Markdown Block

Create formatted content using only regular characters and some punctuation marks, with the Markdown block.

Get a quick and easy way to write formatted text with the Markdown Block. You don’t need to take your hands off the keyboard or learn a lot of complicated codes and shortcuts.

Please note that this page describes how to use the Markdown feature in the Block Editor. Find instructions on adding Markdown to the Classic Editor here.

Markdown Block requirements

The Markdown Block is a free feature and is available on all Jetpack-connected sites.

Markdown is activated by default as part of the Jetpack Blocks suite. Since it is a block only, it remains available even if you turn off the Markdown feature in Jetpack → Settings → Writing → Composing.

Jetpack Blocks require the Block Editor (also referred to as the Gutenberg editor). If you’ve installed the Classic Editor plugin, you have a few options:

Deactivate the Classic Editor: Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins in your WP Admin and deactivate the Classic Editor plugin.
Enable both editors: If you prefer flexibility, navigate to Settings → Writing in your WP Admin (not the menu under Jetpack settings). Set Allow users to switch editors to Yes. You will only see these options if you have the Classic Editor plugin installed and active.

Some custom themes or plugins may prevent you from using the Block Editor. In that case, please contact the support team for the plugin or theme for further assistance.

For more details, see Using Blocks and the Classic Editor.

Add a Markdown block

You can add the Markdown block by searching for it and/or selecting it from the Jetpack section of the block selector.

See Jetpack Blocks for detailed instructions on adding blocks, and also learn about the other available blocks.

You can start writing in Markdown right away. If you need more information to get started with markdown, you can check the basics on Markdown Reference page.

Learn to use Markdown

Common Markdown elements

Headers: use # for headings. The number of # symbols indicates the heading level (e.g., # Heading 1, ## Heading 2, ### Heading 3).
Italics: use * or _ to create italic text (e.g., *italic* or _italic_)
Bold: use ** or __ for bold text (e.g., **bold** or __bold__).
Lists: use *, -, or + for unordered lists and numbers followed by a period for ordered lists (e.g., 1. Item 1, 2. Item 2).
Links: use [link text](URL) to create hyperlinks (e.g., [Jetpack](https://jetpack.com)).
Images: use ![Alt text](URL) to insert images (e.g., ![Cute kitten](https://example.com/kitten.jpg)).
Blockquotes: use > before the text to create a blockquote (e.g., > This is a blockquote.).
Code: use backticks (`) for inline code and triple backticks (```) for code blocks.
Horizontal rules: use three or more -, *, or _ on a line by themselves to create a horizontal rule.

Please refer to the Markdown Reference page for any other elements and how to use them.

Preview Markdown content

Use the “Preview” option on the block toolbar to ensure your Markdown content appears as intended.

You can see a real-time rendered version of your Markdown text via the Preview option. This makes it easy to verify formatting and make any necessary adjustments before publishing your post or page.

To verify that footnotes are working correctly, save your draft and view the changes on the front end of your website.

Markdown Implementation

Our Markdown block uses the markdown-it parser, which supports the CommonMark spec. See the demo page if you need full details of the syntax that our Markdown block supports.