Markdown
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What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It lets you format text using simple, readable syntax that converts to HTML. Markdown is used everywhere: GitHub READMEs and issues, Reddit comments, Notion pages, Discord messages, Stack Overflow answers, and countless documentation sites.

Its simplicity is its strength. You don't need to learn HTML tags or use a visual editor. Just type naturally with a few symbols for formatting, and you get clean, structured output.

Markdown Syntax Cheat Sheet

SyntaxResult
# Heading 1Heading level 1
## Heading 2Heading level 2
**bold**Bold text
*italic*Italic text
~~strikethrough~~Strikethrough text
[text](url)Hyperlink
![alt](url)Image
`inline code`Inline code
```langFenced code block
> quoteBlockquote
- itemUnordered list
1. itemOrdered list
- [x] taskTask list checkbox
---Horizontal rule

What is GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM)?

GitHub Flavored Markdown is a superset of standard Markdown used on GitHub. It adds several features that have become industry-standard: tables (using pipes and hyphens), task lists (checkboxes with - [x]), strikethrough text (with tildes), fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting, and auto-linked URLs. This previewer supports all GFM features.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Markdown?
Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It uses plain-text formatting syntax that can be converted to HTML. It's widely used on GitHub, Reddit, Stack Overflow, Notion, Discord, and many documentation platforms.
What is GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM)?
GFM is a superset of standard Markdown used on GitHub. It adds support for tables, task lists, strikethrough text, fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting, and auto-linked URLs.
How do I create a table in Markdown?
Use pipes (|) to separate columns and hyphens (-) for the header row separator. For example: | Header 1 | Header 2 | followed by |----------|----------| and then | Cell 1 | Cell 2 |.
How do I add syntax highlighting to code blocks?
Use fenced code blocks with a language identifier. Start with three backticks followed by the language name (e.g., ```javascript), write your code, then close with three backticks. Common languages include js, python, html, css, json, and bash.
How do I export my Markdown as HTML?
In this Markdown previewer, click the "Copy HTML" button in the toolbar to copy the rendered HTML output to your clipboard. You can then paste it into any HTML file or CMS that accepts raw HTML.