--- date: 2016-04-09T16:50:16+02:00 title: Markdown syntax weight: 15 --- Let's face it: Writing content for the Web is tiresome. WYSIWYG editors help alleviate this task, but they generally result in horrible code, or worse yet, ugly web pages. **Markdown** is a better way to write **HTML**, without all the complexities and ugliness that usually accompanies it. Some of the key benefits are: 1. Markdown is simple to learn, with minimal extra characters so it's also quicker to write content. 2. Less chance of errors when writing in markdown. 3. Produces valid XHTML output. 4. Keeps the content and the visual display separate, so you cannot mess up the look of your site. 5. Write in any text editor or Markdown application you like. 6. Markdown is a joy to use! John Gruber, the author of Markdown, puts it like this: > The overriding design goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to make it as readable as possible. The idea is that a Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it’s been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. While Markdown’s syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters, the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown’s syntax is the format of plain text email. > -- John Gruber Without further delay, let us go over the main elements of Markdown and what the resulting HTML looks like: {{% notice info %}} Bookmark this page and the [official Commonmark reference](https://commonmark.org/help/) for easy future reference! {{% /notice %}} ## Headings Headings from `h1` through `h6` are constructed with a `#` for each level: ```markdown # h1 Heading ## h2 Heading ### h3 Heading #### h4 Heading ##### h5 Heading ###### h6 Heading ``` Renders to: # h1 Heading ## h2 Heading ### h3 Heading #### h4 Heading ##### h5 Heading ###### h6 Heading HTML: ```html

h1 Heading

h2 Heading

h3 Heading

h4 Heading

h5 Heading
h6 Heading
``` ## Comments Comments should be HTML compatible ```html ``` Comment below should **NOT** be seen: ## Horizontal Rules The HTML `
` element is for creating a "thematic break" between paragraph-level elements. In markdown, you can create a `
` with `---` - three consecutive dashes renders to: --- ## Paragraphs Any text not starting with a special sign is written as normal, plain text and will be wrapped within `

` tags in the rendered HTML. So this body copy: ```markdown Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, graecis denique ei vel, at duo primis mandamus. Et legere ocurreret pri, animal tacimates complectitur ad cum. Cu eum inermis inimicus efficiendi. Labore officiis his ex, soluta officiis concludaturque ei qui, vide sensibus vim ad. ``` renders to this HTML: ```html

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, graecis denique ei vel, at duo primis mandamus. Et legere ocurreret pri, animal tacimates complectitur ad cum. Cu eum inermis inimicus efficiendi. Labore officiis his ex, soluta officiis concludaturque ei qui, vide sensibus vim ad.

``` ## Text Markers ### Bold For emphasizing a snippet of text with a heavier font-weight. The following snippet of text is **rendered as bold text**. ```markdown **rendered as bold text** ``` renders to: **rendered as bold text** and this HTML ```html rendered as bold text ``` ### Italics For emphasizing a snippet of text with italics. The following snippet of text is _rendered as italicized text_. ```markdown _rendered as italicized text_ ``` renders to: _rendered as italicized text_ and this HTML: ```html rendered as italicized text ``` ### Strikethrough In GFM (GitHub flavored Markdown) you can do strikethroughs. ```markdown ~~Strike through this text.~~ ``` Which renders to: ~~Strike through this text.~~ HTML: ```html Strike through this text. ``` ## Blockquotes For quoting blocks of content from another source within your document. Add `>` before any text you want to quote. ```markdown > **Fusion Drive** combines a hard drive with a flash storage (solid-state drive) and presents it as a single logical volume with the space of both drives combined. ``` Renders to: > **Fusion Drive** combines a hard drive with a flash storage (solid-state drive) and presents it as a single logical volume with the space of both drives combined. and this HTML: ```html

