Reddit Markdown Editor

Reddit formatting: the complete cheat sheet

Reddit formats posts and comments with Markdown, a set of simple symbols around your text. Type them in the editor above and the preview shows exactly how your post will look on Reddit. Here is every format Reddit supports, and what to type.

Reddit formatting cheat sheet

• Bold: **text**
• Italic: *text* or _text_
• Strikethrough: ~~text~~
• Superscript: ^word for one word, ^(several words) for more
• Spoiler: >!hidden text!<
• Inline code: a word between single backticks
• Code block: three backticks on the line before and the line after, or four spaces at the start of each line
• Heading: # at the start of a line, ## and ### for smaller headings
• Quote: > at the start of a line
• Bullet list: - or * at the start of each line
• Numbered list: 1. at the start of each line
• Link: [text](https://example.com)
• Horizontal line: --- on its own line
• User and subreddit links: type u/username or r/subreddit, Reddit links them for you

Switch to Markdown mode first

This is the first reason formatting breaks. On the Reddit website, the post and comment boxes open in a visual editor by default. If you type or paste Markdown there, the symbols stay visible: people see **text** instead of bold text.

Before pasting, switch the box to Markdown mode: look for the "Markdown" or "Switch to Markdown" option in the editor. To make it permanent, turn on the "Default to Markdown" option in your Reddit settings. Or skip the symbols and use the visual editor's buttons instead, both give the same result.

How to add a spoiler on Reddit

In a comment or a text post, put the hidden part between >! and !<, with no space after >! or before !<: >!Snape kills Dumbledore!<. Readers see a dark bar and click it to reveal the text.

On mobile, type the same >!text!< syntax in the Reddit app. It works in comments and text posts.

For a whole post, add the Spoiler tag when you create the post. The post is then blurred in feeds until someone opens it.

How to make a code block on Reddit

Put three backticks on their own line before the code and three after. It works on the current Reddit website and apps. For posts that must also display correctly on old.reddit.com, indent every line of code with four spaces instead: old Reddit does not render the backtick version.

For a short piece of code inside a sentence, put it between single backticks.

Line breaks and paragraphs

A single Enter does not start a new line in Reddit Markdown: the two lines are joined. To start a new paragraph, leave an empty line. To go to the next line without a gap, end the line with two spaces before pressing Enter.

Tables on Reddit

Separate columns with |, and put a line of dashes under the header row: | Tool | Price |, then |---|---|, then one line per row, like | RedShip | $29 |. Tables display on the Reddit website. Some older apps show them as plain text, so keep them simple.

What Reddit Markdown does not support

• Images inside text. An image link shows as a link. To show an image, use an image post, or upload the image through the visual editor.
• HTML. Tags are shown as text or removed.
• Colours and font sizes. Headings are the only way to change text size.

Before you post

Formatting helps people read your post. Whether it stays up depends on the community. Check the subreddit's title and flair requirements with the Subreddit Rules Checker, and run your draft through the AutoMod Simulator to see if an automatic filter would remove it. The editor's templates (question, personal story, how-to guide, AMA opener, discussion prompt) give you a structure that works on Reddit to start from.