---
title: "A Markdown cheat sheet for the Mac"
author: Pedro Thomaz
source: https://coffeetext.app/blog/markdown-cheat-sheet-mac
---

# A Markdown cheat sheet for the Mac

> Checked November 2026 against the [CommonMark 0.31.2 spec](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/), the [GitHub Flavored Markdown spec](https://github.github.com/gfm/) and [GitHub's writing docs](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/writing-on-github/getting-started-with-writing-and-formatting-on-github/basic-writing-and-formatting-syntax). Coffee isn't affiliated with any of them.

Markdown has a small standard core, written down as [CommonMark](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/), and a set of common additions, the best known being [GitHub Flavored Markdown](https://github.github.com/gfm/), or GFM. The first table below should work almost anywhere. The second depends on the app, so check before you rely on it.

Nothing here is specific to the Mac until the shortcuts, which are Coffee's and work only in Coffee.

## Standard Markdown

All of this is defined by CommonMark.

| What | Write |
|---|---|
| Headings | `# Title` down to `###### Small title` |
| Underlined heading | `Title` with a line of `===` or `---` under it |
| Bold | `**bold**` or `__bold__` |
| Italic | `*italic*` or `_italic_` |
| Quote | `> Quoted text` |
| Bulleted list | `- item`, or `*` or `+` in place of the dash |
| Numbered list | `1. item` |
| Divider | `---` on its own line, with a blank line above |
| Link | `[text](https://example.com)` |
| Link with the address kept apart | `[text][ref]`, then `[ref]: https://example.com` on a line of its own |
| Image | `![description](photo.png)` |
| Bare address in brackets | `<https://example.com>` |
| Line break inside a paragraph | Two spaces at the end of the line, or a `\` |
| Literal character | `\*not italic\*` |
| Code block by indenting | Four spaces at the start of each line |

## Code

Inline code goes between single backticks. A code block goes between two fence lines, made of three backticks or three tildes. Both kinds of fence are standard.

```
Run `git status` first.

~~~
git status
git diff
~~~
```

## Extended Markdown

These aren't in CommonMark. The first four are in the GFM spec, so GitHub and many editors follow them. The last three are less settled.

| What | Write | Defined by |
|---|---|---|
| Table | See the next section | GFM |
| Checklist | `- [ ] to do` and `- [x] done` | GFM |
| Strikethrough | `~~gone~~` | GFM |
| Bare web address | `https://example.com` or `www.example.com` | GFM |
| Footnote | `[^1]` in the text, then `[^1]: The note` | GitHub's docs, not the GFM spec |
| Highlight | `==marked==` | Neither. It depends on the app |
| Link to a note | `[[Other note]]` | Neither. It depends on the app |

## Tables

A table needs a header row and a row of dashes under it. Colons in the dashes set the alignment.

```
| Plan | Price |
| :--- | ---: |
| Monthly | €3 |
| Yearly | €29 |
```

GFM lets you leave out the outer pipes, and the columns don't have to line up in the source. There's more in the [guide to Markdown tables](https://coffeetext.app/blog/markdown-tables-guide).

## What Coffee draws

Coffee reads most of the above and shows it formatted as you write. A few standard forms stay on the page exactly as you typed them: underlined headings, reference links, code blocks made by indenting, and raw HTML apart from `<mark>`. For a bare address, leave off the angle brackets, as Coffee's link detection is built for the plain form and only looks for `http://` and `https://`.

Nothing is lost when that happens. The text stays in the file, and another app can still read it.

Of the extended forms, Coffee draws tables, checklists, strikethrough with two tildes, `==highlight==`, `[[links]]`, footnotes, GitHub-style callouts, `$$` maths blocks, and Mermaid flowcharts, pie charts and sequence diagrams. Inline `$…$` maths is shown in italic but not drawn as a formula. The details are in the post on [footnotes, task lists and other extended Markdown](https://coffeetext.app/blog/extended-markdown-footnotes-task-lists).

## Coffee's keyboard shortcuts

These come from Coffee's menus. They add or remove the Markdown for you, so what lands in the file is the plain syntax from the tables above.

| Format | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Bold | ⌘B |
| Italic | ⌘I |
| Strikethrough | ⇧⌘X |
| Highlight | ⇧⌘H |
| Inline code | ⌃⌘C |
| Link | ⇧⌘L |
| Heading 1 to 4 | ⌥⌘1 to ⌥⌘4 |
| Back to a paragraph | ⌥⌘0 |
| Tick a checkbox, or make the line a checklist item | ⌘Return |

| Lines and sections | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move line up or down | ⌃⌘↑ or ⌃⌘↓ |
| Move section up or down | ⌥⌘↑ or ⌥⌘↓ |
| Duplicate line | ⇧⌘D |
| Delete line | ⇧⌘K |

| View and notes | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch between the page and the Markdown | ⌘/ |
| Split view | ⌥⌘/ |
| Sidebar | ⌘\ |
| Focus mode | ⇧⌘F |
| Word count | ⇧⌘C |
| Outline | ⇧⌘O |
| Search all notes | ⌘K |
| Export | ⌘E |

Typing `/` at the start of a line opens a short menu for headings, lists, a checklist, a quote, a code block, a table, a divider, the date, an image or a template. In a table, in the page view, Tab moves to the next cell and adds a row after the last one.

## A note on Mac keyboards

Some of these characters are harder to find than others, depending on your layout. On a British Mac keyboard, for example, `#` is ⌥3. If you can't find a character, the keyboard viewer in the macOS input menu shows where each one is on yours.

## Questions

### What's the difference between CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown?

CommonMark is the specification for Markdown's core. GitHub Flavored Markdown is built on it and adds tables, task lists, strikethrough, more kinds of automatic links and a filter on some raw HTML.

### Are footnotes standard Markdown?

No. They aren't in CommonMark or the GFM spec. GitHub documents them separately, and other tools have their own support, so check the app you publish with.

### Do Markdown shortcuts work the same in every app?

No. The syntax is shared, but shortcuts belong to each app. The ones listed here are Coffee's, and they only insert ordinary Markdown, so the files work anywhere.

---

Written by Pedro Thomaz, who makes Coffee, a Markdown editor for the Mac on macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days with no card or account, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. More at https://coffeetext.app/llms-full.txt