Link a note, heading, or block
[[Note]] links the file, [[Note|Alias]] changes the visible text, [[Note#Heading]] jumps to a section, and [[Note#^block-id]] targets one paragraph. Rename the note and Obsidian rewrites every wikilink pointing at it.
Obsidian Markdown Editor & Cheat Sheet
Write a note on the left and see the Obsidian Markdown rendered as reading view on the right — wikilinks, embeds, callouts, properties, tags, highlights, tasks, LaTeX math, and Mermaid diagrams. Copy it into your vault when it looks right.
Obsidian Markdown Cheat Sheet
Every piece of Obsidian Markdown syntax in one place — the standard formatting first, then the extensions that only exist in Obsidian. Copy a row into the editor above to watch it render.
Basic formatting
| What you want | What you type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | # H1 … ###### H6 | Six levels, space after the hashes required. |
| Bold | **bold** | __bold__ works too. |
| Italic | *italic* | Or _italic_. |
| Bold italic | ***both*** | Three asterisks, or ___both___. |
| Strikethrough | ~~struck~~ | GitHub Flavored Markdown, supported in Obsidian. |
| Highlight | ==highlight== | An Obsidian Markdown extra — not standard CommonMark. |
| Inline code | `code` | Nothing inside backticks is formatted. |
| Code block | ```js | Fence with three backticks and a language for highlighting. |
| Quote | > quoted | One > per line; blank > lines separate paragraphs. |
| Bullet list | - item | * and + work; indent with Tab to nest. |
| Numbered list | 1. item | 1) item is also accepted. |
| Task list | - [ ] todo | - [x] marks it done. |
| Horizontal rule | --- | *** and ___ work as well. |
| Footnote | [^1] | Define it anywhere with [^1]: the note text. |
| Inline footnote | ^[side note] | No separate definition line needed. |
| Escape | \*literal\* | A backslash prints the next character as typed. |
Links and embeds
| What you want | What you type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Link a note | [[Note name]] | The Obsidian Markdown wikilink that makes the graph view work. |
| Link with a display name | [[Note name|Alias]] | Shows the alias, still links the note. |
| Link a heading | [[Note#Heading]] | Chain deeper headings with more # separators. |
| Link a block | [[Note#^block-id]] | Points at one paragraph rather than a section. |
| Block identifier | ^block-id | Put it at the end of the line you want to link. |
| Embed a note | ![[Note name]] | The ! prefix pulls the content in rather than linking it. |
| Embed a section | ![[Note#Heading]] | Embeds only that section of the note. |
| Embed an image | ![[image.png]] | Any attachment in the vault, by file name. |
| Resize an image | ![[image.png|300]] | Width in pixels, or 300x200 for both dimensions. |
| Embed a PDF page | ![[doc.pdf#page=3]] | #height=400 sets the viewer height. |
| Standard link | [text](Note%20name.md) | The portable alternative when wikilinks are switched off. |
| External image |  | Obsidian reads the size from the alt text. |
Obsidian Markdown extras
| What you want | What you type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Callout | > [!note] Title | 13 built-in types in Obsidian Markdown; the title is optional. |
| Foldable callout | > [!tip]- Title | - starts folded, + starts expanded. |
| Nested callout | >> [!info] | Indent a second callout inside the first. |
| Properties | ---
tags: [pkm]
--- | YAML at the very top of the note, nothing above it. |
| Tag | #tag | Letters, numbers, _, -, / — never numbers only. |
| Nested tag | #project/notes | Slashes build a tag hierarchy in the tag pane. |
| Comment | %%hidden%% | Visible while editing, invisible in reading view. |
Advanced formatting
| What you want | What you type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Inline math | $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$ | LaTeX between single dollar signs. |
| Math block | $$ … $$ | Obsidian renders math with MathJax. |
| Diagram | ```mermaid | Flowcharts, sequence, Gantt, and mindmaps render natively. |
| Table | | a | b |
| --- | --- | | GFM tables; cells accept inline formatting and wikilinks. |
| Nested list | - sub-item | One Tab per level, mixing bullets and numbers freely. |
Obsidian Markdown Wikilinks and Embeds
The two constructs that separate Obsidian Markdown from every other dialect. One references a note; the other pulls its content in. Both are pure Obsidian Markdown — no plugin required.
