What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base and note-taking application that stores Markdown files locally on your device, with features like wikilinks, graph view, and extensive plugins.
Obsidian Markdown Cheat Sheet
Copyable Obsidian Markdown examples for wikilinks, callouts, embeds, tags, and Mermaid diagrams — free to save as a PDF or print
Or grab the file directly: obsidian-markdown-cheat-sheet.md
Obsidian supports all standard Markdown syntax plus the extensions below. See our Markdown Cheat Sheet for standard syntax.
Markdown Basics
Obsidian fully supports standard Markdown — headings, bold, and italic work exactly as they do in CommonMark.
Headings
Up to six levels; the number of # symbols sets the level shown in the outline.
# Heading 1 ## Heading 2 ### Heading 3
Bold
Double asterisks; double underscores (__text__) also work.
**bold text**
Italic
Single asterisks; single underscores (_text_) also work.
*italic text*
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Wikilinks (Internal Links)
Wikilinks connect notes by name inside double brackets — no file path required. Obsidian can update them automatically when you rename a note.
Basic Link
Link to another note
[[Page Name]]
Link with Alias
Link with custom display text
[[Page Name|Display Text]]
Link to Heading
Link to a specific heading; add more # symbols for subheadings
[[Page Name#Heading]]
Link to Block
Link to a specific block; type ^ after # to pick from suggestions
[[Page Name#^block-id]]
- Link text may not contain the characters # | ^ : %% [[ ]].
- Block references are Obsidian-specific and will not resolve outside Obsidian.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Wikilinks vs Markdown Links
Both formats link between notes and render identically. Wikilinks are the default; disable "Use [[Wikilinks]]" under Settings → Files and Links for maximum interoperability.
Wikilink Format
Compact and vault-native; autocompletes when you type [[
[[Three laws of motion]]
Markdown Format
Portable to other Markdown tools; URL-encode spaces as %20
[Three laws of motion](Three%20laws%20of%20motion.md)
- Even with wikilinks disabled, typing [[ still autocompletes — Obsidian then inserts a Markdown link.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Embeds
Prefix any internal link with ! to embed the content inline instead of linking to it.
Embed Note
Embed an entire note
![[Note Name]]
Embed Heading
Embed a specific section of another note
![[Note#Heading]]
Embed Image
Embed a vault image; |100 sets the width, |640x480 sets width and height
![[image.png|100]]
Embed PDF
Embed a PDF; #page=N opens a specific page, #height=400 sets the viewer height
![[document.pdf#page=3]]
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Callouts
Add [!type] to the first line of a blockquote. Thirteen built-in types with aliases; an unknown type falls back to note.
Note
Information callout — the fallback for unknown types
> [!note] > Content here
Tip
Aliases: hint, important
> [!tip] > Content here
Warning
Aliases: caution, attention
> [!warning] > Content here
Question
Aliases: help, faq
> [!question] > Content here
Collapsible
A minus collapses the callout by default; a plus expands it
> [!note]- Title > Hidden content
- Type identifiers are case-insensitive.
- Callouts nest and support Markdown, wikilinks, and embeds inside.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Properties (YAML Frontmatter)
YAML between --- lines at the very top of a note. Property types: text, list, number, checkbox, date, date & time. Default properties: tags, aliases, cssclasses.
YAML Frontmatter
Note metadata; tags in YAML must be formatted as a list
--- title: My Note tags: - project - draft ---
Aliases
Alternative note names for linking and search, one per line
aliases: - Project kickoff
- Markdown is not rendered inside property values — an intentional limitation.
- Wikilinks in text or list properties must be wrapped in quotes.
- Nested properties are not supported in the properties UI; view them in Source mode.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Tags
Tags are clickable keywords. Add them inline with a # prefix or via the tags property.
Tag
Click a tag to search for it across the vault
#project
Nested Tag
Slashes create a hierarchy; searching tag:inbox also matches nested tags
#inbox/to-read
- No blank spaces — use camelCase, PascalCase, snake_case, or kebab-case for multiple words.
- A tag must contain at least one non-numeric character: #1984 is not valid, #y1984 is.
- Tags are case-insensitive: #tag and #TAG are treated as the same tag.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Highlight
Highlight
Marker-style highlight; an Obsidian extension, not standard Markdown
==highlighted text==
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Strikethrough
Strikethrough
A GitHub Flavored Markdown extension, fully supported in Obsidian
~~strikethrough~~
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Comments
Text wrapped in %% is only visible in Editing view — it disappears in Reading view and on published sites.
Inline Comment
Hide part of a line
This stays visible %%this is hidden%% in the note.
Block Comment
Hide whole paragraphs
%% Draft notes here. Block comments span multiple lines. %%
- Obsidian-only syntax — the %% markers render as literal text in other Markdown apps.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Footnotes
Footnote
Named footnotes like [^note] also work; they still render as numbers
A sentence with a note.[^1] [^1]: The referenced text.
Inline Footnote
Caret goes outside the brackets; works in Reading view only, not in Live Preview
An inline footnote.^[The note text goes here.]
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Tables
Basic Table
Cells need no alignment, but the header separator must contain at least two hyphens
| First name | Last name | | --- | --- | | Max | Planck |
Column Alignment
Colons in the separator row set left, center, or right alignment
| Left | Center | Right | | :-- | :--: | --: | | a | b | c |
- Escape a pipe inside a cell as \| — required for wikilink aliases and image sizes in tables.
- In Live Preview, right-click a table to add, move, or sort rows and columns.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Math (LaTeX)
Math expressions render with MathJax using LaTeX notation.