Fusion Drive combines a hard drive with a flash storage (solid-state drive) and presents it as a single logical volume with the space of both drives combined.

``` Blockquotes can also be nested: ```markdown > Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi. > > > Sed adipiscing elit vitae augue consectetur a gravida nunc vehicula. Donec auctor odio non est accumsan facilisis. Aliquam id turpis in dolor tincidunt mollis ac eu diam. > > Mauris sit amet ligula egestas, feugiat metus tincidunt, luctus libero. Donec congue finibus tempor. Vestibulum aliquet sollicitudin erat, ut aliquet purus posuere luctus. ``` Renders to: > Donec massa lacus, ultricies a ullamcorper in, fermentum sed augue. Nunc augue augue, aliquam non hendrerit ac, commodo vel nisi. > > > Sed adipiscing elit vitae augue consectetur a gravida nunc vehicula. Donec auctor odio non est accumsan facilisis. Aliquam id turpis in dolor tincidunt mollis ac eu diam. > > Mauris sit amet ligula egestas, feugiat metus tincidunt, luctus libero. Donec congue finibus tempor. Vestibulum aliquet sollicitudin erat, ut aliquet purus posuere luctus. ## Lists ### Unordered A list of items in which the order of the items does not explicitly matter. You may use any of the following symbols to denote bullets for each list item: ```markdown * valid bullet - valid bullet + valid bullet ``` For example ```markdown + Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet + Consectetur adipiscing elit + Integer molestie lorem at massa + Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet + Nulla volutpat aliquam velit - Phasellus iaculis neque - Purus sodales ultricies - Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem - Ac tristique libero volutpat at + Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel + Aenean sit amet erat nunc + Eget porttitor lorem ``` Renders to: + Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet + Consectetur adipiscing elit + Integer molestie lorem at massa + Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet + Nulla volutpat aliquam velit - Phasellus iaculis neque - Purus sodales ultricies - Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem - Ac tristique libero volutpat at + Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel + Aenean sit amet erat nunc + Eget porttitor lorem And this HTML ```html ``` ### Ordered A list of items in which the order of items does explicitly matter. ```markdown 1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 4. Consectetur adipiscing elit 2. Integer molestie lorem at massa 8. Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet 4. Nulla volutpat aliquam velit 99. Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel 21. Aenean sit amet erat nunc 6. Eget porttitor lorem ``` Renders to: 1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 2. Consectetur adipiscing elit 3. Integer molestie lorem at massa 4. Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet 5. Nulla volutpat aliquam velit 6. Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel 7. Aenean sit amet erat nunc 8. Eget porttitor lorem And this HTML: ```html
  1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
  2. Consectetur adipiscing elit
  3. Integer molestie lorem at massa
  4. Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet
  5. Nulla volutpat aliquam velit
  6. Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel
  7. Aenean sit amet erat nunc
  8. Eget porttitor lorem
``` **TIP**: If you just use `1.` for each number, Markdown will automatically number each item. For example: ```markdown 1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 1. Consectetur adipiscing elit 1. Integer molestie lorem at massa 1. Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet 1. Nulla volutpat aliquam velit 1. Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel 1. Aenean sit amet erat nunc 1. Eget porttitor lorem ``` Renders to: 1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 2. Consectetur adipiscing elit 3. Integer molestie lorem at massa 4. Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet 5. Nulla volutpat aliquam velit 6. Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel 7. Aenean sit amet erat nunc 8. Eget porttitor lorem ## Code ### Inline code Wrap inline snippets of code with `` ` ``. ```markdown In this example, `
` should be wrapped as **code**. ``` Renders to: In this example, `
` should be wrapped as **code**. HTML: ```html

