Learn how to apply basic formatting to your notes, using [Markdown](https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/). For more advanced formatting syntax, refer to [[Advanced formatting syntax]].
## Paragraphs
To create paragraphs in Markdown, use a **blank line** to separate blocks of text. Each block of text separated by a blank line is treated as a distinct paragraph.
```md
This is a paragraph.
This is another paragraph.
```
This is a paragraph.
This is another paragraph.
A blank line between lines of text creates separate paragraphs. This is the default behavior in Markdown.
> [!tip] Multiple blank spaces
> Multiple adjacent blank spaces within and between paragraphs collapse into a single space when displayed in [[Edit and preview Markdown#Editor views|Reading view]] or on [[Introduction to Obsidian Publish|Obsidian Publish]] sites.
>
> ```md
> Multiple adjacent spaces
>
>
>
> and multiple newlines between paragraphs.
> ```
>
> > Multiple adjacent spaces
> >
> >
> >
> > and multiple newlines between paragraphs.
>
> If you want to prevent spaces from collapsing or add multiple blank spaces, you can use the ` ` (non-breaking space) or `<br>` (line break) HTML tags.
### Line breaks
By default in Obsidian, pressing `Enter` once will create a new line in your note, but this is treated as a *continuation* of the same paragraph in the rendered output, following typical Markdown behavior. To insert a line break *within* a paragraph without starting a new paragraph, you can either:
- Add **two spaces** at the end of a line before pressing `Enter`, or
- Use the shortcut `Shift + Enter` to directly insert a line break.
> [!question]- Why don't multiple `Enter` presses create more line breaks in reading view?
> In Markdown, a single `Enter` is ignored, and multiple consecutive `Enter` presses result in just one new paragraph. This behavior aligns with Markdown’s soft wrap rule, where extra blank lines do not generate additional line breaks or paragraphs—they are collapsed into a single paragraph break. This is how Markdown handles text by default, ensuring that paragraphs flow naturally without unexpected breaks.
Obsidian includes a **Strict Line Breaks** setting, which makes Obsidian follow the standard Markdown specification for line breaks.
To enable this feature:
1. Open **Settings**.
2. Go to the **Editor** tab.
3. Enable **Strict Line Breaks**.
When **Strict Line Breaks** is enabled in Obsidian, line breaks have three distinct behaviors depending on how the lines are separated:
**Single return with no spaces**: A single `Enter` with no trailing spaces will combine the two separate lines into a single line when rendered.
```md
line one
line two
```
Renders as:
line one line two
**Single return with two or more trailing spaces**: If you add two or more spaces at the end of the first line before pressing `Enter`, the two lines remain part of the same paragraph, but are broken by a line break (HTML `<br>` element). We'll use two underscores to stand in for spaces in this example.
```md
line three__
line four
```
Renders as:
line three<br>
line four
**Double return (with or without trailing spaces)**: Pressing `Enter` twice (or more) separates the lines into two distinct paragraphs (HTML `<p>` elements), regardless of whether you add spaces at the end of the first line.
```md
line five
line six
```
Renders as:
<p>line five</p>
<p>line six</p>
## Headings
To create a heading, add up to six `#` symbols before your heading text. The number of `#` symbols determines the size of the heading.
```md
# 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
```
%% These headings use HTML to avoid cluttering the Outline/Table of contents %%
<h1>This is a heading 1</h1>
<h2>This is a heading 2</h2>
<h3>This is a heading 3</h3>
<h4>This is a heading 4</h4>
<h5>This is a heading 5</h5>
<h6>This is a heading 6</h6>
## Bold, italics, highlights
Text formatting can also be applied using [[Editing shortcuts]].
| 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*** |
Formatting can be forced to display in plain text by adding a backslash `\` in front of it.
\*\*This line will not be bold\*\*
```markdown
\*\*This line will not be bold\*\*
```
\**This line will be italic and show the asterisks*\*
```markdown
\**This line will be italic and show the asterisks*\*
```
## Internal links
Obsidian supports two formats for [[internal links]] between notes:
- Wikilink: `[[Three laws of motion]]`
- Markdown: `[Three laws of motion](Three%20laws%20of%20motion.md)`
## 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 (`( )`).
```md
[Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md)
```
[Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md)
You can also create external links to files in other vaults, by linking to an [[Obsidian URI|Obsidian URI]].
```md
[Note](obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=Note.md)
```
### Escape blank spaces in links
If your URL contains blank spaces, you must escape them by replacing them with `%20`.
```md
[My Note](obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My%20Note.md)
```
You can also escape the URL by wrapping it with angled brackets (`< >`).
