Markdown Basics

The editor uses Markdown as its primary writing format. Markdown is a lightweight markup language that lets you format text using plain-text symbols. This page covers the most commonly used current syntax; the Syntax page records the current support boundaries for extended forms.

For the complete syntax reference, including callouts and other Zelares-specific extensions, see Syntax.

Headings

Use # for headings. The number of # symbols indicates the heading level (1 through 6).

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3

Folding

The editor has a local fold gutter for heading sections, nested list content, and fenced code blocks. Folding changes only the current editor view; it does not modify Markdown/Yjs source or synchronize a collaborator's fold state.

Fold heading collapses a heading section until the next heading of the same or higher level.
Fold indent collapses nested unordered, ordered, and task-list descendants while leaving same-level siblings visible.
Fold code collapses fenced blocks and uses parser-provided folding where a supported fenced language supplies it.
Fold/unfold commands and the fold gutter are available in editing and read-only views without granting write access.

Text formatting

Bold - wrap text in **double asterisks**
Italic - wrap text in *single asterisks*
Bold italic - wrap text in ***triple asterisks***
Code - wrap text in `backticks`
~~Strikethrough~~ - wrap text in ~~double tildes~~

Lists

Use -, *, or + for current unordered list forms, and numbers followed by a period or closing parenthesis for the current bounded ordered forms. Expanded task-state parity remains a separate target boundary.

- Item one
- Item two
  - Nested item

1. First step
2. Second step

Links

Create links with [link text](URL).

[Visit the help page](/help)

Code blocks

Use triple backticks for code blocks. Optionally specify a language for the block label and renderer metadata; parser-provided nested folding is available where the language is supported, while full editor-side syntax highlighting is not currently promised.

```javascript
const greeting = "Hello, world!";
console.log(greeting);
```

Blockquotes

Use > to create blockquotes.

> This is a blockquote.

Horizontal rules

Use three or more dashes, asterisks, or underscores on their own line.

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Images

Similar to links but with an exclamation mark: ![alt text](image-url). Standard Markdown images are supported, including bounded Obsidian-style size suffixes such as ![alt|100x145](image-url). For current internal links and selected file embeds, see Links.

For the complete syntax reference, see Syntax. For structured data grids, see Tables. For flowcharts and diagrams, see Mermaid Diagrams. For document metadata, see Front Matter.