Intro
Markdown is a lightweight and easy-to-use syntax for styling all forms of writing on the GitHub platform.
What you will learn:
- How the Markdown format makes styled collaborative editing easy
- How Markdown differs from traditional formatting approaches
- How to use Markdown to format text
- How to leverage GitHub’s automatic Markdown rendering
- How to apply GitHub’s unique Markdown extensions
What is Markdown?
markdown is a way to style text on the web. You control the display of the document; formatting words as bold or italic, adding images, and creating lists are just a few of the things we can do with Markdown. Mostly, Markdown is just regular text with a few non-alphabetic characters thrown in, like # or *.
You can use Markdown most places around GitHub:
- Gists
- Comments in Issues and Pull Requests
- Files with the
.mdor.markdownextension
Examples
Text
It's very easy to make some words **bold** and other
words *italic* with Markdown. You can even [link to
Google!](http://google.com)
It’s very easy to make some words bold and other words italic with Markdown. You can even link to Google!
Lists
Sometimes you want numbered lists:
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
Sometimes you want bullet points:
* Start a line with a star
* Profit!
Alternatively,
- Dashes work just as well
- And if you have sub points, put two spaces before the dash or star:
- Like this
- And this
Sometimes you want numbered lists:
- One
- Two
- Three
Sometimes you want bullet points:
- Start a line with a star
- Profit!
Alternatively,
- Dashes work just as well
- And if you have sub points, put two spaces before the dash or star:
- Like this
- And this
Images
If you want to embed images, this is how you do it:
If you want to embed images, this is how you do it:
Headers & Quotes
# Structured documents
Sometimes it's useful to have different levels of headings to structure your documents. Start lines with a `#` to create headings. Multiple `##` in a row denote smaller heading sizes.
#### This is a third-tier heading
You can use one `#` all the way up to `######` six for different heading sizes.
If you'd like to quote someone, use the > character before the line:
> Coffee. The finest organic suspension ever devised... I beat the Borg with it.
> - Captain Janeway
Structured documents
Sometimes it’s useful to have different levels of headings to structure your documents. Start lines with a # to create headings. Multiple ## in a row denote smaller heading sizes.
This is a third-tier heading
You can use one # all the way up to ###### six for different heading sizes.
If you’d like to quote someone, use the > character before the line:
Coffee. The finest organic suspension ever devised… I beat the Borg with it.
- Captain Janeway
Code
There are many different ways to style code with GitHub's markdown. If you have inline code blocks, wrap them in backticks: `var example = true`. If you've got a longer block of code, you can indent with four spaces:
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
GitHub also supports something called code fencing, which allows for multiple lines without indentation:
```
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
```
And if you'd like to use syntax highlighting, include the language:
```javascript
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
```
There are many different ways to style code with GitHub’s markdown. If you have inline code blocks, wrap them in backticks: var example = true. If you’ve got a longer block of code, you can indent with four spaces:
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
GitHub also supports something called code fencing, which allows for multiple lines without indentation:
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
And if you’d like to use syntax highlighting, include the language:
if (isAwesome){
return true
}
Extras
GitHub supports many extras in Markdown that help you reference and link to people. If you ever want to direct a comment at someone, you can prefix their name with an @ symbol: Hey @kneath — love your sweater!
But I have to admit, tasks lists are my favorite:
- [x] This is a complete item
- [ ] This is an incomplete item
When you include a task list in the first comment of an Issue, you will see a helpful progress bar in your list of issues. It works in Pull Requests, too!
And, of course emoji! :sparkles: :camel: :boom:
GitHub supports many extras in Markdown that help you reference and link to people. If you ever want to direct a comment at someone, you can prefix their name with an @ symbol: Hey @kneath — love your sweater!
But I have to admit, tasks lists are my favorite:
- This is a complete item
- This is an incomplete item
When you include a task list in the first comment of an Issue, you will see a helpful progress bar in your list of issues. It works in Pull Requests, too!
And, of course emoji! :sparkles: :camel: :boom:
