A Practical Markdown Cheat Sheet for Shareable Documents
Use this focused Markdown cheat sheet for headings, emphasis, lists, links, tables, tasks, and code, with a rendered sample to compare.
A useful cheat sheet helps you finish a document, not memorise every Markdown dialect. Open the Markdown cheat sheet while drafting, then use this guide to check everyday syntax and its visual result. It covers common document building blocks; specialised math and diagram syntax need their own references.
This sample combines headings, inline styles, a list, quotation, link, table, and task. Copy it as one unit so you can see how the parts work together rather than testing isolated symbols.
# Markdown field guide
## Inline text
**Bold**, *emphasis*, and `inline code`.
## Lists
- First item
- Second item
> A short quotation.
[Documentation](https://spec.commonmark.org/current/)
| Item | State |
|:--|:--|
| Draft | Reviewed |
- [x] GFM task list
The exported image shows the visual hierarchy. Keep the Markdown too: text and link destinations remain editable there, while a PNG is only a visual copy.
- Sections: use
#,##, and###followed by a space for successively smaller headings. Choose levels by document structure rather than by the size you want on one card. - Inline meaning:
**bold**emphasises a key phrase,*emphasis*gives lighter emphasis, and backticks protect a short code identifier. Avoid making an entire paragraph bold. - Lists: use
-for bullets or numbers followed by a period and space for steps. Indent a child beneath its parent item. Blank lines make separate blocks easier to inspect in the source. - Quotation: begin quoted lines with
>. Identify the source in nearby text when you are quoting someone else. - Links and images:
[label](URL)creates a link. An image uses the same bracket-and-parenthesis pattern with an exclamation mark in front; its bracketed text describes the image.
Tables, task lists, and strikethrough are GFM extensions, not a promise made by every Markdown renderer. The CommonMark specification and GFM specification separate the core rules from those extensions. Preview the features in the destination you will actually use.
This second reference adds an ordered list with a nested item, literal asterisks, a thematic break, and a fenced code block. The outer four-backtick fence lets this article show the inner three-backtick fence literally.
### A smaller section
1. Review the draft
- Check the facts
2. Export the result
~~Old wording~~ and \*literal asterisks\*.
---
```javascript
console.log("Ready");
```
A language identifier after a code fence helps a renderer choose highlighting. It does not run the program or verify that the code is correct.
After reviewing the syntax, paste the document into the Markdown converter. Choose a width where the longest line and table remain readable. Inspect the downloaded file rather than relying only on the editor preview, and include important links in the accompanying text because an image has no clickable Markdown links.
Keep the interactive cheat sheet nearby. For specific failures, read common Markdown mistakes; for longer samples and fence handling, continue with the code-block guide.