Markdown Cheatsheet

The Stoic Unix Philosophy: Calm Tools for an Uncontrollable World

The Unix philosophy tells tools how to be shaped. The Stoic Unix Philosophy tells them how to behave under adversity: calm, honest, and indifferent to everything outside their control. A field guide with a real-world case study.

A quick reference for Markdown and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM).

Text Formatting

**bold** or **bold**
_italic_ or _italic_
~~strikethrough~~
`inline code`
**_bold and italic_**

bold or bold italic or italic strikethrough inline code bold and italic

Headings

# H1

## H2

### H3

#### H4

##### H5

###### H6

Links & Images

[link text](https://example.com)
[link with title](https://example.com "Title")
[relative link](../other-file.md)

![alt text](https://picsum.photos/seed/markdown/600/200)
![alt text](https://picsum.photos/seed/markdown-title/600/200 "Image title")
![linked image](https://example.com/image.png)

link text

Blockquotes

> Single line quote
>
> > Nested quote
>
> **Formatted** text inside a quote

Single line quote

Nested quote

Formatted text inside a quote

Lists

Unordered

- Item
- Item
  - Nested item
  - Nested item
    - Deeply nested

* Also works with asterisks

- And plus signs

• Item
• Item
  • Nested item
  • Nested item
    • Deeply nested

Ordered

1. First
2. Second
3. Third
   1. Nested (indented)
   2. Still nested

1. First
2. Second
3. Third
   1. Nested (indented)
   2. Still nested

Mixed

1. Step one
   - Sub-point
   - Another sub-point
2. Step two
   > A note about step two
3. Step three

1. Step one
   • Sub-point
   • Another sub-point
2. Step two

   A note about step two

3. Step three

Task Lists (GFM)

- [x] Completed task
- [x] Another completed task
- [ ] Pending task
- [ ] Blocked task

• Completed task
• Another completed task
• Pending task
• Blocked task

Code Blocks

Fenced with Syntax Highlighting

```python
def greet(name: str) -> str:
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

print(greet("World"))
```

def greet(name: str) -> str:
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

print(greet("World"))

Inline Code

Use `npm install` to install dependencies.

Use npm install to install dependencies.

Common Language Identifiers

Tables (GFM)

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

| Left-aligned | Center-aligned | Right-aligned |
| :----------- | :------------: | ------------: |
| Left         |     Center     |         Right |
| L            |       C        |             R |

Horizontal Rule

---
---

---

Escaping

\*not italic\*
\# not a heading
\[not a link\]
\`not code\`

*not italic*

Keyboard Keys (GFM)

Press Ctrl + C to copy.
Press Alt + F4 to close.

Press Ctrl + C to copy. Press Alt + F4 to close.

URLs & Autolinks

<https://example.com>
<user@example.com>

Emojis (GFM)

:thumbsup: :rocket: :warning: :check_mark:

:thumbsup: :rocket: :warning: :check_mark:

Math (where supported)

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:

$$
\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}
$$

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:

Mermaid Diagrams (where supported)

HTML in Markdown

Most Markdown processors allow inline HTML. Details, superscript, subscript, line breaks, and centered divs work in compatible processors.

Resources & Related Platforms

• tobias-weiss.org - More cheat sheets, articles and store products
• graphwiz.ai - AI, knowledge graphs and agentic development
• courses.graphwiz.ai - Interactive practice exams and study guides
• ki-kompetenz-training.org - EU AI Act compliant AI literacy training

Related Cheat Sheets

• Bash Tools Cheat Sheet - Scripting with Markdown content
• OpenSpec change docs - Spec-driven authoring