How do I make text bold in markdown?

Wrap the text in two asterisks on each side, like **bold**. For italic, use one asterisk or one underscore, like *italic*.

How do I add a link in markdown?

Put the visible text in square brackets followed by the URL in parentheses, like [link text](https://skim.md/). Add a leading exclamation mark to embed an image instead.

How do I write a code block in markdown?

Fence the code with three backticks on their own line above and below it. Add a language name after the opening fence, such as js or python, for syntax highlighting.

Markdown cheat sheet: every syntax with examples

Updated 4 July 2026

A quick-scan reference for every common markdown mark, with copy-ready examples. 5 minute skim.

Markdown syntax cheat sheet with rendered examples

Markdown is plain text with a few light formatting marks. This page lists the syntax you will actually use, grouped by task, with the raw markdown on the left and what it produces on the right. Bookmark it and copy what you need.

Diagram: you type a markdown mark, a renderer reads it, and it becomes formatting — Every mark you type becomes a piece of formatting.

Headings

Start a line with one to six # characters, followed by a space. More hashes means a smaller heading.

Markdown	Renders as
`# Title`	Top-level heading (h1)
`## Section`	Section heading (h2)
`### Subsection`	Sub-section heading (h3)
`###### Smallest`	Smallest heading (h6)

Emphasis

Markdown	Renders as
`bold`	bold
`italic`	italic
`_italic_`	italic
`*bold italic*`	*bold italic*
`~~strikethrough~~`	~~strikethrough~~
`inline code`	`inline code`

Both * and _ work for italic, and doubling them gives bold. Pick one style and stay consistent.

Lists

Unordered lists use a leading -, *, or +. Ordered lists use a number and a dot. Indent to nest.

- First item
- Second item
  - Nested item
  - Another nested item

1. First step
2. Second step
   1. Nested step

Task lists

A GitHub Flavored Markdown extra: put a checkbox after the list marker. Skim and GitHub render these as tick boxes.

- [ ] Not done yet
- [x] Finished

Links and images

Links wrap the visible text in square brackets and the target in parentheses. Images are the same with a leading !.

Markdown	Renders as
`[link text](https://skim.md/)`	A clickable link
`[link text](https://skim.md/ "Title")`	A link with a hover title
`![alt text](image.png)`	An embedded image
`<https://skim.md/>`	An autolink (bare URL)

You can also use reference-style links: write [link text][ref] in the body, then define [ref]: https://skim.md/ lower down. Handy when the same URL appears many times.

Inline code and code blocks

Wrap short snippets in single backticks. For multiple lines, fence the block with three backticks and name the language for syntax highlighting.

Use `console.log()` inline.

```js
const greet = (name) => {
  return "Hello, " + name;
};
```

The language tag after the opening fence (here js) is optional but gives you highlighted output.

Blockquotes

Prefix a line with >. Stack the marker to nest quotes.

> This is a quote.
> It can span multiple lines.
>
> > And it can nest.

Horizontal rules

Put three or more of the same symbol on their own line to draw a divider. Three hyphens, three asterisks, or three underscores all work.

Markdown	Renders as
`***`	A horizontal rule
`___`	A horizontal rule

Tables

Separate columns with pipes and put a divider row of hyphens under the header. Colons in the divider row set column alignment.

| Feature | Supported |
| - | - |
| Tables | Yes |
| Emphasis | Yes |

Alignment: :- aligns left, -: aligns right, and :-: centers a column. Cells do not need to line up in the source; the renderer handles spacing.

GitHub Flavored Markdown extras

GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) adds a few widely supported features on top of the basics. Skim renders all of these.

Feature	Markdown
Task lists	`- [x] done` and `- [ ] to do`
Tables	`\| a \| b \|` with a `\| - \| - \|` divider
Strikethrough	`~~text~~`
Autolinks	A bare `https://skim.md/` becomes a link

Math and diagrams

Skim also renders math and diagrams that plain markdown leaves out. Inline math uses single dollar signs and block math uses doubled ones, powered by KaTeX.

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:
$$
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
$$

Diagrams use a fenced mermaid block, so a flowchart or sequence diagram lives right inside your markdown:

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
  Editor->>Skim: send markdown
  Skim->>Reader: show formatted page
```