Inline Math
Single dollar signs render math within a sentence
$e^{2i\pi} = 1$Block Math
Double dollar signs on their own lines render a display block
$$
\sum_{i=1}^n x_i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}
$$Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Mermaid Diagrams
A mermaid code block renders as a diagram — flowcharts, sequence diagrams, timelines, and more.
Flowchart
Rendered as a diagram in Reading view and Live Preview
```mermaid graph TD Biology --> Chemistry ```
Sequence Diagram
One of many Mermaid diagram types Obsidian supports natively
```mermaid sequenceDiagram Alice->>John: Hello John John-->>Alice: Hi Alice ```
- Attach the internal-link class to a node to turn it into a note link.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Unsupported & Edge Behavior
Obsidian supports CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown, and LaTeX math — with a few deliberate exceptions worth knowing before you port notes.
Markdown Inside HTML
Obsidian intentionally does not render Markdown syntax inside HTML elements
<div> This **will not** be bold. </div>
Block References Elsewhere
Block reference links only resolve inside Obsidian; they break in other Markdown tools
[[Note#^block-id]]
Underline
No Markdown syntax exists for underline; raw HTML works, but Markdown inside HTML is not processed
<u>underlined text</u>
- Single line breaks are treated as a continuation of the paragraph in Reading view, matching standard Markdown soft-wrap behavior.
Source: Obsidian Help · Last verified 2026-07-18
Markdown vs Obsidian: Compatibility
How Obsidian extends standard Markdown (CommonMark + GitHub Flavored Markdown), verified against the official Obsidian Help on 2026-07-18. For the standard syntax, see our Markdown Cheat Sheet.
| Feature | Syntax | Standard Markdown | Obsidian | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headings, bold, italic | # H1, **bold**, *italic* | yes | yes | Core CommonMark syntax, identical in Obsidian. |
| Strikethrough | ~~text~~ | partial | yes | GFM extension, not part of CommonMark. |
| Highlight | ==text== | no | yes | Obsidian extension; shows as literal == elsewhere. |
| Tables | | A | B | | partial | yes | GFM extension; Obsidian adds Live Preview table editing. |
| Task lists | - [x] done | partial | yes | GFM extension; any character inside the brackets marks a task complete in Obsidian. |
| Footnotes | [^1] | partial | yes | GFM extension; inline ^[...] footnotes are Obsidian-only. |
| Tags | #tag | no | yes | Renders as a plain heading-less #word elsewhere; searchable metadata in Obsidian. |
| Wikilinks | [[Note]] | no | yes | Obsidian-only; renders as literal brackets in CommonMark/GFM. |
| Embeds | ![[Note]] | no | yes | Obsidian-only transclusion syntax. |
| Callouts | > [!note] | partial | yes | GitHub alerts support five fixed types; Obsidian adds 13 types, aliases, folding, and nesting. |
| Comments | %%hidden%% | no | yes | Visible as literal text outside Obsidian; hidden in Obsidian Reading view. |
| Math | $x^2$ | no | yes | Not in CommonMark or GFM core; Obsidian renders via MathJax. |
| Mermaid diagrams | ```mermaid | partial | yes | GitHub.com also renders mermaid blocks; plain CommonMark/GFM treat them as code. |
| Properties (frontmatter) | ---
key: value
--- | no | yes | Not parsed by CommonMark/GFM; Obsidian turns the YAML block into typed note properties. |
| Markdown inside HTML | <div>**text**</div> | partial | no | Obsidian deliberately skips Markdown inside HTML elements; CommonMark processes inline Markdown around HTML. |
Copyable Obsidian Markdown Examples
Meeting note with backlinks
Use frontmatter, internal links, and headings together for durable meeting notes.
--- tags: [meeting, roadmap] --- # Product sync Related: [[Roadmap]] and [[Launch checklist]] ## Decisions - Ship the beta on Friday - Follow up with [[Design review]]
Collapsible callout
Add a minus sign after the callout type to collapse long reference blocks by default.
> [!summary]- Research notes > Key source: [[Competitor audit]] > Next step: compare pricing pages.
Embedded section reference
Embed a specific heading when you only need one section from another note.
![[Project plan#Risks]] See also: [[Project plan#Timeline]]
Free Obsidian Cheat Sheet PDF
Download the whole reference as a real PDF file — every wikilink, callout, embed, and Mermaid example on one clean sheet. Prefer to work inside Obsidian? Download the same reference as a vault-ready Markdown note, or copy it in one click — the page, PDF, and .md are generated from a single verified source. Prefer paper? Print the page directly and the layout hides navigation and buttons automatically. You can also copy any example into the Markdown to PDF converter for a custom version.
Shareable Image Version
Prefer a picture? Save or share the Obsidian Markdown cheat sheet as a single image — handy for pinning in team chats, wikis, and study notes.
Download image (PNG)Useful Shortcuts
Cmd/Ctrl + NNew noteCmd/Ctrl + OOpen quick switcherCmd/Ctrl + PCommand paletteCmd/Ctrl + EToggle edit/previewCmd/Ctrl + ClickOpen link in new pane[[Start wikilinkFrequently Asked Questions
How are wikilinks different from regular Markdown links?
Wikilinks use double brackets [[like this]] and automatically link to other notes in your vault by name, without needing the full file path.
Can I use regular Markdown in Obsidian?
Yes! Obsidian supports all standard Markdown syntax plus its own extensions like wikilinks, callouts, and embeds.
Is there an Obsidian cheat sheet PDF?
Yes — click the Download PDF button to get the free Obsidian Markdown cheat sheet as a real PDF file, ready to save or print. No signup or email required. You can also print the page directly with Ctrl/Cmd+P.
What Obsidian Markdown syntax should beginners learn first?
Start with wikilinks, headings, tags, callouts, and embeds. Those five patterns cover most Obsidian vault workflows before you add plugins or advanced templates.