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 [[Views and editing mode#Reading view|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 **[[Settings#Strict line breaks|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 sets the level of the heading (as shown in the [[Outline]]).
```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 `.` or `)` 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
```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
You can use `Shift+Enter` to insert a [[#Line breaks|line break]] within an ordered list without altering the numbering.
```md
1. First list item
2. Second list item
3. Third list item
4. Fourth list item
5. Fifth list item
6. Sixth 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 code as a block, enclose it with three backticks or three tildes.
~~~
`````
cd ~/Desktop
`````
~~~
`````
~~~
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).
> [!info]+ PrismJS and editing views
> [[Views and editing mode#Source mode|Source mode]] and [[Views and editing mode#Live Preview|Live Preview]] do not support PrismJS, and may render syntax highlighting differently.
#### Nesting code blocks
When you need to include a code block inside another code block (for example, when documenting how to use code blocks), you can use more than three backticks or tildes for the outer code block.
To nest code blocks, use four or more backticks (or tildes) for the outer block, while the inner block uses three:
`````md
````md
Here's how to create a code block:
```js
console.log("Hello world")
```
````
`````
You can also mix backticks and tildes. This is particularly useful when working with code that generates other code blocks:
`````md
````md
```dataviewjs
dv.paragraph(`
~~~mermaid
graph TD
A --> B
~~~
`)
```
````
`````
The key principle is that the outer code block must use **more** fence characters (backticks or tildes) than any inner code block, or use a different fence character type.
## 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]].