Markdown cheat sheet: the syntax you will use every day

4 min read

Markdown is a simple way of writing formatted text using plain characters. It is used in README files, notes, forums and by AI chat tools, which is why symbols like ** and ## show up when you copy their answers.

Headings

Put one to six # signs at the start of a line. More signs make a smaller heading.

# Main title
## Section
### Sub-section

Bold, italic and code

**bold text**
*italic text*
`inline code`

Lists

Start lines with a dash for bullets, or with numbers for a numbered list. Indent by two spaces for a sub-item.

- First item
- Second item
  - A sub-item

1. Step one
2. Step two

Links and images

[Link text](https://example.com)
![Alt text](https://example.com/photo.jpg)

Quotes and rules

> A quoted line

---

Tables

Separate columns with the pipe character. The second line, made of dashes, marks the header.

| Name | Role |
| --- | --- |
| Ann | Editor |
| Bo | Writer |

Code blocks

Put three backticks on their own line above and below the code.

Turning Markdown into HTML

The Markdown to HTML converter on Toolstia shows a live preview as you type, then lets you copy the HTML or download it as a web page. HTML you type into the Markdown is shown as text and not run, so it is safe to convert text from other people.

Pasting AI answers into Word

If you copied an AI answer and see ## and ** everywhere, the AI text to Word tool converts the Markdown into real headings, bold text, lists and tables that you can paste into Word or Google Docs. To only strip the symbols, use the AI text cleaner.