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Markdown in Obsidian

How to use Markdown syntax and features within Obsidian.

By Kevin McAleer,    3 Minutes


Markdown in Obsidian

Obsidian stores notes as plain Markdown. Here’s a quick, practical reference tailored for Obsidian.


Headings

Use # to ###### for H1–H6. Keep one H1 per note (Obsidian can show the filename as title).

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3

Emphasis

*italic*  _italic_
**bold**  __bold__
~~strikethrough~~

Lists

- Unordered item
  - Nested item
1. Ordered item
2. Another item

Tips:

  • Leave a blank line before and after lists for best rendering.

  • Wiki-links (best for note-to-note): [[Note Name]] or [[Note Name|Custom text]]
  • External links: [Text](https://example.com)
See [[This is a note with a tag]] or [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md).

Images

Use standard Markdown or drag-and-drop. For site images in this repo:

![Graph View](assets/graph.png)

Callouts (Obsidian-specific)

> [!note]
> Helpful note.
>
> [!tip]
> A handy tip.
>
> [!warning]
> Use with care.

Tables

| Feature  | Supported |
|---------:|:---------:|
| Tables   |    Yes    |
| Callouts |    Yes    |

Code blocks and inline code

Inline: Use `code` for short snippets

Fenced blocks:

```python
print("Hello from Obsidian")

---

## Tasks

```markdown
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [x] Completed task

Tip: With the Tasks community plugin, you can query tasks across notes.


Footnotes

Here’s a claim with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: The footnote text.

Frontmatter (properties)

---
title: "Sample Note"
tags:
  - demo
status: in-progress
---

Pairs nicely with Dataview and Bases.


Embeds (notes, images, bases)

  • Embed a note: ![[This is a note with a tag]]
  • Embed an image: ![[assets/cover.jpg]]
  • Embed a Base view (pin a specific view):
```base
views:
  - type: table
    name: Table
    order:
      - file.name
    sort:
      - property: file.name
        direction: ASC
```

Math (optional)

Enable MathJax to use LaTeX:

Inline: $E=mc^2$

Block:
$$
\int_a^b f(x)\,dx
$$

Keyboard shortcuts

Use Cmd+P to open the Command Palette. Toggle Live Preview/Source Mode via the More menu (…) per note.


Try it now

  • Create a new note and add a callout and a task list.
  • Link it to another note using wiki-links, then inspect backlinks.
  • Add a small table and a fenced code block to test formatting.

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