Embed instead of link
An exclamation mark turns any of those into a transclusion: ![[Note]] renders the note inline, ![[Note#Heading]] just that section. Change the source and every embed updates with it.
Attachments and sizes
![[image.png|300]] sets the width in pixels and ![[image.png|300x200]] both dimensions. ![[doc.pdf#page=3]] opens a PDF at a page, and audio or video attachments get a player.
Or use standard links
Settings → Files and links → Use [[Wikilinks]] switches Obsidian to [text](Note%20name.md) instead. That form travels better to static-site generators and other editors.
What you type
[[Zettelkasten]]
[[Zettelkasten|the slip-box method]]
[[Zettelkasten#Workflow]]
[[Zettelkasten#^a1b2c3]]
![[Daily note]]
![[diagram.png|300]]
![[report.pdf#page=3]]Block references need an id. Put ^a1b2c3 at the end of the paragraph you want to link, then point at it with [[Note#^a1b2c3]]. Obsidian hides the id in reading view — typing ^ after a link in the app generates one for you.
Obsidian Markdown Callouts
In Obsidian Markdown a callout is a blockquote with a type in brackets. Thirteen ship with Obsidian, each with its own color and icon, and every one of them folds.
[!note][!abstract]summary, tldr[!info][!todo][!tip]hint, important[!success]check, done[!question]help, faq[!warning]caution, attention[!failure]fail, missing[!danger]error[!bug][!example][!quote]citeWhat you type
> [!warning] Check the source
> Callouts nest and fold.
>> [!info] Nested callout
> [!tip]- Folded by defaultTitles, folding, and nesting
- Text after the type becomes the title:
> [!note] My title. Leave it out and Obsidian uses the type name. - A
-after the type makes the callout start folded, a+makes it start open and foldable. - Add another
>to nest a callout inside a callout, as deep as you need. - The body takes any Obsidian Markdown — lists, code, math, even embeds and wikilinks.
Properties, Tags, and Comments
The metadata layer of Obsidian Markdown: structured fields at the top of a note, tags in the body, and notes-to-self that never reach the reader.
Properties (YAML frontmatter)
Obsidian Markdown uses a --- block at the very top — nothing above it, not even a blank line — for typed fields. tags, aliases, and cssclasses have built-in meaning; the rest are yours to query with Dataview or Bases. Obsidian shows the block as a properties table, not as raw YAML.
Tags and nested tags
Obsidian Markdown accepts #tag anywhere in the body, or a tags property at the top. Letters, numbers, underscores, hyphens, and slashes are allowed, and a tag can never be numbers only. #project/notes nests under #project in the tag pane.
Comments
%%text%% stays visible while you edit and disappears in reading view, in exports, and in published notes — the right place for a to-do about the note itself.
Block identifiers
A ^block-id at the end of a line marks that block so other notes can link or embed it. Like comments, it is invisible once the note is rendered.
What you type
---
title: Reading notes
tags:
- pkm
- inbox
aliases:
- Notes on reading
---
Tagged inline too: #pkm/reading
%% A comment only I can see %%
Quotable line ^a1b2c3Preview Obsidian Markdown in 4 Steps
From a draft to a note you can paste into your vault, without switching to reading view and back on every edit.
1
Paste a note or start from the sample
The sample note covers every part of Obsidian Markdown. Paste your own draft over it — everything stays in your browser.
2
Add the syntax you need
The toolbar writes the Obsidian Markdown for wikilinks, embeds, callouts, tags, tasks, properties, math, and Mermaid, so you never have to count brackets.
3
Check the reading view
The right pane shows the rendered result: callout colors, property pills, highlighted text, resolved links, and rendered diagrams.
4
Copy it into your vault
Copy the note or download it as .md and drop it in your vault folder. Obsidian stores plain Markdown files, so nothing is lost in transit.
Write Your Obsidian Markdown Now
Go back to the editor, add the wikilinks and callouts you need, check the reading view, and copy the Obsidian Markdown note into your vault.