How do I create tables in GitHub Flavored Markdown?

GFM tables use pipe characters | to separate columns and a separator row of dashes between the header and data rows, like: | Header | Header | / | ------ | ------ | / | Cell | Cell |. Column alignment is controlled by colons in the separator row: :--- for left, :---: for center, ---: for right. The preview in the formatter renders the table immediately so you can adjust alignment and column widths before copying the Markdown to your README or wiki page.

Can I write and preview documentation with code blocks in multiple languages?

Yes, fenced code blocks with language identifiers like ```javascript, ```python, or ```bash render with syntax highlighting in the preview. The supported languages include all common programming languages and configuration formats. GitHub's rendering uses Linguist for language detection, so the same language identifiers work in both the preview and the actual rendered GitHub page without any differences.

Does the Markdown editor support keyboard shortcuts?

Standard text editor shortcuts work in the editor pane: Ctrl+A to select all text, Ctrl+Z to undo, Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo, and Ctrl+C/X/V for clipboard operations. For Markdown-specific formatting, most browsers support wrapping selected text in bold or italic by typing the delimiter characters around a selection. The live preview updates as you type so you can see formatting changes immediately without any keyboard shortcut to trigger rendering.

Is Markdown content saved when I close the browser tab?

Browser-based Markdown editors typically do not persist content across tab closes or refreshes unless explicitly saved — closing the tab will lose your work. Before closing, copy your Markdown to a text file or paste it into your target system (GitHub, Notion, Confluence). Some browsers will prompt you about unsaved changes if the page implements a beforeunload handler, but this is not guaranteed. Develop a habit of copying the Markdown source to your clipboard or a local file periodically during longer editing sessions.

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Markdown Editor

Write and preview Markdown in real time. Export to HTML instantly.

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Markdown Source

Preview

Hello, Markdown!

Write your markdown here and see the preview update live.

Features

Headings
Bold and italic
Links
inline code
Lists

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How to Use

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Write or paste Markdown

Type Markdown in the editor or paste existing content. The live preview panel shows how formatted output will look as you type.

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Preview and format

Toggle between edit and preview modes. The formatter supports headings, bold, italic, code blocks, tables, links, images, and task lists.

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Copy or export

Copy the rendered HTML or raw Markdown. Use for README files, documentation, blog posts, forum content, or any Markdown-based writing.

What is Markdown Editor?

Markdown Formatter is a browser-based editor with a live side-by-side HTML preview that renders GitHub Flavored Markdown including tables, task lists, fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting, and strikethrough. It solves the problem of writing and checking Markdown documentation without committing to a Git repository to see how it renders on GitHub or a documentation platform. Technical writers, developers, and open source contributors use this Markdown editor for drafting README files, documentation pages, and issue templates.

Why use Markdown Editor?

Live side-by-side preview using a GFM-compatible renderer gives you confidence that tables, task lists, and code blocks will display correctly on GitHub, GitLab, and documentation platforms before you push — preventing the awkward cycle of committing, viewing, and fixing. Supporting GitHub Flavored Markdown specifically means the preview accurately reflects the extended syntax used in README files, wikis, and pull request descriptions rather than basic CommonMark that many editors render. The browser-based tool requires no local setup, making it immediately available to technical writers and non-developers who need to contribute to documentation without installing development tools.

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devicesWorks everywhere — Any modern browser on desktop, tablet, or mobile.

How it works

Open source maintainers draft and preview README files with complex tables and badge layouts in the Markdown editor before pushing to a repository, catching alignment issues in table columns that only appear after rendering. Technical writers compose and format API documentation pages with fenced code blocks and use the live preview to verify that language identifiers produce correct syntax highlighting before publishing. Developers write GitHub issue templates and pull request description templates using the GFM task list syntax and preview the checkbox rendering before committing the template files to the repository.

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Pro Tip

GitHub Flavored Markdown requires a blank line before and after fenced code blocks and tables — if your formatted output looks wrong with code blocks or tables running together with surrounding text, adding blank lines before and after them fixes the rendering in most cases. Use the task list syntax (- [ ] and - [x]) to create interactive checklists in GitHub pull request descriptions that team members can check off directly without editing the Markdown source.

Frequently Asked Questions

The preview uses a GFM-compatible renderer that handles the GitHub-specific extensions: tables, task list checkboxes, ~~strikethrough~~, fenced code blocks with language identifiers, and autolinked URLs. Minor rendering differences can occur for edge cases like nested list indentation rules and specific table alignment behavior since GitHub uses their own cmark-gfm library internally. For pixel-perfect verification, the preview is an accurate proxy but always do a final check in the actual GitHub or GitLab interface before publishing important documentation.

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Tutorial

How to Use Markdown Editor – Step-by-Step Guide

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