Markdown Reference Guide for Obsidian#

1. View Modes (Why you can’t see the code)#

Obsidian has two main ways of displaying notes. If you see the “formatted” version (like a clickable checkbox), you are in Live Preview.

• Toggle Code View: Press Cmd + E to switch between Editing and Reading modes.
• Source Mode: To see the “raw” characters (like - [ ]) all the time, go to the status bar at the bottom right and select Source Mode.
• Temporary Reveal: If you click directly on a formatted item (like a checkbox), Obsidian will temporarily reveal the code for just that line.

1. Headers#

Use # followed by a space. The number of # symbols indicates the header level.