What is Markdown?
A Simple Formatting Language
Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It allows you to add formatting to plain text using simple symbols.
Unlike HTML or Word documents, Markdown files are readable even without special software. This makes it perfect for documentation, notes, and content that needs to be portable.
Where Markdown is Used
- GitHub & GitLab: README files, issues, pull requests
- AI Responses: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini format their outputs in Markdown
- Documentation: Technical docs, wikis, knowledge bases
- Note-taking: Obsidian, Notion, Bear, and many others
- Blogs: Jekyll, Hugo, and many static site generators
- Messaging: Slack, Discord, Reddit support Markdown
Why Use Markdown?
- Portable: Plain text works everywhere
- Future-proof: No proprietary format to worry about
- Fast: No clicking through menus, just type
- Readable: Makes sense even without rendering
- Universal: Same syntax across all platforms
Markdown vs HTML
Markdown is converted to HTML for display. You write # Title and it becomes <h1>Title</h1>.
| Markdown | HTML | Result |
|---|---|---|
# Heading | <h1>Heading</h1> | Large title |
**bold** | <strong>bold</strong> | Bold text |
*italic* | <em>italic</em> | Italic text |
[link](url) | <a href="url">link</a> | Clickable link |
Ready to learn?
Now that you know what Markdown is, check out the Markdown Guide for the complete syntax reference.