```md
[My Note](<obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My Note.md>)
```
## External images
You can add images with external URLs, by adding a `!` symbol before an [[#External links|external link]].
```md
```
You can change the image dimensions, by adding `|640x480` to the link destination, where 640 is the width and 480 is the height.
```md
```
If you only specify the width, the image scales according to its original aspect ratio. For example:
```md
```
> [!tip]
> If you want to add an image from inside your vault, you can also [[Embed files#Embed an image in a note|embed an image in a note]].
## Quotes
You can quote text by adding a `>` symbols before the text.
```md
> 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 [[Callouts|callout]] by adding `[!info]` as the first line in a quote.
## Lists
You can create an unordered list by adding a `-`, `*`, or `+` before the text.
```md
- 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.
```md
1. First list item
2. Second list item
3. Third list item
```
1. First list item
2. Second list item
3. Third list item
### Task lists
To create a task list, start each list item with a hyphen and space followed by `[ ]`.
```md
- [x] This is a completed task.
- [ ] This is an incomplete task.
```
- [x] 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.
>
> ```md
> - [x] Milk
> - [?] Eggs
> - [-] Eggs
> ```
>
> - [x] Milk
> - [?] Eggs
> - [-] Eggs
### Nesting lists
You can nest any type of list—ordered, unordered, or task lists—under any other type of list.
To create a nested list, indent one or more list items. You can mix list types within a nested structure:
```md
1. First list item
1. Ordered nested list item
2. Second list item
- Unordered nested list item
```
1. First list item
1. Ordered nested list item
2. Second list item
- Unordered nested list item
Similarly, you can create a nested task list by indenting one or more list items:
```md
- [ ] Task item 1
- [ ] Subtask 1
- [ ] Task item 2
- [ ] Subtask 1
```
- [ ] Task item 1
- [ ] Subtask 1
- [ ] Task item 2
- [ ] Subtask 1
Use `Tab` or `Shift+Tab` to indent or unindent selected list items to easily organize them.
## Horizontal rule
You can use three or more stars `***`, hyphens `---`, or underscore `___` on its own line to add a horizontal bar. You can also separate symbols using spaces.
```md
***
****
* * *
---
----
- - -
___
____
_ _ _
```
***
## 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.
```md
Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code.
```
Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code.
If you want to put backticks in an inline code block, surround it with double backticks like so: inline ``code with a backtick ` inside``.
### Code blocks
To format a block of code, surround the code with triple backticks.
~~~
```
cd ~/Desktop
```
~~~
```md
cd ~/Desktop
```
You can also create a code block by indenting the text using `Tab` or 4 blank spaces.
```md
cd ~/Desktop
```
You can add syntax highlighting to a code block, by adding a language code after the first set of backticks.
~~~md
```js
function fancyAlert(arg) {
if(arg) {
$.facebox({div:'#foo'})
}
}
```
~~~
```js
function fancyAlert(arg) {
if(arg) {
$.facebox({div:'#foo'})
}
}
```
Obsidian uses Prism for syntax highlighting. For more information, refer to [Supported languages](https://prismjs.com/#supported-languages).
> [!note]
> [[Edit and preview Markdown#Source mode|Source mode]] and [[Edit and preview Markdown#Live Preview|Live Preview]] do not support PrismJS, and may render syntax highlighting differently.
## Footnotes
You can add footnotes[^footnote] to your notes using the following syntax:
[^footnote]: This is a footnote.
```md
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 appear 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.
```md
You can also use inline footnotes. ^[This is an inline footnote.]
```
> [!note]
> Inline footnotes only work in reading view, not in Live Preview.
## Comments
You can add comments by wrapping text with `%%`. Comments are only visible in Editing view.
```md
This is an %%inline%% comment.
%%
This is a block comment.
Block comments can span multiple lines.
%%
```
## Escaping Markdown Syntax
In some cases, you may need to display special characters in Markdown, such as `*`, `_`, or `#`, without triggering their formatting. To display these characters literally, place a backslash (`\`) before them.
> [!example] Common characters to escape
>
> - Asterisk: `\*`
> - Underscore: `\_`
> - Hashtag: `\#`
> - Backtick: `` \` ``
> - Pipe (used in tables): `\|`
> - Tilde: `\~`
```md
\*This text will not be italicized\*.
```
\*This text will not be italicized\*.
When working with numbered lists, you may need to escape the period after the number to prevent automatic list formatting. Place the backslash (`\`) before the period, **not** before the number.
```md
1\. This won't be a list item.
```
1\. This won't be a list item.
## 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]].