Markdown

Write Markdown directly in the editor to easily create content using common syntax

Write Markdown in GitBook.

GitBook’s editor allows you to create formatted content using Markdown.

Markdown is a popular markup syntax that’s widely known for its simplicity. GitBook supports it as a keyboard-friendly way to write rich and structured text.

You can learn more about Markdown itself by visiting Common Mark.

Text formatting

GitBook supports all the classic inline Markdown formatting:

Formatting	Markdown version	Result
Bold	**bold**	bold
Italic	_italic_	italic
Strikethrough	~strikethrough~	strikethrough
Inline code	`code`	code

Line breaks

Press Enter to start a new paragraph.

Press Shift + Enter to insert a soft line break in the same paragraph.

Pasting Markdown

When pasting Markdown content directly into the editor, it’s important to use the Paste and Match Style option (typically Shift + Cmd + V on Mac or Shift + Ctrl + V on Windows).

If you use the standard Paste option for content copied from another editor or from the web, it may be inserted as a code block instead of formatted text.

Titles

• Heading 1: # A first-level title
• Heading 2: ## A second-level title
• Heading 3: ### A third-level title

Code blocks

```⏎ creates a new code block.

```py⏎ creates a new code block with Python syntax highlighting.

We use Prism for syntax highlighting. Use Test Drive Prism to check supported languages.

If GitBook and Prism differ, we might be a version or two behind.

Lists

GitBook automatically detects and creates ordered and unordered lists as you type.

• Begin a line with - or * to start an unordered bullet list.
• Begin a line with 1. to start a numbered list.
• Begin a line with - [ ] to start a task list.

When writing lists, hit Tab to indent, and Shift+Tab to outdent.

Quotes

Begin a line with > to create a block quote. If you select an entire paragraph from start to end, typing > will wrap the content in a block quote.

This is a block quote.

Dividers

Type --- then hit Enter to create a divider on your page.

---

This is an example of a divider.