Writing & Markdown reference

Every formatting shortcut Notes understands — checkboxes, headings, lists, tables, code, and what happens when you paste Markdown.

Answer

Notes speaks Markdown. Type [] followed by a space for a checkbox, # for a heading, - for a bullet, 1. for a numbered list. Pasting Markdown text converts it to rich blocks automatically, and exporting a page gives you clean Markdown back.

There are three ways to format as you write, and they all work together:

Markdown shortcuts — type the marker and keep going (fastest).
The / menu — press / on any line to insert a block from a list.
The selection menu — select text for bold, color, links, and turn-into.

Checkboxes and to-do lists

Type any of these at the start of a line, then a space:

You type	You get
`[]`	An unchecked to-do item
`[x]`	A checked to-do item
`- [ ]`	An unchecked to-do item (GitHub style)
`- [x]`	A checked to-do item (GitHub style)

Press Enter to continue the list with a new checkbox, Tab to nest a sub-task, and Backspace on an empty item to exit the list. Click the box to toggle it — collaborators see the change live.

Both spellings also work when you paste a to-do list from anywhere else: GitHub-style - [ ] task lists and bare [] task lines both become interactive checkboxes. Capital [X] is fine too.

Headings

You type	You get
`# Text`	Heading 1
`## Text`	Heading 2
`### Text`	Heading 3

Deeper heading levels (#### and beyond) fold into Heading 3 — Notes keeps page structure to three levels on purpose. Pasted documents using setext headings (a line of === or --- under the text) convert too.

Lists

You type	You get
`-`, `*`, or `+`	Bulleted list
`1.` or `1)`	Numbered list
`3.`	Numbered list starting at 3

Tab indents a nested list; Shift+Tab brings it back out. Lists of all three kinds can nest inside each other, including to-dos under bullets.

Inline formatting

You type	You get
`bold` or `__bold__`	Bold
`italic` or `_italic_`	Italic
`*both*`	Bold italic
`~~strike~~`	~~Strikethrough~~
`==highlight==`	Highlighted text
`code`	Inline code
`[title](https://url)`	A link
`<https://url>` or a bare URL	An automatic link

Keyboard equivalents: ⌘B bold, ⌘I italic, ⌘U underline, ⌘⇧X strikethrough, ⌘E code, ⌘K link. Text color and highlight colors live in the toolbar at the top of the page and in the selection menu.

Need a literal * or #? Escape it with a backslash: \*not emphasis\*.

Blocks

You type	You get
`>` + space	Quote
`---`, `***`, or `___` on its own line	Divider
``` or `~~~` (optionally with a language: ```python)	Code block with syntax highlighting
`@` or `[[`	Link to another page (backlinks are tracked)
`/`	The full block menu — tables, callouts, images, embeds

Tables

Paste a Markdown table and it becomes a real table:

| Plan | Price |
| --- | --- |
| Starter | $0 |
| Team | $12 |

You can also insert one from the / menu and edit cells directly.

Pasting Markdown

When you paste plain text that contains Markdown structure — headings, lists, checkboxes, quotes, code fences, tables — Notes converts it to rich blocks automatically. Ordinary prose pastes as ordinary text; the conversion only kicks in when the text actually looks like Markdown. Pasting from rich sources (Google Docs, web pages) keeps their formatting as before, and pasted images upload straight into the page.

This is the fastest way to move content in from a README, a ChatGPT/Claude answer, a GitHub issue, or any Markdown editor.

Exporting Markdown

Every page exports to clean Markdown (page menu → Export), including checkboxes as - [ ] / - [x], so your content is never locked in. The importer accepts Markdown files and full Notion exports the same way.

Good to know

Checkbox state syncs in realtime — two people can work the same checklist.
Markdown shortcuts fire as you type; nothing happens to text you've already written until you select it and use the menu.
Inside code blocks, nothing converts — paste config and scripts safely.

Writing & Markdown reference

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