MarkdownForge

Markdown bold and italic

Two asterisks for bold, one for italic, three for both. Underscores work too, except in the middle of a word.

**Bold** and __also bold__

*Italic* and _also italic_

***Bold italic*** or **_mixed_**

Mid-word: un**believ**able works, un__believ__able does not.

Bold

Wrap text in **double asterisks** or __double underscores__. It renders as <strong>.

Italic

Wrap text in *single asterisks* or _single underscores_. It renders as <em>.

Bold and italic together

Use three asterisks ***like this***, or nest the two styles: **_like this_**.

Asterisks or underscores?

Prefer asterisks. CommonMark ignores underscores inside words so that names like snake_case_variable are not italicised by accident, which means un__believ__able stays literal while un**believ**able works. Style guides such as the Google developer documentation style guide and markdownlint rule MD050 recommend one consistent style.

No space inside the markers

** bold ** with spaces next to the asterisks is not bold. The opening marker must be followed by a non-space and the closing marker preceded by one.

Showing a literal asterisk

Escape it with a backslash: \*not italic\*.

Quick answers

How do I bold text in Markdown?
Put two asterisks on each side: **bold**.
Why isn’t my bold text working?
Check for spaces just inside the asterisks, or underscores used in the middle of a word.
Can I bold part of a word?
Yes with asterisks (re**mark**able), not with underscores.