Learn Markdown

10 short lessons with exercises checked as you type. About twenty minutes, then the quiz.

Start with lesson 1: Italics and bold

0/10 lessons · 27 exercises

All lessons · 0/10 done

Lesson 1 of 10

Italics and bold

Markdown is plain text with a few marks. Wrap a word in one underscore or asterisk for italics, in two asterisks for bold, and in three for both.

Inside a word use asterisks, as in Love**is**bold: underscores in the middle of a word are left alone by many processors.

Exercise 1 of 4

Make the word not italic.

This is not a drill.

Edit the text; the check runs as you type.

How to learn Markdown

  1. Do the lessons in order

    Each lesson explains one element, then gives you two to four small exercises. Type in the box; the preview and the check update as you type. Hint and Show answer are there when you are stuck.

  2. Take the quiz

    Step two: 12 questions on the basics. Check answers shows the score and a one-line reason for every question. Your best score is kept on this device.

  3. Keep the cheat sheet handy

    Step three is the cheat sheet: basic, extended and hack syntax with source and rendered result side by side. The same sheet sits under the Markdown editor with an Insert button for each element.

Good to know

  • Space after the # in headings, blank lines around headings, lists, quotes, rules and code blocks. Processors disagree when they touch.
  • Emphasis inside a word needs asterisks: Love**is**bold. Underscores in the middle of a word are left alone by many processors.
  • Do not indent paragraphs. Four spaces or a tab at the start of a line is a code block.
  • One bullet character per list. Switching between -, * and + mid-list starts a new list in some processors.
  • A line that starts with a number and a period becomes a list. Write 1968\. to keep it as text.
  • Spaces in a URL break the link: use %20, or put the whole URL in angle brackets.
  • Only attribute-less inline tags such as <br>, <sub>, <kbd> and <ins> pass through here. For centred or coloured text, image sizes and link targets, switch to the HTML tab.
  • Markdown inside HTML blocks is not processed. Keep the two on separate lines with a blank line between.

Questions people ask

What is Markdown?

A way to format plain text with a few punctuation marks: # for a heading, ** for bold, - for a bullet. A processor turns it into HTML. John Gruber designed it in 2004 so that the source stays readable as it is; CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown later pinned down the details and added tables, task lists and fenced code.

Where is Markdown used?

README files and documentation, static site generators, note apps, forums, issue trackers, chat apps and many content systems. Because it is plain text it works in any editor, in version control and on every operating system, and it is unlikely to become unreadable in ten years.

How long does it take to learn?

The 10 lessons here take about twenty minutes. Emphasis, headings, links and lists cover most of what people write; tables, footnotes and the rest you can look up on the cheat sheet when you need them.

Do all apps support the same syntax?

The basic syntax renders the same everywhere. Extended elements such as tables, footnotes, highlight and emoji shortcodes depend on the app; test in the app you are writing for. The cheat sheet notes the elements that vary.

How are the exercises checked?

The same renderer as the Markdown editor turns your text into HTML and the check looks for the expected result, so any correct spelling passes: underscores or asterisks, one bullet character or another.

Is my progress saved?

On this device, in your browser. Nothing goes to a server and there is no account. Clearing site data clears the ticks and the quiz score.