Markdown README formatting: tables, task lists and line breaks
A README looks tidy in the editor but collapses in preview. Start with a small fragment and inspect blank lines, separators and indentation. Paste this checklist into the Markdown tool, change one element at a time and compare the result.
Open tool: Markdown preview1. Start with a reproducible checklist
Confirm that the heading, two tasks and two-column table render before pasting your real document. If this example works but the full document fails, inspect earlier unclosed code fences and list indentation.
# Release checklist
- [x] Check API response
- [ ] Publish README
| Item | Result |
| --- | --- |
| JSON | Valid |
| Docs | Pending |2. Keep the table separator row
The --- row separates the header from the body. Remove and restore it to see when the table becomes plain text. Escape a literal pipe with a backslash so it does not create another column.
| Expression | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| a\|b | a or b |3. Distinguish paragraphs and line breaks
A blank line starts a paragraph. One newline inside a paragraph is usually a soft break. For an explicit line break, end the line with two spaces before the newline. This preview does not force every newline into a visible break.
Editors may remove trailing spaces when copying or saving. Compare the original and edited source with Text diff to locate whitespace changes.
4. Preserve literal text with code fences
Text between triple-backtick fences is displayed as code, so angle brackets inside do not become page elements. Close each opening fence. Change task completion in the source from [ ] to [x].
```json
{"status":"ready","count":2}
```5. Save the source and check the export
Download Markdown to keep editing; Export HTML saves the sanitized preview. This tool removes raw HTML and images, so it cannot validate documents that depend on iframes, scripts or external images.
Download before switching tools, refreshing or closing the page. Check once more on the platform where you publish the README, because fonts, renderers and filtering can differ.