 \| \| Bob \| 25 \|`	GFM tables: headers in the first row, a separator row of dashes, then data rows. Pipes separate columns.
Left align	`\| Column \| \|:-------\| \| data \|`	Colon on the left of the separator dashes aligns the column to the left.
Center align	`\| Column \| \|:------:\| \| data \|`	Colons on both sides of the dashes centers the column.
Right align	`\| Column \| \|-------:\| \| data \|`	Colon on the right of the dashes aligns the column to the right.

Horizontal Rules

Dashes	`---`	Three or more dashes on their own line produce a horizontal divider rule.
Asterisks	`***`	Three or more asterisks also produce a horizontal rule.
Underscores	`___`	Three or more underscores produce a horizontal rule.

Escaping & Special

Escape character	`\not italic\`	Prefix a Markdown character with \ to display it literally.
Escapable chars	\ ` * _ {} [] () # + - . !	These characters have special meaning in Markdown. Escape them with \ when you want the literal symbol.
Line break	`First line Second line`	End a line with two or more spaces, then press Enter to insert a hard line break (\<br\>).
Comment (HTML)	`<!-- This is a comment -->`	Markdown supports HTML comments. They are not rendered in the output.
HTML inline	`<strong>bold</strong>`	Raw HTML is supported in most Markdown renderers. Useful for features Markdown doesn't natively support.
Paragraph break	`Paragraph one. Paragraph two.`	A blank line between text creates a new paragraph.

GFM Extensions

Strikethrough	`~~text~~`	GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) renders double tildes as strikethrough text.
Task list	`- [ ] Todo - [x] Done`	Interactive checkboxes in GitHub pull requests, issues, and wikis.
Footnote	`Text[^1] [^1]: Footnote content.`	Some renderers (GitHub, Obsidian) support footnotes with a [^label] syntax.
Definition list	`Term : Definition here`	Supported in some Markdown flavors (MultiMarkdown, Pandoc) — not standard GFM.
Emoji	`:rocket: :tada: :white_check_mark:`	GitHub and many other renderers support emoji shortcodes wrapped in colons.
Auto-link	`www.example.com`	GFM auto-links URLs that start with http://, https://, or www. without needing angle brackets.