Advanced syntax

Beyond the basics, Obsidian Flavored Markdown adds callouts, mathematics, diagrams, footnotes, comments and block anchors. These are the constructs that turn plain notes into rich, connected documents.

Callouts

A callout is a blockquote whose first line begins with [!type]. It renders as a colored, titled admonition with an icon.

> [!info] Optional custom title
> Body text goes here, and can contain
> lists, links, and even other callouts.

• The type is case-insensitive. With no custom title, the type name is used, so [!tip] shows the title Tip.
• Make a callout foldable by adding + (starts open) or - (starts collapsed) right after the bracket, as in > [!tip]-.
• Nest callouts by adding another > level.
• An unknown type falls back to the note appearance unless a theme or CSS snippet defines it.

Built-in callout types

Each type has one or more aliases that produce the same styling. All are case-insensitive.

Math with LaTeX

Fable renders LaTeX mathematics with KaTeX. Wrap inline math in single dollar signs, and display math in double dollar signs on their own lines.

Euler's identity, $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$, inline.

$$
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2}\,dx = \sqrt{\pi}
$$

Display math supports LaTeX environments such as \begin{align} and matrices, plus the full range of Greek letters and operators.

Footnotes

Reference a footnote with [^label] and define it anywhere in the note. Labels can be numbers or words, and are renumbered in order when rendered.

Coffee improves focus[^caffeine].

[^caffeine]: In moderation, and not after 2pm.

For a quick aside, an inline footnote puts the text right where you write it, with the caret outside the brackets:

The plan is solid^[at least on paper].

Comments

Wrap text in %% to leave a comment. It is visible while editing but hidden in Reading view and in any export.

The findings are clear. %% double-check the 2024 figures %%

Block identifiers

A block identifier is a stable anchor you can link or embed. Append a caret and a short id to the end of a block; the id may contain letters, numbers and dashes.

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. ^cell-fact

Reference it from anywhere with [[Note#^cell-fact]], or embed it with ![[Note#^cell-fact]]. When you build a block link through the editor and the target block has no id yet, Fable adds a short unique one for you. See internal links & embeds for the full linking story.

Raw HTML and emoji

You can drop small pieces of HTML directly into a note when Markdown is not enough:

<div align="center">Centered text</div>
<br>
Text with a <sub>subscript</sub> and <sup>superscript</sup>.

For safety, unsafe content such as <script> tags and inline event handlers is stripped; ordinary formatting tags are honored. Emoji are simplest of all: type or paste them directly, and they render as-is.