Reddit Markdown Editor

How Reddit Markdown Actually Works

Reddit does not use standard Markdown. It uses a fork called Snudown, which adds a few Reddit-specific features (spoilers, superscript, the >!text!< syntax) and quietly removes a few standard ones. The editor above renders posts using the same flavor of Markdown that Reddit itself produces, so what you see in the preview is what your post will look like once published.

That precision matters because most generic Markdown editors silently mangle Reddit-specific syntax. Spoiler tags show up as plain text. Superscript becomes literal carets. Auto-linked usernames stay as boring strings. The result is a post that looks fine in your editor and broken in the comment thread.

What Reddit Markdown Supports

The basics work as you would expect: bold, italic, links, lists, headings, blockquotes, and code blocks. Reddit also supports tables on new Reddit, though some older clients render them poorly.

Reddit-specific additions worth knowing:

Spoilers use the syntax >!hidden text!<. The text renders as a black bar until clicked. This is the same syntax used across all Reddit clients, and it works in both posts and comments.

Superscript uses ^(text) for multi-word superscript and ^token for single-token superscript. This is often used for footnotes, side comments, or stylistic flourishes.

Strikethrough uses ~~text~~. This is GFM standard but worth noting because it works on Reddit, unlike some other GFM features.

Auto-linked references turn u/username and r/subreddit into clickable links automatically. You do not need to write [u/username](https://reddit.com/user/username). Just type u/username and Reddit handles the rest.

What Reddit Markdown Does Not Support

A few common Markdown features either do not work on Reddit or work inconsistently:

Inline HTML is stripped. You cannot embed raw HTML the way GitHub allows.

Images cannot be embedded inline in text posts. You can include image links, but they render as plain links. To include an image in a post, you have to use Reddit's image post type.

Indented code blocks (the four-space variant) work, but many users find them inconsistent. Stick to fenced code blocks with triple backticks.

Some heading levels render differently between old Reddit and new Reddit. Headings above H4 are rare and often render the same as H4 in practice.

Why Your Title Matters Even More Than Your Body

Reddit posts live or die by their title. The title is the first thing visible in feeds, search results, and comment threads, and it determines whether anyone reads the body at all. The editor above shows the title length compared to Reddit's 300-character limit, but the practical limit is much shorter. Most top-performing posts are under 100 characters.

A great title makes the reader curious without making them angry. Clickbait gets downvoted on Reddit faster than almost any other platform.

Writing for Reddit vs Writing for Other Platforms

Reddit readers tolerate longer posts than Twitter readers but punish posts that feel like marketing more than almost any other platform. The structure that works is unusually direct: short paragraphs, clear headings, no buzzwords, no calls to action, and a willingness to admit what you do not know.

The templates in the editor above are designed around the post shapes that consistently perform well on Reddit: the personal story with measurable results, the how-to with concrete steps, the question post that respects readers' time, the discussion prompt that invites pushback rather than agreement.

Drafting Without Posting

The editor above runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, nothing is saved unless you copy it out yourself. Use it to draft, get the formatting right, then paste the result into Reddit's own composer when you are ready to publish.

RedShip helps you find the right subreddit to publish into. Combine that with a post written with Reddit's actual Markdown flavor and you will land on a community where your post is visible, properly formatted, and worth reading.