The Markdown Guide
The Markdown Guide
About the Book
You Need to Learn Markdown
I'm a technical writer, and I've used a lot of writing tools over the course of my professional career. One of the most interesting tools I've encountered is Markdown.
I've been using Markdown for years now and I recommend it to everyone I know. There are lots of reasons why you should learn to write using Markdown, but one of the best reasons is that it's better than the alternatives.
Learning Markdown means you can stop using all the subpar writing tools you've tolerated for years. It can also further your career. Believe it or not, knowing how to write using Markdown is a requirement for many jobs.
Markdown is Everywhere
My litmus test for a successful writing tool is whether using it can become second nature. Does writing with it feel natural? Or do I feel like I'm constantly fighting against it? I stop using tools that hinder me. Time is valuable, and I don't have the luxury of indulging things that squander that precious resource.
Markdown passes the test with flying colors. Writing using Markdown just feels right. Since its introduction in 2004, millions of people have starting using it to write everything from notes to documents. It's one of the most successful markup languages of all time.
Markdown has succeeded where other markup languages have failed because it strikes the right balance between power and simplicity. It's easy to learn and simple to use. Its tremendous success means it's ubiquitous enough to replace WYSIWYG editors on websites like Reddit and GitHub. But Markdown is also powerful enough to create documents, books, and technical documentation. Markdown is literally everywhere.
Get Going Fast
So you want to learn to write using Markdown. Great! Now what?
I was in your shoes once, too. I wanted to learn Markdown, but I couldn't find any good resources for beginners. That's why I decided to create the Markdown Guide. It's designed to be a comprehensive reference guide to the Markdown markup language.
Table of Contents
-
Introduction
-
How to Read This Book
- Beginner Resources
- Syntax Examples
- Asides
- Quirks
- Contributing
- Reporting Issues
- Acknowledgements
-
How to Read This Book
-
1. Getting Started
- Why Use Markdown?
- Kicking the Tires
- How Markdown Works
- Flavors of Markdown
- Additional Resources
-
2. Doing Things With Markdown
- Websites
- Documents
- Notes
- Books
- Presentations
- Collaboration
- Documentation
-
3. Basic Syntax
-
Headings
- Alternate Syntax
- Heading Best Practices
-
Paragraphs
- Paragraph Best Practices
-
Line Breaks
- Line Break Best Practices
-
Emphasis
- Bold
- Italic
- Bold and Italic
-
Blockquotes
- Blockquotes with Multiple Paragraphs
- Nested Blockquotes
- Blockquotes with Other Elements
- Blockquotes Best Practices
-
Lists
- Ordered Lists
- Unordered Lists
- Adding Elements in Lists
-
Code
- Escaping Backticks
- Code Blocks
-
Horizontal Rules
- Horizontal Rule Best Practices
-
Links
- Adding Titles
- URLs and Email Addresses
- Formatting Links
- Reference-style Links
- Link Best Practices
-
Images
- Linking Images
-
Escaping Characters
- Characters You Can Escape
-
HTML
- HTML Best Practices
-
Headings
-
4. Extended Syntax
-
Availability
- Lightweight Markup Languages
- Markdown Processors
-
Tables
- Alignment
- Formatting Text in Tables
- Escaping Pipe Characters in Tables
-
Fenced Code Blocks
- Syntax Highlighting
- Footnotes
-
Heading IDs
- Linking to Heading IDs
- Definition Lists
- Strikethrough
- Task Lists
-
Emoji
- Copying and Pasting Emoji
- Using Emoji Shortcodes
-
Automatic URL Linking
- Disabling Automatic URL Linking
-
Availability
-
5. Cheat Sheet
- Basic Syntax
- Extended Syntax
- About the Author
- Notes
The Leanpub 60-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 60 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
Do Well. Do Good.
Authors have earned$11,712,765writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub, earning 80% royalties while saving up to 25 million pounds of CO2 and up to 46,000 trees.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers), EPUB (for phones and tablets) and MOBI (for Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
Top Books
Recipes for Decoupling
Matthias NobackWrite software that survives
OpenIntro Statistics
David Diez, Christopher Barr, Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel, and OpenIntroA complete foundation for Statistics, also serving as a foundation for Data Science.
