Markdown Guide

Markdown is a lightweight, easy-to-read plain text markup language. It allows you to format text using simple keyboard symbols instead of complex HTML tags. At its core, Notate brings markdown notation into a fast and easy to use markdown editor.

Example Markdown

Markdown is plain text with a few notations that are used to markup the document. Try editing this.

A list item
A finished task
Link a thought to Another note

You can highlight a phrase, or drop in some code.

Everything here is a plain file on your disk.

Rendered exactly as Notate renders it.

Headings

One to six hash marks set the heading level. Leave a space after the hashes.

You type

# Heading one
## Heading two
### Heading three

You get

Heading one

Heading two

Heading three

You type

#### Heading four
##### Heading five
###### Heading six

You get

Heading four

Heading five

Heading six

Six is the deepest level markdown defines.

Emphasis and inline styles

The marks you will reach for most often, and can nest.

You type

**bold** and *italic* and ***both***

You get

bold and italic and both

You type

~~struck through~~

You get

~~struck through~~

You type

==highlighted==

You get

highlighted

The widely used spelling for a highlight, so it survives a move to most other markdown editors.

You type

`inline code`

You get

inline code

Lists and tasks

Bullets, numbers, and checkboxes. Indent by two spaces to nest.

You type

- Coffee
- Tea
  - Green
  - Black

You get

Coffee
Tea
- Green
- Black

You type

1. First
2. Second
3. Third

You get

First
Second
Third

You type

- [x] Done already
- [ ] Still to do

You get

Done already
Still to do

Checkboxes are GitHub-flavored markdown. They render as real checkboxes and stay plain text on disk.

Links and images

You type

[Notate](https://notate.md)

You get

Notate

You type

A bare URL becomes a link: https://notate.md

You get

A bare URL becomes a link: https://notate.md

You type

[[Another note]]

You get Notate

Another note

A wiki-link points at another note by title. Notate tracks these both ways, so each note shows what links back to it.

You type

![The Notate logo](/logo.png)

You get

Images reference a file path, so they stay with your notes rather than living in a database.

Code

Backticks for a phrase, three backticks for a block. Naming the language turns on syntax highlighting.

You type

Use `npm install` to begin.

You get

Use npm install to begin.

You type

```js
const notes = files.map(read);
```

You get

const notes = files.map(read);

Dozens of languages are highlighted, and an unlabelled block is detected automatically.

Quotes and dividers

You type

> A quotation.
> It can run to several lines.

You get

A quotation. It can run to several lines.

You type

Above the line.

---

Below the line.

You get

Above the line.

Below the line.

Tables

Pipes separate the columns; the dashes under the header set alignment. Notate tidies the spacing for you as you type.

You type

| Feature | Free | Paid |
| --- | :---: | ---: |
| Local files | yes | yes |
| Sync | no | yes |

You get

Feature	Free	Paid
Local files	yes	yes
Sync	no	yes

Colons in the divider row control alignment: left, centered, then right.

Footnotes

You type

A claim worth a citation.[^1]

[^1]: The citation itself, collected at the foot of the note.

You get

A claim worth a citation.[^1]

[^1]: The citation itself, collected at the foot of the note.

Diagrams

A fenced mermaid block becomes a diagram: flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and charts, drawn from text you can still edit in any editor.

How a trail reaches the map

A fenced mermaid block, rendered in the preview.

Markdown, the way it should feel

Notate stores every note as an ordinary .md file in a folder you choose. Your files are always yours to keep.

Download Notate Markdown in Notate