GitHub Markdown: GFM Reference
GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extends standard Markdown with task lists, tables, autolinks, alerts, and more. Use this reference for every GFM feature available in READMEs, issues, pull requests, and discussions.
Preview your GitHub README before pushing
Paste your README into the editor and see exactly how GitHub will render it, including GFM-specific features like task lists, alerts, and tables.
Open README Previewer| Format | Syntax | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | **text** | Bold text |
| Italic | *text* | Italic text |
| Bold + Italic | ***text*** | Bold italic text |
| Strikethrough | ~~text~~ | Strikethrough text |
| Inline Code | `code` | Monospaced code |
| Fenced Code Block | ```javascript
code
``` | Syntax-highlighted block |
| Heading 1 | # Header | Large heading |
| Heading 2 | ## Header | Medium heading |
| Heading 3 | ### Header | Small heading |
| Unordered List | - item | Bulleted list item |
| Ordered List | 1. item | Numbered list item |
| Task List | - [x] done
- [ ] todo | Interactive checkboxes |
| Block Quote | > text | Indented quote |
| Link | [text](url) | Clickable linked text |
| Image |  | Embedded image |
| Table | | H1 | H2 |
| --- | --- |
| A | B | | Formatted table |
| Autolink | https://example.com | Auto-linked URL |
| Emoji | :emoji_name: | Rendered emoji |
| Footnote | text[^1]
[^1]: footnote | Linked footnote reference |
| Alert (Note) | > [!NOTE]
> Useful information. | Highlighted note callout |
| Alert (Warning) | > [!WARNING]
> Critical information. | Highlighted warning callout |
| Alert (Tip) | > [!TIP]
> Helpful advice. | Highlighted tip callout |
GFM Quirks
- Alerts (
[!NOTE],[!WARNING], etc.) are a GitHub-specific extension not supported elsewhere. - Tables require a header row and a separator row with
---to render correctly. - Task list checkboxes are interactive in issues and pull requests but read-only in README files.
- Emoji shortcodes like
:rocket:work on GitHub but may not render in other Markdown processors.
Need to write longer markdown? Try the Markdown Editor for a live preview as you type.