Start with the basics.
Still just plain text.

Headings

Use headings to give a document a clear outline. One hash creates the main heading; add more hashes for deeper sections, up to six levels. Leave a space after the hashes.

# Field notes
## Observations
### The first morning

Use one main heading, then nest sections in order. Clear heading levels make documents easier to navigate with assistive technology.

Paragraphs & line breaks

Leave an empty line between paragraphs. A single newline usually continues the same paragraph. For an intentional line break, place two spaces at the end of the line.

This is one paragraph.

This is another paragraph.

First line with two trailing spaces.  
Second line.

The two trailing spaces can be hard to see. Avoid using forced line breaks where a new paragraph would be clearer.

Bold & italic text

Wrap important text in two asterisks for bold. Use one asterisk for italics, or three for both. Keep the markers snug against the text.

A **clear decision**.
A *quiet moment*.
A ***really important detail***.

Blockquotes

Start a line with a greater-than sign to set it apart as a quotation. For a quote with multiple paragraphs, include a quote marker on the empty line too.

> Every draft is a starting point.
>
> Leave space for the next idea.

Unordered & ordered lists

Use a hyphen and a space for each bullet. Use a number followed by a period for a sequence. Indent a nested list to align with the text of its parent item.

- Research
- Write
  - First draft
  - Revision

1. Open a new document
2. Write a heading
3. Save your work

Keep the bullet marker consistent within a list. Nested content should line up with the text after the parent marker.

Inline code

Put a short command, filename, or code expression between backticks. Markdown punctuation inside a code span is displayed literally.

Save your notes as `journal.md`.
Use `console.log()` to inspect a value.
Show a backtick with `` `example` ``.

Indented code blocks

Indent each line by four spaces to create a plain code block. Keep a blank line before the block. Fenced code blocks are often more convenient and are covered in extended syntax.

An example:

    const greeting = "Hello, reader";
    console.log(greeting);

Links

Write the link text in square brackets, followed immediately by the destination in parentheses. Choose descriptive link text so readers know where the link leads.

Read the [syntax guide](/basic-syntax/).
Visit [Example](https://example.com "Example website").
Contact [the editor](mailto:editor@example.com).

An optional title follows the URL in quotes. To avoid parsing surprises, percent-encode spaces in URLs.

Reference-style links

Separate the visible text from the URL when a paragraph has several links. The label connects each inline reference to its definition elsewhere in the document.

Read the [project notes][notes].

[notes]: https://example.com/notes "Project notes"

Images

Image syntax looks like a link with an exclamation mark in front. The bracketed text describes the image for readers who cannot see it.

![Notebook open beside a cup of tea](notebook.jpg)

This workspace omits remote images to avoid contacting outside servers. Image syntax remains useful in your own Markdown files and publishing tools.

Horizontal rules

Place three or more hyphens on a line by themselves to divide sections. Add blank lines around the rule to distinguish it from a heading underline.

The first part ends here.

---

A new section begins.

Escape special characters

Use a backslash before Markdown punctuation when you want to show the character itself. Code spans are another good option for short syntax examples.

\*This is not italic.\*
\# This is not a heading.
A literal bracket: \[