MarkdownPaper Open reader

Guide

Markdown callouts and alerts

To add a callout, start a quote with > [!NOTE] on its own line and write the note on the lines below. GitHub calls these alerts. There are five kinds: NOTE, TIP, IMPORTANT, WARNING and CAUTION.

You write

> [!NOTE]
> The old address stops working on 1 June.

You see

Note

The old address stops working on 1 June.

3 min read8 sectionsUpdated 1 Oct 2026

On this page

The five kinds

You write

> [!NOTE]
> Useful information the reader should know.

> [!TIP]
> Advice that makes something easier.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Something the reader needs to know to succeed.

> [!WARNING]
> Something that needs attention right away.

> [!CAUTION]
> Something that could cause harm or lose data.

You see

Note

Useful information the reader should know.

Tip

Advice that makes something easier.

Important

Something the reader needs to know to succeed.

Warning

Something that needs attention right away.

Caution

Something that could cause harm or lose data.

GitHub shows each kind with its own color and icon. MarkdownPaper shows them in the page's own ink, with an icon and a label, and the warning kinds in the accent color, so they print cleanly.

The rules

  • [!NOTE] must be alone on the first line of the quote. Text after it on the same line makes it an ordinary quote on GitHub and in MarkdownPaper.
  • Every following line starts with >.
  • The kind is not case sensitive: [!note] works too.

You write

> [!TIP] Text on the same line stays a normal quote.

You see

[!TIP] Text on the same line stays a normal quote.

Several paragraphs and lists

Everything you can put in a quote works in a callout.

You write

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Before you upgrade:
>
> 1. Back up the database
> 2. Read the release notes

You see

Important

Before you upgrade:

  1. Back up the database
  2. Read the release notes

Use them sparingly

GitHub's own advice is one or two per page, and never one straight after another. A page full of warnings trains readers to skip them.

Obsidian callouts

Obsidian uses the same [!type] syntax with more than a dozen types, such as info, todo, success, question and bug. It also allows a title after the type, and a + or - to make a callout fold open or closed. Those extras are Obsidian's own: on GitHub and in MarkdownPaper, a callout with a title on the first line becomes a plain quote.

Where callouts work

AppCallouts
GitHubYes, the five kinds
MarkdownPaperYes, the five kinds
ObsidianYes, with more types, titles and folding
Other appsOften shown as a quote with [!NOTE] in it

Questions

How do I add a warning box in Markdown?

Start a quote with > [!WARNING] on its own line, then the warning on the next lines, each starting with >.

Why does my callout show as a normal quote?

Something is on the same line as [!NOTE], or the app does not support callouts. Put the marker alone on the first line.

Can I make my own callout type?

Not on GitHub or in MarkdownPaper, which support the five kinds. Obsidian lets you add types with a CSS snippet.

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