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Definition
Markdown is a lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using plain text syntax. Headings use #, bold uses **text**, links use [text](url). Markdown is used on GitHub, Reddit, Stack Overflow, documentation sites, and in many note-taking apps.
John Gruber created Markdown in 2004 with the goal of making a format that is readable as plain text and can be converted to HTML. The syntax is intuitive: # for headings, * or - for lists, **bold**, *italic*, [links](url), and indented blocks for code. This simplicity made Markdown the standard for developer documentation, README files, and technical writing.
Markdown has become the default writing format for: GitHub (README, issues, pull requests, comments), Stack Overflow, Reddit, Discord, Notion, Obsidian, static site generators (Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby, Next.js), and documentation tools (Docusaurus, MkDocs, GitBook). Most developer-facing platforms support Markdown rendering.
The original Markdown specification left many edge cases undefined, leading to incompatible implementations. CommonMark (2014) is a strict specification that resolves these ambiguities. GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extends CommonMark with tables, task lists, strikethrough, and auto-linking. For rich content beyond Markdown's capabilities, MDX combines Markdown with JSX components.