What file uses .md extension and how should I edit them?

Question

On GitHub, several projects have README.md files. It seems like a simple format file to express text and pictures.

I guess there is an editor or syntax explanation somewhere.

Where can I find an introduction to .md files?

I guess this is evidence in favor of using the `.markdown` extension instead, though it's so awfully long... — endolith, May 22 '12 at 19:30
Here is a link that may help you -> [.MD File Extension](http://www.fileinfo.com/extension/md) — Vipin Kr. Singh, Sep 21 '12 at 16:39
User can try [MarkView](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/markview/iaddkimmopgchbbnmfmdcophmlnghkim), a Chrome extension for editing and viewing markdown file inside the browser. — swcool, Jan 20 '14 at 06:48
[MarkPad](http://code52.org/DownmarkerWPF/ "MarkPad") is a nice application for MarkDown editing in Windows. It presents you with the preview of the edits. — skjoshi, Aug 31 '13 at 20:23
Full guide to help you start with `markdown`: http://blog.wax-o.com/2014/04/tutorial-short-guide-to-start-with-markdown/. You should try to write markdown with a way to live visualizing the result (with an application like http://mouapp.com/). Did you know that stackoverflow post and comment syntax is based on markdown ? :) http://stackoverflow.com/editing-help — fabien, Jul 04 '14 at 10:07

score 764 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 10 '19 at 09:17

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Markdown is a plain-text file format. The extensions .md and .markdown are just text files written in Markdown syntax. If you have a Readme.md in your repo, GitHub will show the contents on the home page of your repo. Read the documentation:

You can edit the Readme.md file in GitHub itself. Click on Readme.md, you will find an edit button. You can preview your changes and even commit them from there.

Since it is a text file, Notepad or Notepad++ (Windows), TextEdit (Mac) or any other text editor can be used to edit and modify it. Specialized editors exist that automatically parse the markdown as you type it and generate a preview, while others apply various syntax coloring and decorations to the displayed text. In both cases though, the saved file is still a readable text file.

If you want to create an md file with preview and if you prefer not to install any special editors, you can use online editors like dillinger.io and stackedit.io. They provide live preview. You can also export your files to Google Drive or Dropbox.

edited Jan 10 '19 at 09:17

Josh Habdas

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answered May 07 '11 at 17:45

Kien Truong

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I found Github's [basic explanation](https://help.github.com/articles/markdown-basics) very useful as a quick introduction too. – Voo Mar 28 '14 at 19:03
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On Windows you might want to use WordPad to make use of the formatting for an easier read. – G O'Rilla Nov 08 '14 at 16:21
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@GO'Rilla, IMHO avoid WordPad like the plague unless writing little notes to yourself that you will never share with anyone. What it adds to the .txt file can wreak havoc on other editors (vim, Notepad++, etc). Much better to work in plain text when dealing with .txt and use a word processor or Acrobat for non .txt textual files like .doc and .pdf. – labyrinth Mar 24 '15 at 20:56
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can we add images or through link in .md file... is it possible? – Raphael Jan 22 '16 at 04:54
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@user1645290 Yes, it's possible. [see](https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet#images) – B-GangsteR Nov 28 '16 at 23:44
Under which scenarios should this format be used? I know you can use it if you have the intention of using the information in it in a web page. I had the intention of using it for a simple note, something not really important about the (Git) repo, but good to have at hand and to know, just in case. Should I use .md in a case like that? – carloswm85 Oct 13 '20 at 14:48

sirLisko · Answer 2 · 2014-11-06T18:57:40.137

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If you are looking for an editor, I suggest you use http://dillinger.io/. It is a simple browser-based text editor that can render Markdown on the fly.

However, if you prefer an app, and you are using OS X, you could try Mou. It is quite good and full of examples.

edited Nov 06 '14 at 18:57

answered May 18 '12 at 10:44

sirLisko

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It seems to be back to life? – GuiSim Mar 07 '13 at 15:04
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I'd like suggest [http://dillinger.io/](http://dillinger.io/), another really cool browser-based text editor. It also allows you to link Dropbox, Github and Google drive. – sirLisko Feb 06 '14 at 15:01
The Notepad link in this answer triggers a RAR file download. Why is there no webpage, didn't you say it was a browser-based editor? – evanrmurphy Jul 31 '14 at 03:31
that link is no longer valid – Carlos Pliego Nov 06 '14 at 02:02
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Just pointing out that this is not a full answer to the question. You don't explain what .md is, only how it can be edited – Zoe May 03 '17 at 14:29
@Zoe is right. Improve the answer. The information about the editor is a side note. – carloswm85 Oct 13 '20 at 14:53

score 47 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 19 '20 at 17:29

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Github's Atom text editor has a live-preview mode for markdown files.

The keyboard shortcut is CTRL+SHIFT+M.

It can be activated from the editor using the CTRL+SHIFT+M key-binding and is currently enabled for .markdown, .md, .mkd, .mkdown, and .ron files.

enter image description here

edited Apr 19 '20 at 17:29

Arsen Khachaturyan

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answered May 26 '14 at 16:27

Feckmore

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score 38 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 29 '16 at 16:17

Microsoft's Visual Studio Code text editor has built in support for .md files written in markdown syntax.

