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Guide

GitHub Flavored Markdown

GitHub Flavored Markdown, or GFM, is the version of Markdown that GitHub uses. It is standard Markdown, called CommonMark, plus four additions: tables, task lists, strikethrough and links that make themselves. Most Markdown apps today follow it, so learning GFM is learning the Markdown that works almost everywhere.

3 min read5 sectionsUpdated 1 Oct 2026

On this page

What GFM adds

Tables

You write

| Plan  | Price |
| ----- | ----- |
| Free  | $0    |
| Pro   | $8    |

You see

PlanPrice
Free$0
Pro$8

More in the guide to Markdown tables.

Task lists

You write

- [x] Write the draft
- [ ] Send it for review

You see

  • Write the draft
  • Send it for review

More in the guide to checkboxes.

Strikethrough

You write

~~Old price~~ New price

You see

Old price New price

The GFM rules also allow a single tilde on each side, and GitHub accepts it. MarkdownPaper takes only two, so a rough number like ~5 minutes stays as you typed it.

Links that make themselves

A web address starting with www. or https:// becomes a link without any brackets.

You write

Visit www.example.com or https://example.com.

You see

Visit www.example.com or https://example.com.

Some HTML is blocked

GFM also blocks a short list of HTML tags, such as <script>, <title> and <textarea>, which could break the page around the document.

What only GitHub adds

These work on github.com but are not part of the GFM rules, so other apps may or may not have them.

FeatureMarkdownPaper
FootnotesYes
Alerts, > [!NOTE]Yes
Math with $Yes
Mermaid diagramsYes
Emoji shortcodes like :tada:No
@name mentionsNo
#123 links to issuesNo

Mentions and issue links only mean something inside a GitHub project, so other apps show them as the plain text you wrote.

Other flavors

  • CommonMark is the exact, tested definition of standard Markdown that GFM is built on.
  • GitLab Flavored Markdown is close to GitHub's, with its own extras for GitLab projects.
  • MultiMarkdown and Markdown Extra are older flavors that added tables and footnotes before GFM did.
  • Obsidian uses GFM plus its own links between notes, written [[Note name]], and its own callouts.

A file written in plain GFM reads well in all of them.

Questions

What is the difference between Markdown and GitHub Flavored Markdown?

GFM is Markdown with tables, task lists, strikethrough and automatic links added. Everything that works in standard Markdown works in GFM.

Is GFM the same as CommonMark?

GFM is CommonMark plus the four additions above. GitHub publishes it as a separate specification that builds on CommonMark.

Does MarkdownPaper support GitHub Flavored Markdown?

Yes, with one choice of its own: strikethrough needs two tildes. It also supports the GitHub extras marked yes in the table above.

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