Learn how to apply basic formatting to your notes, using Markdown. For more advanced formatting syntax, refer to Advanced formatting syntax.
Headings
To create a heading, add up to six # symbols before your heading text. The number of # symbols determines the size of the heading.
# This is a heading 1## This is a heading 2### This is a heading 3#### This is a heading 4##### This is a heading 5###### This is a heading 6
This is a heading 1
This is a heading 2
This is a heading 3
This is a heading 4
This is a heading 5
This is a heading 6
Styling text
Style
Syntax
Example
Output
Bold
** ** or __ __
**Bold text**
Bold text
Italic
* * or _ _
*Italic text*
Italic text
Strikethrough
~~ ~~
~~Striked out text~~
Striked out text
Highlight
== ==
==Highlighted text==
Highlighted text
Bold and nested italic
** ** and _ _
**Bold text and _nested italic_ text**
Bold text and nested italic text
Bold and italic
*** *** or ___ ___
***Bold and italic text***
Bold and italic text
Quotes
You can quote text by adding a > symbols before the text.
> Human beings face ever more complex and urgent problems, and their effectiveness in dealing with these problems is a matter that is critical to the stability and continued progress of society.\- Doug Engelbart, 1961
Human beings face ever more complex and urgent problems, and their effectiveness in dealing with these problems is a matter that is critical to the stability and continued progress of society.
- Doug Engelbart, 1961
Tip
You can turn your quote into a callout by adding [!info] as the first line in a quote.
Code
You can format code both inline within a sentence, or in its own block.
Inline code
You can format code within a sentence using single backticks.
Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code.
Text inside backticks on a line will be formatted like code.
Code blocks
To format a block of code, surround the code with triple backticks.
```
cd ~/Desktop
```
cd ~/Desktop
You can add syntax highlighting to a code block, by adding a language code after the first set of backticks.
function fancyAlert(arg) { if(arg) { $.facebox({div:'#foo'}) }}
Obsidian uses Prism for syntax highlighting. For more information, refer to Supported languages.
Note
Live Preview mode doesn’t support PrismJS and may render syntax highlighting differently.
External links
If you want to link to an external URL, you can create an inline link by surrounding the link text in brackets ([ ]), and then the URL in parentheses (( )).
You can create an unordered list by adding a -, *, or + before the text.
- First list item- Second list item- Third list item
First list item
Second list item
Third list item
To create an ordered list, start each line with a number followed by a . symbol.
1. First list item2. Second list item3. Third list item
First list item
Second list item
Third list item
You can create a nested list by indenting one of more list items.
1. First list item 1. Ordered nested list item2. Second list item - Unordered nested list item
First list item
Ordered nested list item
Second list item
Unordered nested list item
You can press Tab or Shift+Tab to indent or unindent one of more selected list items.
Task lists
To create a task list, start each list item with a hyphen and space followed by [ ].
- [x] This is a completed task.- [ ] This is an incomplete task.
This is a completed task.
This is an incomplete task.
You can toggle a task in Reading view by selecting the checkbox.
Tip
You can use any character inside the brackets to mark it as complete.
- [x] Milk- [?] Eggs- [-] Eggs
Milk
[?] Eggs
[-] Eggs
Horizontal bar
You can use three or more stars ***, hypens ---, or underscore ___ on its own line to add a horizontal bar. You can also separate symbols using spaces.
******** * *-------- - -________ _ _
Footnotes
You can add footnotes1 to your notes using the following syntax:
This is a simple footnote[^1].[^1]: This is the referenced text.[^2]: Add 2 spaces at the start of each new line. This lets you write footnotes that span multiple lines.[^note]: Named footnotes still appears as numbers, but can make it easier to identify and link references.
You can also inline footnotes in a sentence. Note that the caret goes outside the brackets.
You can also use inline footnotes. ^[This is an inline footnote.]
Comments
You can add comments by wrapping text with `inline
This is a block comment.
Block comments can span multiple lines.
%%
## Learn more
To learn more advanced formatting syntax, such as tables, diagrams, and math expressions, refer to [[Advanced formatting syntax]].
To learn more about how Obsidian parses Markdown, refer to [[Obsidian Flavored Markdown]].