The syntax is automatically color-coded inside of the .md file, and a preview window of the rendered markdown can be viewed by pressing Shift+Ctrl+V (Windows) or Shift+Cmd+V (Mac).

To see them side-by-side, drag the preview tab to the right side of the editor, or use Ctrl+K V (Windows) or Cmd+K V (Mac) instead.

VS Code uses the marked library for parsing, and has Github Flavored Markdown support enabled by default, but it will not display the Github Emoji inline like Github's Atom text editor does.

Also, VS Code supports has several markdown plugins available for extended functionality.

If you are using Visual Studio 2015 instead see my answer below. — bytedev, Sep 21 '16 at 13:34

codeburn · Answer 5 · 2014-03-26T09:13:02.120

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Extension '.md' refers to Markdown files.

If you don't want to install an app to read them in that format, you can simply use TextEdit or Xcode itself to open it on Mac.

On any other OS, you should be able to open it using any text editor, though as expected, you will not see it in Markdown format.

edited Mar 26 '14 at 09:13

answered Jun 04 '13 at 09:59

codeburn

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Actually, you _will_ see it in Markdown format. You won't see it as bold, italics, indents and code blocks, though. – Lightness Races in Orbit Oct 04 '13 at 14:08

score 14 · Answer 6 · edited Oct 02 '13 at 18:33

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Yup, just GitHub flavored Markdown. Including a README file in your repository will help others quickly determine what it's about and how to install it. Very helpful to include in your repos.

edited Oct 02 '13 at 18:33

Erick Robertson

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answered Jul 28 '12 at 21:36

esilvas

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Downvoted. By “one” in “including one in your repository” you should mean “a README file in any format”, not just “a README.md file”. But the question is asking about “.md” files in general, not about READMEs in general. So this answer is irrelevant to the question. Also, the ambiguity with “one” could make a reader think that Markdown READMEs are necessarily better than other READMEs, which is wrong. – Rory O'Kane Dec 23 '12 at 06:36
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I made the change specified in the previous comment, because it makes sense and I think it could help avoid confusion. I don't think this is a very good answer, though, as it adds nothing new that's relevant. This question isn't about README's, it is about the .md extension. There's no reason to add this answer six weeks after the accepted answer provided the same information. – Erick Robertson Oct 02 '13 at 18:36

score 5 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 14 '14 at 15:18

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Stack Edit is an online markdown editor with the ability to save to Google Drive and DropBox.

answered Feb 14 '14 at 15:18

Philip

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score 5 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 06 '14 at 06:32

Markdown is just a text file which optionally has .md, or .markdown extensions. It can be converted to HTML. To know syntax of Markdown, Check out

GitHub Flavored Markdown.

You can use any text editor for markdown. If you are sublime text user, you can check out Markdown Preview plugin which will display the rendered markdown content in browser and updates whenever you change the markdown file.

Some of the online markdown editor

nycynik · Answer 9 · 2013-02-22T15:08:58.227

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BBEdit will also display MD on the mac.

and here is a quicklook plugin to display them when you preview them.

edited Feb 22 '13 at 15:08

answered Oct 04 '12 at 17:06

nycynik

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score 3 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 18 '15 at 09:55

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I suggest StackEdit. It is simple WISIWIG editor. You can use both editor and markdown syntax. There is a quick markdown help syntax there. Undo/redo, comments, GoogleDrive, Dropbox interconnection.

answered Nov 18 '15 at 09:55

Unicorn

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score 2 · Answer 11 · answered May 29 '14 at 19:37

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markable.in is a very nice online tool for editing Markdown syntax

answered May 29 '14 at 19:37

user1337432

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score 2 · Answer 12 · answered Sep 04 '14 at 17:56

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There is an ongoing effort to standardize Markdown and as of now, this is probably the best place to learn about markdown:

http://standardmarkdown.com/

answered Sep 04 '14 at 17:56

Afaque H

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It's http://commonmark.org now (see http://blog.codinghorror.com/standard-markdown-is-now-common-markdown) – JeffRSon Sep 04 '15 at 10:33

bytedev · Answer 13 · 2017-09-07T10:38:24.613

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If you are creating .md files for your .NET solutions I recommend the Visual Studio 2015 extension Markdown Editor as it has a preview panel so you can see your changes in real time.

EDIT: This also should now work with Visual Studio 2017.

edited Sep 07 '17 at 10:38

answered Sep 21 '16 at 13:31

bytedev

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Oct 29 '13 at 18:16

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The easiest thing to do, if you do not have a reader, is to open the MD file with a text editor and then write the MD file out as an HTML file and then double click to view it with browser.

answered Oct 29 '13 at 18:16

richardwendrock

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This will only work if you have a plugin that reads .md files. – Brad Bruce Nov 06 '13 at 23:25

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Sep 11 '15 at 18:00

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The .md stands for Markdown Text. Basically, its just another type of text file, like .txt

I use Notepad++ for reading and editing these

answered Sep 11 '15 at 18:00

NocFenix

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score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Jun 20 '20 at 15:34

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A .md file stands for a Markdown file extension. A popular app for editing these files is Typora

answered Jun 20 '20 at 15:34

T cube

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What file uses .md extension and how should I edit them?

16 Answers16

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