Notion Markdown Cheat Sheet
Every Markdown shortcut Notion turns into a block as you type, what happens when you paste or import a .md file, and the syntax Notion ignores — with a box that fixes your Markdown before you paste it.
Notion formats Markdown as you type: **bold**, *italic*, `code` and ~strike~ (one tilde) inline; #, ## or ### and a space for headings, - for a bullet, 1. for a numbered list, [] for a to-do, " for a quote and --- for a divider. A > makes a toggle, not a quote. Pasting or importing a .md file converts standard Markdown too — but not footnotes, ==highlights==, > [!NOTE] callouts or HTML.
Going the other way? Copy a Notion page and paste it into Notion to Markdown for clean Markdown with its headings, lists, tables and to-dos.
Notion to MarkdownNotion Markdown Shortcuts
Type these on a Notion page and the formatting is applied as you type. Block shortcuts go at the start of an empty line; most need the space after them.
Inline formatting while you type
| Type this | You get |
|---|---|
**text** | Bold |
*text* | Italic |
`text` | Inline code |
~text~ | Strikethrough (one tilde each side) |
$$E=mc^2$$ | Inline equation |
:emoji_name | Emoji picker |
[[Page name | Link to another page |
@name | Mention a person, page or date |
Source: Notion Help: Keyboard shortcuts · Notion Help: Math equations
Blocks at the start of a line
| Type this | You get |
|---|---|
# + space | Heading 1 |
## + space | Heading 2 |
### + space | Heading 3 |
-, * or + then space | Bulleted list |
1., a. or i. then space | Numbered list |
[] | To-do checkbox |
> + space | Toggle list (not a quote) |
" + space | Quote block |
--- | Divider |
Source: Notion Help: Keyboard shortcuts · Notion Help: Customize and style your content · Notion Help: Columns, headings and dividers
Slash commands for what Markdown cannot type
| Type this | You get |
|---|---|
/code | Code block |
/math | Block equation |
/equation | Inline equation |
/toggle | Toggle list |
/quote | Quote block |
/div | Divider |
/toc | Table of contents |
/h1, /h2, /h3 | Headings |
/color | Text or highlight colour |
Source: Notion Help: Keyboard shortcuts · Notion Help: Math equations
Keyboard shortcuts
| Type this | You get |
|---|---|
Cmd/Ctrl + K | Add a link to selected text |
Cmd/Ctrl + E | Inline code |
Cmd/Ctrl + U | Underline |
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S | Strikethrough |
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E | Inline equation |
Cmd/Ctrl + Option/Shift + 1, 2, 3 | Heading 1, 2, 3 |
Cmd/Ctrl + Option/Shift + 8 | Code block |
Shift + Enter | Line break inside a block |
Tab | Indent / nest |
Source: Notion Help: Keyboard shortcuts · Notion Help: Math equations
Prepare Markdown for Notion
Paste Markdown from GitHub, Obsidian or an AI chat. The box rewrites what Notion would drop or show as literal symbols — callouts, footnotes, <details>, ==highlights==, :emoji: codes, $…$ maths, headings deeper than Notion has — into what Notion keeps, tidies list indentation, and lists every change. Each chip shows how many it found; click one to switch that fix off.
36 lines
11 changes
Changed Front matter removed ×1 · HTML comments removed ×1 · Collapsible sections flattened ×1 · Callouts turned into quotes ×1 · Footnotes inlined ×1 · List items re-indented ×2 · Deep headings turned into bold lines ×1 · Highlights turned into bold ×1 · Emoji shortcodes converted ×1 · Math converted to Notion equations ×1
Runs in your browser — nothing you paste is uploaded. Code blocks are never changed.
What Notion Does With Each Markdown Element
Typed, Imported and Exported come from Notion’s help center and developer documentation. Notion doesn’t document what happens to pasted Markdown, so those notes — and any marked reported — describe what users and guides consistently see, not a Notion guarantee. Checked 27 October 2026.
| Markdown | In Notion | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Headings 1–3# H1
## H2
### H3 |
| |
Headings 4–6#### H4
##### H5 |
Workaround: Keep documents to three heading levels, or turn deeper headings into bold lines before pasting. | |
Bold and italic**bold** *italic* |
| |
Strikethrough~~text~~ |
| |
Inline code`code` |
| |
Links[text](https://example.com) |
Workaround: Use full https:// URLs. Rebuild in-document navigation with headings and /toc. | |
Bulleted list- item
- item |
| |
Numbered list1. first
2. second |
| |
Nested lists- parent
- child |
Workaround: Normalise indentation to four spaces per level before pasting (the “Prepare for Notion” box does this). | |
Task list- [ ] todo
- [x] done |
| |
Blockquote> quoted text |
| |
Callouts / alerts> [!NOTE]
> Useful information. |
Workaround: Turn callouts into a quote that starts with an emoji label, then “Turn into › Callout” if you want the box. | |
Collapsible section<details>
<summary>Title</summary>
Body
</details> |
Workaround: Paste the content, then select it and use “Turn into › Toggle list”. | |
Code blocks```js
console.log(1)
``` |
Workaround: For long documents, import the .md file instead of pasting. | |
Mermaid diagrams```mermaid
graph TD; A-->B
``` |
| |
Tables| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | 2 | |
| |
Horizontal rule--- |
| |
Images |
Workaround: Use absolute image URLs, or upload the images after importing. | |
Inline math$E=mc^2$ |
Workaround: Convert $…$ to $$…$$ before pasting (the “Prepare for Notion” box does this), or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E. Markdown Math writes a single equation in Notion’s form. | |
Block math$$
\int_0^1 x\,dx
$$ |
| |
FootnotesText[^1]
[^1]: The note. |
Workaround: Inline the note in parentheses, or collect notes under a “Notes” heading. | |
Highlight==highlighted== |
Workaround: Bold the text, then apply a highlight colour in Notion. | |
Inline HTMLH<sub>2</sub>O <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <br> |
Workaround: Use equations for sub- and superscripts ($$H_2O$$) and inline code for keys. | |
Emoji shortcodes:tada: :rocket: |
Workaround: Convert shortcodes to emoji characters before pasting. | |
YAML front matter---
title: Notes
--- |
Workaround: Remove front matter before pasting and set the values as page properties. |
Paste or Import: Getting Markdown Into Notion
Pasting is quickest for one page; importing handles whole files and folders. Both turn standard Markdown into Notion blocks, and neither understands the extensions in the table above.
