Markdown Essentials

Everything you need to write in Rho MD. Markdown is plain text with a few punctuation conventions — you can read this whole page in five minutes and know 95% of what you'll ever type.

Headings

Start a line with #. More hashes, deeper level:

# Chapter
## Section
### Subsection

Rho MD converts the line as soon as you type # at its start, and the Outline panel picks headings up automatically.

Paragraphs & Line Breaks

Paragraphs are separated by a blank line. For a line break inside a paragraph, end the line with two spaces.

Emphasis

Shortcuts while editing: select text and press Ctrl+B (bold), Ctrl+I (italic), or Ctrl+E (inline code) — or use the bubble that appears over a selection (highlight lives there too). Typing a complete pair like **bold** or ==highlight== converts it on the spot.

Lists

- bullet item
- another one

1. first
2. second

- [ ] a task
- [x] a finished task

Typing - , 1. , or - [ ] at the start of a line converts it as you type. While in a list:

• Enter starts the next item.
• Tab indents the current item one level; Shift+Tab brings it back.
• Lists nest freely, and types can mix — in an empty item, type the other marker to switch it: 1. inside a bullet sub-list turns it ordered, - inside an ordered one turns it back.

Task checkboxes are live. Click a checkbox to tick or untick it — no need to enter edit mode. In reading mode the change is saved to the file immediately, so a note full of to-dos works as a checklist just by reading it. (Documents opened from the cloud are read-only, and their checkboxes stay fixed.)

Links

[link text](https://example.com)

External links open in your system browser (Rho MD asks first — it never loads web pages itself). A link to another local .md file opens right in the app.

Wikilinks are the fastest way to connect notes: type [[ and pick a document from the popup. In reading mode they are clickable: a link to an existing note opens it ([[Note#Heading]] jumps straight to that section), and clicking a link whose note doesn't exist yet creates the note right next to the current one and opens it. Links with no page yet render dimmer, with a dashed underline. [[Some Note]] links to that note if it exists — and if it doesn't yet, it becomes a concept you can turn into a note later from the Connections panel.

Images

Rho MD documents are self-contained: images live inside the file as an image block, so a note never breaks when files move and never loads anything from the internet. Paste an image from the clipboard, or use Insert Image — the block is created for you. Regular ![alt](url) syntax pointing at the web is deliberately not rendered.

Quotes & Callouts

> A plain quote.

> [!NOTE]
> Callouts add a colored, titled panel.

Callout types: NOTE, TIP, IMPORTANT, WARNING, CAUTION, INFO, QUOTE, and ZEN.

Code

Inline code uses single backticks. For a block, fence it with three:

```python
def hello():
    print("hi")
```

Name the language after the opening fence for syntax highlighting. Code blocks edit in place like any text — Enter makes a new line, Tab indents — and what you type is taken literally (no markdown conversion inside code).

Tables

| Name  | Role   |
|-------|--------|
| Ada   | Design |
| Linus | Kernel |

Tables render richly; to change one today, flip to Source mode (the Raw switch in the status bar) — in-place table editing is on the roadmap.

Math

Inline math sits between single dollars: $e^{i\pi}+1=0$. Display math gets its own block:

$$
\int_0^1 x^2\,dx = \tfrac{1}{3}
$$

Horizontal Rule

A line with just --- (typed at the start of an empty paragraph, plus a space) becomes a divider.

Front Matter

An optional block at the very top of the file, between --- fences, holds document settings:

---
theme: kami-parchment
---

theme: switches the document's typography (six built-in looks); layout: canvas renders the document edge-to-edge.

Beyond the Basics

Markdown is only half of what a Rho MD document can do. Interactive blocks — sliders, live charts, animated scenes, quizzes, tabs, timelines — are covered in Interactive Documents and the 5-minute tour. Everything above stays plain, portable markdown: open your files in any other editor and they still read fine.