Markdown Basics

Markdown is a simple way to format text using special characters. This page covers all the basics you need to know.

Note

You don’t need to memorize all of this at once. Bokuchi’s Markdown toolbar lets you apply formatting with buttons — no typing required.

Headings

Headings create section titles. Use # symbols at the beginning of a line.

Markdown	Result
# Heading 1	Largest heading
## Heading 2	Second-level heading
### Heading 3	Third-level heading
#### Heading 4	Fourth-level heading
##### Heading 5	Fifth-level heading
###### Heading 6	Smallest heading

When to use: Use headings to organize your document into sections. The outline panel will display your heading structure for easy navigation.

Bold, Italic, and Strikethrough

Markdown	Result	Use case
**bold text**	bold text	Emphasize important words
*italic text*	italic text	Titles, terms, subtle emphasis
~~strikethrough~~	strikethrough	Show deleted or outdated text
***bold and italic***	bold and italic	Strong emphasis

Lists

Bullet Lists

Use -, *, or + at the beginning of each line:

- First item
- Second item
  - Nested item
  - Another nested item
- Third item

Numbered Lists

Use numbers followed by a period:

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

Checkboxes (Task Lists)

Use - [ ] for unchecked and - [x] for checked items:

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

Note

In Bokuchi’s preview, you can click checkboxes to toggle them on and off — the editor text updates automatically.

Links and Images

Links

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

Images

![Alt text](path/to/image.png)

You can use relative paths for local images or URLs for online images.

Blockquotes

Use > at the beginning of a line to create a quote:

> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.

When to use: Highlight important information, quote sources, or add notes.

Code

Inline Code

Wrap text in backticks for inline code: `code here`

Code Blocks

Use triple backticks for multi-line code. Specify a language for syntax highlighting:

```javascript
function hello() {
  console.log("Hello, world!");
}
```

Bokuchi supports syntax highlighting for over 190 programming languages.

Tables

Use pipes | and dashes - to create tables:

| Name    | Role     | Status  |
|---------|----------|---------|
| Alice   | Designer | Active  |
| Bob     | Engineer | Active  |

Note

You can also paste HTML tables or CSV/TSV data into Bokuchi and they will be automatically converted to Markdown tables. See Table Conversion for details.

Horizontal Rules

Create a divider line with three or more dashes:

---

Math Expressions (KaTeX)

When KaTeX is enabled in Settings > Advanced > Rendering Extensions, you can render math expressions.

Inline math — wrap with single dollar signs:

The formula $E = mc^2$ is well known.

Display math — wrap with double dollar signs:

$$
\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i
$$

Diagrams (Mermaid)

When Mermaid is enabled in Settings > Advanced > Rendering Extensions, you can create diagrams using ```mermaid fenced code blocks.

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Result A]
    B -->|No| D[Result B]
```

Mermaid supports flowcharts, sequence diagrams, class diagrams, state diagrams, and more.

Text Effects (Bokuchi Only)

Caution

Text effects are a Bokuchi-specific feature and are not part of standard Markdown. Content using this syntax will not render as effects in other editors or platforms.

Bokuchi supports special visual effects in the preview. Wrap content between :::effectName and ::: markers:

:::rainbow
This text displays in rainbow colors.
:::

Available effects:

Effect	Description
shake	Text shakes back and forth
rainbow	Text cycles through rainbow colors
glow	Text pulses with a glow effect
bounce	Text bounces up and down
blink	Text blinks on and off

Note

Text effects are only visible in the preview — the source Markdown remains unchanged.

Next Steps

• Markdown toolbar — Apply formatting using buttons
• Markdown cheatsheet — Quick reference card
• Editor and preview — Learn about the editing experience