What Markdown is.

Markdown is a way to write a document so it stays readable before any software turns it into HTML, PDF, or something else.

Most of the syntax is ordinary text with small marks added: # for headings, - for list items, > for quotes, backticks for code, and brackets for links.

The important habit is that the source text should still make sense on its own. Rendering can improve the document, but it should not be the only way to read it.

There is also no single Markdown behavior everywhere. Original Markdown, CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown, Pandoc, MDX, Obsidian, and other systems share many basics and differ on details.

This site keeps the syntax, variants, history, and sources close together, then adds small tools where trying a snippet is clearer than reading about it.