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What is Markdown anyway?

Write perfectly formatted text… in plain text.

Markdown lets you apply text formatting using simple characters, then easily export your prose to HTML, rich text, Microsoft Word or PDF.

Want to italicise some text? Just *surround it with asterisks*. Or go bold with **two asterisks**. Markdown’s syntax also includes options to format headers, create bulleted lists and hyperlinks, and much more.

Markdown text when typed into Byword (left) and rendered as HTML in the Markdown-preview app Marked (right).

After a short tutorial, you’ll find this syntax much easier to type than HTML – and likely even more convenient than learning keyboard shortcuts. Which means that if you’re using an app like Ulysses to, say, write an ebook, you can completely immerse yourself in your words, without getting sidetracked by formatting intricacies. When you’re done, the app creates the corresponding HTML for you.

Markdown-capable apps like Ulysses let you add formatting with a few simple characters.

If blogging and building websites aren’t your forte, apps that support Markdown are also packed with clever features that make them valuable tools for everyday writing, such as distraction-free modes, easy-to-memorise formatting shortcuts, searchable tags and customisable themes to cover every writing style and angle.

Bear’s got plenty of colourful themes to choose from.

Markdown can be found in some of the finest writing tools available for your Mac. The apps below each use Markdown in a unique way, so it’s just a matter of finding the one that best fits you and your writing agenda.