# Markdown Cheat Sheet

> Markdown syntax reference for Applivery — format Build release notes and descriptions with headings, lists, links, and images.

Source: https://docs.applivery.com/en/app-distribution/builds/markdown/  •  Last updated: 2026-03-31

**Key topics:** Basic Markdown Syntax, Extended Markdown Syntax, Text Formatting, Lists and Links, Code Blocks, Markdown, HTML, GitHub, John Gruber

---

**TL;DR:** This Markdown cheat sheet provides a quick and easy reference for formatting text using Markdown syntax.

# Markdown Cheat Sheet

Markdown is a lightweight syntax for formatting plain text that is easy to read and write. Applivery supports Markdown in Publications and text fields to enrich your content without needing to write HTML.

This page is a quick reference for the most commonly used Markdown elements. For the full specification, see [John Gruber's original spec](https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/) and the [GitHub-flavored Markdown guide](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/writing-on-github/getting-started-with-writing-and-formatting-on-github/basic-writing-and-formatting-syntax).

* * *

## Basic Syntax

These are the core elements supported by all Markdown applications.

* * *

### Headings

Use `#` symbols to define headings. The number of `#` symbols corresponds to the heading level (1–6).

```markdown
# H1
## H2
### H3
#### H4
##### H5
###### H6
```

* * *

### Emphasis

```markdown
Italic text with *asterisks* or _underscores_.

Bold text with **asterisks** or __underscores__.

Combined bold and italic with **asterisks and _underscores_**.

Strikethrough with two tildes: ~~strikethrough~~.
```

**Renders as:**

Italic text with _asterisks_ or _underscores_.

Bold text with **asterisks** or **underscores**.

Combined bold and italic with **asterisks and _underscores_**.

Strikethrough with two tildes: ~strikethrough~.

* * *

### Horizontal Rules

Any of the following produce a horizontal divider line:

```markdown
___

---

***
```

* * *

### Lists

**Ordered list:**

```markdown
1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
```

**Unordered list** — asterisks, hyphens, and plus signs all work:

```markdown
* Item using asterisk
- Item using hyphen
+ Item using plus
```

**Nested list:**

```markdown
1. First ordered item
2. Second ordered item
   - Unordered sub-item
   - Another sub-item
3. Third ordered item
   1. Ordered sub-item
```

:::info
Actual numbers in ordered lists don't matter — Markdown will render them sequentially regardless of what numbers you use. `1. 1. 1.` renders as `1. 2. 3.`
:::

* * *

### Links

```markdown
[Link text](https://www.example.com)

[Link text with tooltip](https://www.example.com "Tooltip text")
```

Bare URLs are also automatically converted to links in most Markdown renderers:

```markdown
https://www.example.com
<https://www.example.com>
```

* * *

### Images

```markdown
![Alt text](https://www.example.com/image.png)

![Alt text with tooltip](https://www.example.com/image.png "Tooltip text")
```

The alt text is displayed if the image fails to load and is also used by screen readers.

* * *

### Code

**Inline code** — wrap text in single backticks:

```markdown
Use the `code` tag for inline snippets.
```

**Code blocks** — wrap with triple backticks. Optionally specify a language for syntax highlighting:

````markdown
```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
console.log(greeting);
```

```python
greeting = "Hello, world!"
print(greeting)
```

```
No language specified — no syntax highlighting applied.
```
````

**Renders as:**

```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
console.log(greeting);
```

```python
greeting = "Hello, world!"
print(greeting)
```

```
No language specified — no syntax highlighting applied.
```

* * *

### Blockquotes

Use `>` to create blockquotes. Blockquotes can be nested and can contain other Markdown elements.

```markdown
> This is a blockquote.
> This line is part of the same quote.

> You can use *italic* and **bold** inside a blockquote.

> First level
>> Nested blockquote
```

**Renders as:**

> This is a blockquote.  
> This line is part of the same quote.

> You can use _italic_ and **bold** inside a blockquote.

> First level
> 
> > Nested blockquote

* * *

## Extended Syntax

These elements extend the basic syntax and are supported by most modern Markdown renderers, including GitHub-flavored Markdown.

* * *

### Tables

Use pipes `|` and hyphens `-` to create tables. The second row defines alignment using colons:

```markdown
| Left-aligned | Center-aligned | Right-aligned |
|:---|:---:|---:|
| Cell | Cell | Cell |
| Cell | Cell | Cell |
```

**Renders as:**

| Left-aligned | Center-aligned | Right-aligned |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cell | Cell | Cell |
| Cell | Cell | Cell |

* * *

### Task Lists

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

**Renders as:**

-   Completed task
    
-   Incomplete task
    
-   Another incomplete task
    

* * *

### Footnotes

```markdown
Here is a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.
```

* * *

### Escaping Characters

To display a character that would otherwise be interpreted as Markdown formatting, prefix it with a backslash `\`:

```markdown
\*This text is not italicized\*
\# This is not a heading
```

Characters that can be escaped: `\ * _ { } [ ] ( ) # + - . !`

* * *

## Quick Reference

| Element | Syntax |
| --- | --- |
| Heading 1 | `# Heading` |
| Heading 2 | `## Heading` |
| Bold | `**bold**` |
| Italic | `*italic*` |
| Bold + Italic | `***bold italic***` |
| Strikethrough | `~~strikethrough~~` |
| Inline code | ``code`` |
| Code block | ````language` |
| Blockquote | `> quote` |
| Ordered list | `1. item` |
| Unordered list | `- item` |
| Link | `[text](url)` |
| Image | `![alt](url)` |
| Horizontal rule | `---` |
| Table | `\| col \| col \|` |
| Task list | `- [x] done` |
| Escape character | `\*` |