Markanto for Markdown writers

Markanto is Markdown as you know it, with a few things more and a few forms less. Whatever you write in CommonMark or GitHub’s Markdown is, for the most part, already Markanto. This page names only the differences; the specification is the full reference.

What stays the same

Headings with #, paragraphs, *emphasis* and **strong**, `code`, fenced code blocks, lists with -, *, + or 1., task lists (- [ ], - [x]), links and images ([text](url "title"), ![alt](picture.jpg)), quotes with >, pipe tables, ~~strikethrough~~, --- as a break, and backslash escapes. A bare https:// address becomes a link.

Some accepted forms are written back in one canonical form: _emphasis_ as *emphasis*, __strong__ as **strong**, *** as ---, ~~~ fences as ```. They mean the same.

Written differently

Headings only with #. A line underlined with === or --- is an error, not a heading. A heading is never empty.
Code only in fences. Four spaces in front of a line make no code block; the indentation is dropped, with a warning.
Links only directly. [text](https://example.org) is a link; the reference form [text][1] with a line [1]: https://example.org stays text.
No HTML. <br>, <kbd>, <details> and every other tag are shown as written. The exceptions are a comment, , which is never shown, and Markanto’s own <m>, <i> and <b> (below).
A line break ends the line with \. Two trailing spaces are read as one too and written as \.
Lists nest by two spaces per level, under numbered items too:
```
1. First
  still the first, continued
2. Second
  - a point under it
```
A level is at most one deeper than the line before it.
Every line of a quote starts with >. A line without it ends the quote.
A table row has as many cells as its header. A shorter or longer row is an error.
___ on a line of its own opens a container (below); a break is ---.

A few things more

Write	For
`H~2~O`, `x^2^`	subscript, superscript
`==marked==`	highlighted text
`++inserted++`, `~~deleted~~`	an edit: text added, text removed
`--outdated--`	text that stays but no longer holds
$`E = mc^2`$	inline maths (LaTeX)
`<m lang=fr>bonjour</m>`	a language, or other metadata, for a part of the text
`a<i>b</i>c`, `a<b>b</b>c`	emphasis inside a word
`Text.[^1]` and a line `[^1]: The note.`	a footnote; its text is a single paragraph
`## Introduction {#intro}`	an id of your own for a heading

A block of maths is a fence with math:

```math
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
```

A caption follows a picture after a \, as one emphasised line:

![A harbour at dawn](harbour.jpg)\
*Lisbon, early in the morning*

A quote can name its source on the line right after it:

> Kill two birds with one stone.
-- proverb

A container groups blocks under a type of your choosing and an optional title:

::: Note Before you start
Everything in here belongs to the note.
:::

A definition list puts each term after :, its definition indented below:

: Kerning

  The space between two letters.

Video, audio, an embedded page and a download are a link in an <m>:

<m video>[The harbour at dawn](harbour.mp4)</m>

<m download>[The whole text as PDF](text.pdf)</m>

An <m> may also carry data-* attributes. Markanto gives them no meaning of its own: a program that uses Markanto may, and its documentation names them.

One form for each meaning

A Markanto formatter writes each document in its one canonical form: *emphasis*, ---, two spaces per list level, \ for a line break. Whatever accepted form you write means the same, and formatting twice changes nothing more.