Obsidian notes are written in Markdown — a lightweight syntax that lets you format text using plain characters. This page covers the core formatting elements you’ll use most.
For more advanced syntax including tables, math, and diagrams, see Advanced formatting.
Paragraphs and line breaks
Separate paragraphs with a blank line:
This is a paragraph.
This is another paragraph.
Enter, or press Shift+Enter.
Obsidian includes a Strict line breaks setting (Settings → Editor → Strict Line Breaks) that makes line break behavior match the standard Markdown specification. When enabled, a single Enter with no trailing spaces merges the two lines; two or more trailing spaces produce a <br>; and a double Enter creates a new paragraph.
Headings
Add up to six # symbols before your heading text. The number of symbols sets the heading level.
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6
Bold, italic, and highlights
| 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 and _nested italic_ text** | Bold and nested italic text |
| Bold and italic | *** *** | ***Bold and italic text*** | Bold and italic text |
\) before it:
\*\*This line will not be bold\*\*
Inline code and code blocks
Inline code
Wrap text in single backticks to format it as inline code:
Text inside `backticks` on a line will be formatted like code.
``code with a backtick inside“ `.
Code blocks
Enclose code with three or more backticks (or tildes) to create a code block:
Add a language identifier after the opening backticks to enable syntax highlighting:
```js
function fancyAlert(arg) {
if(arg) {
$.facebox({div:'#foo'})
}
}
```
Source mode and Live Preview do not support PrismJS, and may render syntax highlighting differently than Reading view.
Nesting code blocks
To include a code block inside another code block, use more backticks (or tildes) for the outer block:
````md
Here's how to create a code block:
```js
console.log("Hello world")
```
````
Blockquotes
Add a > before text to create a blockquote:
> 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
You can turn a blockquote into a callout by adding [!info] as the first line inside the quote. Lists
Unordered lists
Start each item with -, *, or +:
- First list item
- Second list item
- Third list item
Ordered lists
Start each item with a number followed by . or ):
1. First list item
2. Second list item
3. Third list item
Task lists
Start each item with - [ ] for an incomplete task, or - [x] for a completed one:
- [x] This is a completed task.
- [ ] This is an incomplete task.
- [?] or - [-].
Nesting lists
Indent list items to nest them. You can mix ordered, unordered, and task lists:
1. First list item
1. Ordered nested list item
2. Second list item
- Unordered nested list item
- [ ] Task item 1
- [ ] Subtask 1
- [ ] Task item 2
- [ ] Subtask 1
Tab or Shift+Tab to indent or unindent selected list items.
Horizontal rules
Use three or more stars ***, hyphens ---, or underscores ___ on their own line:
Links
Internal links
Obsidian supports two formats for linking between notes:
[[Three laws of motion]]
[Three laws of motion](Three%20laws%20of%20motion.md)
External links
Wrap the link text in brackets and the URL in parentheses:
[Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md)
%20 or wrap the URL in angle brackets:
[My Note](obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My%20Note.md)
[My Note](<obsidian://open?vault=MainVault&file=My Note.md>)
Images
Add a ! before a link to embed an image:
|widthxheight (or just |width) to the link destination:
[^label] syntax:
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 use inline footnotes. ^[This is an inline footnote.]
Inline footnotes only work in Reading view, not in Live Preview.
%% to add a comment. Comments are only visible in Editing view and are never rendered:
This is an %%inline%% comment.
%%
This is a block comment.
Block comments can span multiple lines.
%%
Escaping Markdown syntax
Place a backslash (\) before a special character to display it literally without triggering formatting:
| Character | Escaped |
|---|
| Asterisk | \* |
| Underscore | \_ |
| Hashtag | \# |
| Backtick | \` |
| Pipe (used in tables) | | |
| Tilde | \~ |
\*This text will not be italicized\*.
1\. This won't be a list item.
