More markdown

Task lists, tables, code blocks, images, dividers, and line breaks — the useful second half of markdown.

Everything here builds on Markdown basics. None of it is required — plain paragraphs and headings carry most notes — but each piece earns its place.

Task lists

A list item with [ ] becomes a checkbox; [x] is a checked one.

- [x] Book flights
- [ ] Pack
- [ ] Actually leave on time

In knowdust's preview, the checkboxes are real — click one and the note updates itself, ticking the box in your markdown. A note can be a to-do list you actually use.

Tables

Pipes (|) separate columns; a row of dashes separates the header from the body.

| Plan | Price | History |
| ---- | ----- | ------- |
| Free | $0 | Last 7 days |
| Plus | $5/mo | Everything |

The pipes don't have to line up perfectly — the dashes row is what makes it a table. For anything bigger than a few columns, though, consider whether a list reads better.

Code blocks

For multiple lines of code (or anything you want kept exactly as typed), fence it with three backticks on their own lines:

```
def greet(name):
    print(f"hello, {name}")
```

def greet(name):
    print(f"hello, {name}")

You can name a language after the opening fence (like ```python) — it's good practice and other tools use it for coloring. knowdust's preview keeps code blocks monochrome, in keeping with the rest of the page.

Strikethrough

Two tildes cross text out — good for done-but-keep-the-record:

~~Call the venue~~ Done, booked for the 14th.

Dividers

Three dashes alone on a line draw a horizontal rule — a quiet break between parts of a note:

Everything above is the plan.

---

Everything below is what actually happened.

Careful: dashes directly under a line of text turn that line into a heading. Keep an empty line above the ---.

Images

Like a link, with a ! in front. The square brackets hold a description (shown if the image can't load), the parentheses hold the image's web address:

![A hand-drawn map of the garden](https://example.com/garden-map.png)

The image must already live somewhere on the web — knowdust doesn't host image uploads. Paste the address of any image you can open in a browser.

Line breaks

Markdown has one honest surprise: pressing Enter once doesn't break the line in the preview.

• New paragraph — leave an empty line between the two blocks of text. This is what you want nearly all the time.
• Line break inside a paragraph (poetry, addresses) — end the line with a backslash \ (or two spaces, the older convention).

First paragraph.

Second paragraph, after an empty line.

Roses are red,\
violets are blue.

The full reference

Everything from both pages, in one table: the markdown cheatsheet.

Something on this page wrong or unclear? Tell us — it'll be fixed.