In this example, <section></section> should be wrapped as code.

``` ### Indented code Or indent several lines of code by at least two spaces, as in: ```markdown // Some comments line 1 of code line 2 of code line 3 of code ``` Renders to: // Some comments line 1 of code line 2 of code line 3 of code HTML: ```html 
  
    // Some comments
    line 1 of code
    line 2 of code
    line 3 of code
``` ### Block code "fences" Use "fences" ```` ``` ```` to block in multiple lines of code. ```markdown Sample text here... ``` HTML: ```html 
  Sample text here...
``` ### Syntax highlighting GFM, or "GitHub Flavored Markdown" also supports syntax highlighting. To activate it, usually you simply add the file extension of the language you want to use directly after the first code "fence", ` ```js `, and syntax highlighting will automatically be applied in the rendered HTML. See [Code Highlighting]({{% relref "syntaxhighlight.md" %}}) for additional documentation. For example, to apply syntax highlighting to JavaScript code: ```plaintext ```js grunt.initConfig({ assemble: { options: { assets: 'docs/assets', data: 'src/data/*.{json,yml}', helpers: 'src/custom-helpers.js', partials: ['src/partials/**/*.{hbs,md}'] }, pages: { options: { layout: 'default.hbs' }, files: { './': ['src/templates/pages/index.hbs'] } } } }; ``` ``` Renders to: ```js grunt.initConfig({ assemble: { options: { assets: 'docs/assets', data: 'src/data/*.{json,yml}', helpers: 'src/custom-helpers.js', partials: ['src/partials/**/*.{hbs,md}'] }, pages: { options: { layout: 'default.hbs' }, files: { './': ['src/templates/pages/index.hbs'] } } } }; ``` ## Tables Tables are created by adding pipes as dividers between each cell, and by adding a line of dashes (also separated by bars) beneath the header. Note that the pipes do not need to be vertically aligned. ```markdown | Option | Description | | ------ | ----------- | | data | path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates. | | engine | engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default. | | ext | extension to be used for dest files. | ``` Renders to: | Option | Description | | ------ | ----------- | | data | path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates. | | engine | engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default. | | ext | extension to be used for dest files. | And this HTML: ```html
Option Description
data path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates.
engine engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default.
ext extension to be used for dest files.
``` ### Right aligned text Adding a colon on the right side of the dashes below any heading will right align text for that column. ```markdown | Option | Description | | ------:| -----------:| | data | path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates. | | engine | engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default. | | ext | extension to be used for dest files. | ``` | Option | Description | | ------:| -----------:| | data | path to data files to supply the data that will be passed into templates. | | engine | engine to be used for processing templates. Handlebars is the default. | | ext | extension to be used for dest files. | ## Links ### Basic link ```markdown [Assemble](http://assemble.io) ``` Renders to (hover over the link, there is no tooltip): [Assemble](http://assemble.io) HTML: ```html Assemble ``` ### Add a tooltip ```markdown [Upstage](https://github.com/upstage/ "Visit Upstage!") ``` Renders to (hover over the link, there should be a tooltip): [Upstage](https://github.com/upstage/ "Visit Upstage!") HTML: ```html Upstage ``` ### Named Anchors Named anchors enable you to jump to the specified anchor point on the same page. For example, each of these chapters: ```markdown # Table of Contents * [Chapter 1](#chapter-1) * [Chapter 2](#chapter-2) * [Chapter 3](#chapter-3) ``` will jump to these sections: ```markdown ## Chapter 1 Content for chapter one. ## Chapter 2 Content for chapter one. ## Chapter 3 Content for chapter one. ``` **NOTE** that specific placement of the anchor tag seems to be arbitrary. They are placed inline here since it seems to be unobtrusive, and it works. ## Images {#images} Images have a similar syntax to links but include a preceding exclamation point. ```markdown ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png) ``` ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png) or ```markdown ![Alt text](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg "The Stormtroopocat") ``` ![Alt text](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg "The Stormtroopocat") Like links, Images also have a footnote style syntax ### Alternative usage : note images ```markdown ![Alt text][id] ``` ![Alt text][id] With a reference later in the document defining the URL location: [id]: https://octodex.github.com/images/dojocat.jpg "The Dojocat" [id]: https://octodex.github.com/images/dojocat.jpg "The Dojocat" ### Further image formatting The Hugo markdown parser supports additional non-standard functionality. #### Resizing image Add HTTP parameters `width` and/or `height` to the link image to resize the image. Values are CSS values (default is `auto`). ```markdown ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?width=20pc) ``` ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?width=20pc) ```markdown ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?height=50px) ``` ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?height=50px) ```markdown ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?height=50px&width=300px) ``` ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?height=50px&width=300px) #### Add CSS classes Add a HTTP `classes` parameter to the link image to add CSS classes. `shadow`and `border` are available but you could define other ones. ```markdown ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?classes=shadow) ``` ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?width=40pc&classes=shadow) ```markdown ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?classes=border) ``` ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?width=40pc&classes=border) ```markdown ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?classes=border,shadow) ``` ![stormtroopocat](https://octodex.github.com/images/stormtroopocat.jpg?width=40pc&classes=border,shadow) #### Lightbox Add a HTTP `featherlight` parameter to the link image to disable lightbox. By default lightbox is enabled using the featherlight.js plugin. You can disable this by defining `featherlight` to `false`. ```markdown ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?featherlight=false) ``` ![Minion](https://octodex.github.com/images/minion.png?featherlight=false)