Markdown Quick Guide

Markdown is a lightweight markup language that you can use to add formatting elements to plaintext text documents.

Overview

What is Markdown?

Basically, Markdown is a way to style text while keeping it readable for humans and simple to write. It is a plain text formatting syntax that you can easily convert to HTML or other formats.

Why Use Markdown?

Markdown is widely used for formatting readme files, writing messages in online discussion forums, and creating rich text using a plain text editor. You can always just type any text in your favorite text editor and save it with the .md extension to create a Markdown file. Many platforms, such as GitHub, GitLab, and Reddit, support Markdown, as well as many editors and IDEs.

In Visual Studio Code, you can use the Markdown preview feature to see how your Markdown file will look, for example when it is rendered as HTML on a website, like GitHub. To open a preview of your current markdown file, press Ctrl+Shift+V. To open the Markdown preview to the side, press Ctrl+K and then V.

Markdown Syntax

Headers

You can create headers by using the # symbol. The number of # symbols indicates the level of the header. For example:

# Header 1

## Header 2

### Header 3

#### Header 4

##### Header 5

###### Header 6

Emphasis

You can make text bold or italic using ** or *. For example:

**bold text**
_italic text_

Lists

You can create ordered and unordered lists using numbers or dashes. For example:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

- First item
- Second item
- Third item

Links

You can create links using [text](url). For example:

[Markdown Guide](https://www.markdownguide.org)

Images

You can add images using ![alternative text if image is unavailable](url). For example:

![Markdown Logo](https://markdown-here.com/img/icon256.png)

Code Blocks

You can create code blocks using triple backticks. For example:

```python
print("Hello, World!")
```

Blockquotes

You can create blockquotes using >. For example:

> This is a blockquote.

Tables

You can create tables using pipes | and hyphens -. For example:

| Header 1 | Header 2 |
| -------- | -------- |
| Row 1    | Row 1    |
| Row 2    | Row 2    |

Conclusion

With Markdown, you can type as you go, format when needed, and tools like Visual Studio Code can help you preview the final result and fix any formatting errors that might have occurred. It's a simple and efficient way to create formatted text documents without the need for complex software or formatting tools. Markdown is a great skill to have for creating documentation, writing notes, or sharing information in a clear and readable format.