Paste into a page
- Run the Markdown through the Prepare box above and click Copy for Notion.
- Open the Notion page and click where the content should go.
- Paste with ⌘V or Ctrl+V; Notion converts the Markdown into blocks.
- Check code blocks in long pastes and fix any that stayed as text.
Import .md files
- Open Settings in the sidebar and choose Import.
- Pick Text & Markdown and select one or more .md, .markdown or .txt files.
- For a folder of notes, zip the folder and use the ZIP importer to keep its structure.
- Re-link images with relative paths, or upload them after importing.
Notion’s import limits are 5 MB per file on the Free plan and 50 MB on paid plans, and import is not available on mobile yet.
Exporting Notion Pages to Markdown
Click ••• at the top right of a page, choose Export, pick Markdown & CSV and click Export. Turn on Include subpages to get nested pages as separate files. The download is a ZIP: page content as .md files, full-page databases as CSV, and uploaded files alongside. To export everything, workspace owners can use Settings › General › Export all workspace content.
Some blocks have no Markdown equivalent. Notion’s help center says callouts are exported as HTML; its developer Markdown format writes toggles as <details> and coloured text as <span> tags; and links to other Notion pages are reported to come out as notion.so URLs, which break outside Notion. For a single page, copying it and pasting into Notion to Markdown is often quicker than a ZIP.
Sources: Notion Help: Export your content · Notion Developers: Enhanced Markdown
Markdown Notion Ignores
These have no Notion equivalent. Rewrite them before pasting, or fix them by hand afterwards.
| Markdown | What happens in Notion |
|---|---|
[^1] footnotes | No footnotes in Notion. |
> [!NOTE] alerts | Shown as a quote with the marker as text. |
==highlight== | The equals signs stay visible. |
H~2~O, x^2^ | No sub- or superscript text; use an equation. |
<details>, <kbd>, <br> and other HTML | Tags are dropped. |
##### H5, ###### H6 | No heading levels below 4. |
Term ↵ : definition | No definition lists. |
## Title {#custom-id} | No heading IDs; #anchor links are unsupported on import. |
| :---: | alignment | Table column alignment is ignored. |
--- ↵ title: … ↵ --- | Front matter is not turned into properties. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Notion support Markdown?
Yes, in three ways. Markdown shortcuts format text as you type, pasted Markdown is turned into blocks, and Settings › Import › Text & Markdown imports .md files. Notion stores pages as blocks, not as Markdown, so there is no raw Markdown view to edit afterwards, and extensions such as footnotes, ==highlights== and > [!NOTE] callouts have no Notion equivalent.
How do I paste Markdown into Notion without losing formatting?
Copy the Markdown as plain text and paste it into a Notion page: headings, lists, bold, italic, links, code blocks and tables come through. Before pasting, run it through the Prepare Markdown for Notion box on this page, which rewrites callouts, footnotes, <details> sections, highlights, emoji shortcodes and $…$ maths into forms Notion keeps, and makes list indentation consistent.
How do I import a .md file into Notion?
Open Settings in the sidebar, choose Import, then Text & Markdown, and pick one or more .md, .markdown or .txt files. To keep a folder structure, zip the folder and use the ZIP importer instead. Notion’s help center lists headings, lists and code blocks as supported and warns that anchor links and tool-specific extensions may not import cleanly. Import works on desktop and web, not on mobile.
Why does > make a toggle instead of a quote in Notion?
Because that is Notion’s shortcut: > followed by a space creates a toggle list. To type a quote, start the line with " followed by a space, or use /quote. A blockquote you paste as Markdown is reported to arrive as a quote block.
How do I strike through text in Notion with Markdown?
When typing, wrap the text in one tilde on each side — ~text~ — or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S. Notion’s Markdown export writes strikethrough as ~~text~~, and pasted ~~text~~ is reported to come through as strikethrough.
How do I write equations in Notion?
Notion’s inline equation shortcut uses two dollar signs: type $$E=mc^2$$, or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E. For a block equation, use /math. Markdown written with single dollar signs ($E=mc^2$) usually stays as text when pasted; the Math rule in the Prepare box converts it to the $$ form.
Can I export a Notion page as Markdown?
Yes. Click ••• at the top right of the page, choose Export, pick Markdown & CSV and click Export; turn on Include subpages for nested pages. You get a ZIP: pages as .md files and databases as CSV. Callouts are written as HTML because Markdown has no equivalent.