Leanpub revenue supports OpenIntro (US-based nonprofit) so we can provide free desk copies to teachers interested in using OpenIntro Statistics in the classroom and expand the project to support free textbooks in other subjects.
More resources: openintro.org.
CQRS by Example
Carlos Buenosvinos, Christian Soronellas, and Keyvan Akbary- Leverage your Software Architecture skills by learning everything about CQRS in detail with lots of examples
- Develop faster applications by applying CQRS and fostering Read Models and Projections
- Learn how to apply CQRS into a brownfield project from a pragmatic approach
Maîtriser Apache JMeter
Philippe Mouawad, Bruno Demion (Milamber), and Antonio Gomes RodriguesToute la puissance d'Apache JMeter expliquée par ses commiteurs et utilisateurs experts. De l'intégration continue en passant par le Cloud, vous découvrirez comment intégrer JMeter à vos processus "Agile" et Devops.
If you're looking for the newer english version of this book, go to Master JMeter : From load testing to DevOps
Ansible for DevOps
Jeff GeerlingAnsible is a simple, but powerful, server and configuration management tool. Learn to use Ansible effectively, whether you manage one server—or thousands.
C++20 - The Complete Guide
Nicolai M. JosuttisAll new language and library features of C++20 (for those who know previous C++ versions).
The book presents all new language and library features of C++20. Learn how this impacts day-to-day programming, to benefit in practice, to combine new features, and to avoid all new traps.
Buy early, pay less, free updates.
Other books:
Jetpack Compose internals
Jorge CastilloJetpack Compose is the future of Android UI. Master how it works internally and become a more efficient developer with it. You'll also find it valuable if you are not an Android dev. This book provides all the details to understand how the Compose compiler & runtime work, and how to create a client library using them.
The PowerShell Scripting and Toolmaking Book
Don Jones and Jeff HicksLearn the patterns, practices, and details of PowerShell Scripting and Toolmaking from the industry's two most recognized experts on the subject.
The C4 model for visualising software architecture
Simon BrownA guide to visualising your software architecture with the C4 model.
Mastering STM32 - Second Edition
Carmine NovielloWith more than 1200 microcontrollers, STM32 is probably the most complete ARM Cortex-M platform on the market. This book aims to be the most complete guide around introducing the reader to this exciting MCU portfolio from ST Microelectronics and its official CubeHAL and STM32CubeIDE development environment.
Top Bundles
- #1
Software Architecture
2 Books
"Software Architecture for Developers" is a practical and pragmatic guide to modern, lightweight software architecture, specifically aimed at developers. You'll learn:The essence of software architecture.Why the software architecture role should include coding, coaching and collaboration.The things that you really need to think about before... - #2
CCIE Service Provider Ultimate Study Bundle
2 Books
Piotr Jablonski, Lukasz Bromirski, and Nick Russo have joined forces to deliver the only CCIE Service Provider training resource you'll ever need. This bundle contains a detailed and challenging collection of workbook labs, plus an extensively detailed technical reference guide. All of us have earned the CCIE Service Provider certification... - #4
Pattern-Oriented Memory Forensics and Malware Detection
2 Books
This training bundle for security engineers and researchers, malware and memory forensics analysts includes two accelerated training courses for Windows memory dump analysis using WinDbg. It is also useful for technical support and escalation engineers who analyze memory dumps from complex software environments and need to check for possible... - #6
All the Books of The Medical Futurist
6 Books
We put together the most popular books from The Medical Futurist to provide a clear picture about the major trends shaping the future of medicine and healthcare. Digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, the future of 20 medical specialties, big pharma, data privacy, digital health investments and how technology giants such as Amazon... - #8
The Python Craftsman
3 Books
The Python Craftsman series comprises The Python Apprentice, The Python Journeyman, and The Python Master. The first book is primarily suitable for programmers with some experience of programming in another language. If you don't have any experience with programming this book may be a bit daunting. You'll be learning not just a programming...