Markdown
Markdown is a lightweight way of writing and formatting text that has become popular with developers, writers and content creators. Files that use Markdown usually end with the .md extension, and they can be opened in any plain text editor. What makes Markdown appealing is its simplicity: you can create headings, lists, links and other formatting using plain characters, without the need for complicated menus or word processor commands.
For example, a heading in Markdown is created by placing one or more hash symbols before the text. A single hash makes the largest heading, two hashes make a slightly smaller one, and so on. Writing # My Title at the top of a file produces a clear, bold heading when the file is rendered.
Emphasis is just as easy. To make text italic, you place it between single asterisks or underscores, like *italic*. To make it bold, you use double asterisks: **bold**. These symbols are quick to type and do not distract from the flow of writing.
Links and images follow a similar principle. A link is written in square brackets followed by the URL in round brackets, like [example](https://example.com). Images use the same pattern, but with an exclamation mark at the start: . This allows you to add references and media without interrupting the text.
Lists are another feature that feel natural in Markdown. You can make a bulleted list simply by starting lines with a hyphen or an asterisk. Numbered lists use ordinary numbers followed by a full stop. These simple characters create clean, structured lists without the clutter of complex formatting.
The beauty of Markdown is that it remains readable even in its raw form. Unlike HTML, which can be dense with tags, Markdown looks almost like ordinary text with a few symbols sprinkled in. This makes it ideal for note-taking, documentation and blogging. Once processed, Markdown files can be converted into HTML or other formats, ready to be published on the web or styled with a design system.
In short, Markdown offers a straightforward way to add structure and emphasis to plain text files. By learning a handful of simple conventions, you can write documents that are both easy to read in raw form and easy to publish in polished form. That balance between simplicity and power is what has made Markdown so widely used across the web.
Markdown Cheatsheet
Headings
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6
Emphasis
*italic* or _italic_
**bold** or __bold__
***bold and italic***
Lists
Unordered list
- Item 1
- Item 2
- Nested item
* Item 3
Ordered list
1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
Links and Images
[Link text](https://example.com)
Blockquotes
> This is a blockquote.
>> Nested blockquote.
Code
Inline code
`code here`
Code block
```language Code goes here ```
Horizontal Rule
---
***
___
Tables
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Row 1 | Data | More |
| Row 2 | Data | More |
Task Lists (GitHub Flavoured Markdown)
- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
