Markdown Syntax

October 29, 2025· 2 min · Gautham Chettiar

Table Of Contents

A comprehensive guide to markdown syntax supported by Hugo. Each element works out-of-the-box for both dark and light mode. Feel free to switch using [ / ] icon at the top to test how each element looks.

Headings #

Headings are created using # prefixes, with the number of hashes corresponding to the heading level (HTML <h1> through <h6>).

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

… which is rendered as:

Heading 1 #

Heading 2 #

Heading 3 #

Heading 4 #

Heading 5 #

Heading 6 #

Text Formatting #

Inline Styles #

Syntax	Rendering
`bold`	line with bold element
`italic`	line with italic element
`code`	line with `code` element
`~~deleted~~`	line with ~~deleted~~ element
`++added++`	line with added element
`==mark==`	line with mark element
`Sub~script~`	line with Sub_script element
`Super^script^`	line with Super^script element

Line Spacing #

New Paragraph: Leave a blank line between two lines:

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

… which is rendered as:

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Line Break: Add 2 spaces at the end of a line:

Paragraph 1  
Still Paragraph 1

… which is rendered as:

Paragraph 1
Still Paragraph 1

Links #

Automatic Links #

Clickable URL:: Syntax : https://example.com; Rendering : https://example.com
Non-clickable (code):: Syntax : `https://example.com`; Rendering : https://example.com

Custom Text Links #

External link:: Syntax : [example](https://example.com); Rendering : example
Internal link:: Syntax : [Markdown Syntax](/usage/markdown_syntax/); Rendering : Markdown Syntax
Anchor link:: Syntax : [Markdown Syntax | Links](/usage/markdown_syntax#links); Rendering : Markdown Syntax | Links

Footnotes #

Footnote reference:: Syntax : [^1] & [^1]: Sample footnote message.; Rendering : ¹

Lists #

Ordered Lists #

1. Ordered List Item 1
2. Ordered List Item 2
3. Ordered List Item 3
   1. Ordered Sub-List Item 1

… which is rendered as:

Ordered List Item 1
Ordered List Item 2
Ordered List Item 3
1. Ordered Sub-List Item 1

Unordered Lists #

- Unordered List Item 1
- Unordered List Item 2
- Unordered List Item 3
  - Unordered Sub-List Item 1

… which is rendered as:

Unordered List Item 1
Unordered List Item 2
Unordered List Item 3
- Unordered Sub-List Item 1

Task Lists #

- [X] Checked Task
- [ ] Unchecked Task

… which is rendered as:

Checked Task
Unchecked Task

Definition Lists #

Term
: Definition 1
: Definition 2

… which is rendered as:

Term: Definition 1; Definition 2

Blockquotes #

A blockquote is created by starting a line with >:

> This is a blockquote.

… which is rendered as:

This is a blockquote.

For extra blockquote features like alert, citations, and more, check out Markdown Extras | Blockquotes.

Images #

Images can be added using the syntax:

![alt text](path/to/image.jpg)

… which is rendered as:

Horizontal Rule #

You can use asterisks (***), dashes (---), or underscores (___) to create a horizontal line:

Tables #

| Syntax      | Description |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| Header      | Title       |
| Paragraph   | Text        |

… which is rendered as:

Syntax	Description
Header	This is description of header
Paragraph	This is description of Paragraph

Code Blocks #

Plain Code Block #

Surround code with triple backticks:

```
| Syntax      | Description |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| Header      | Title       |
| Paragraph   | Text        |
```

Syntax-Highlighted Code Block #

Add the language name after the opening backticks:

```json
{
    "syntax": "Header",
    "description": "Title"
}
```

… which is rendered as:

json
{
    "syntax": "Header",
    "description": "Title"
}

For extra codeblock features like enabling disabling lang and code labels, check out Markdown Extras | Codeblock.

Sample footnote message. ↩︎