Text Formatting

Basic Formatting

Italic

Use single asterisks or underscores:

*italic text*
_italic text_

Bold

Use double asterisks or underscores:

**bold text**
__bold text__

Bold and Italic

Combine them:

***bold and italic***
___bold and italic___
**_bold and italic_**

Strikethrough

Use double tildes:

~~strikethrough text~~

Inline Code

Use single backticks:

Use the `console.log()` function.

For code with backticks inside:

Use ``code with `backticks` inside``.

Best Practices

• Be consistent with italic/bold markers throughout a document
• Use * for emphasis (italic) and ** for strong emphasis (bold)
• Use underscores _ only when marking up text within words
• Always use inline code for:
  • Function names, variable names, method names
  • File paths and filenames
  • Command-line commands
  • Package names
  • Configuration keys

Examples

Good

The `getUserById()` function accepts an `id` parameter and returns a **User** object.

Install with `npm install express`.

Edit the `package.json` file in your project root.

Bad

The getUserById() function accepts an id parameter and returns a User object.

Install with npm install express.

Edit the package.json file in your project root.

Linting Rules

• MD036 (no-emphasis-as-heading): Emphasis used instead of a heading
• MD037 (no-space-in-emphasis): Spaces inside emphasis markers
• MD038 (no-space-in-code): Spaces inside code span elements
• MD042 (no-empty-links): No empty links

Configuration Example

{
  "MD036": { "punctuation": ".,;:!?。，；：！？" },
  "MD037": true,
  "MD038": true
}