Markdown is a markup language that is used to add formatting elements to plain text. It is easy to learn and use. In my opinion, markdown is a must, not only if you want to start posting here on Dev but also for writing readme. I'm sure by now you've noticed that readme files have the .md extension, that is the markdown file extension and while you can write a readme in plaintext, to make our readme more appealing and comprehensive you should definitely use markdown.

Here's a list of basic Markdown syntax to get you started:

Heading

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Bold and Italic

**Bold** *Italic*
or
__Bold__ _Italic_

Bold Italic

Bold Italic

Link

[Example](https://example.com)

Example

Blockquote

> Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum

Image

![alt text](image.jpg)

List

1. One
2. Two
3. Three

- List
- List
- List

1. One
2. Two
3. Three

• List
• List
• List

Code

`Inline` code
{```}
    console.log(a)
{```}

Inline code

console.log(a)

// Without the curly braces

Horizontal rule

Lorem Ispum

---

Lorem Ispum

---

Remember to put a blank line before and after the dashes, without those, the text will appear as a heading.

A lot of markdown applications accept the use of HTML tags so if you are more comfortable using HTML tags over markdown syntax you can use them provided that they are supported by the application.