How to Write in Markdown on Android: A Beginner's Guide

Markdown is a way to format text using plain characters you already have on your keyboard. Instead of tapping a toolbar to make something bold, you type **bold**. That’s it. Your notes stay simple text, but they look clean and organized.

It works especially well on a phone, where toolbars are small and fiddly. Here’s everything you need to get started.

The five things you’ll use every day

1. Headings

Put one or more # symbols at the start of a line. One # is the biggest heading, two is smaller, and so on.

# Trip to Rishikesh
## Packing list

2. Bold and italic

Wrap words in two asterisks for bold and one for italic.

This is **important** and this is *a side note*.

3. Lists

Start a line with - for a bullet list, or 1. for a numbered list.

- Notebook
- Charger
- Water bottle

4. Checkboxes

Add [ ] after the dash for a to-do. Change it to [x] when you’re done.

- [x] Book train tickets
- [ ] Pack the charger

5. Links

Put the text in square brackets and the address in round brackets.

[Mazze Studios](https://mazzestudios.com)

Why write in Markdown on your phone?

Your notes stay portable. Markdown files are plain text, so they open in almost any app on any device — today and in ten years.

You never leave the keyboard. Formatting is just typing, which is faster than hunting for buttons on a small screen.

It reads well even before it’s formatted. A Markdown note looks organized even as raw text.

Getting started on Android

You need an app that understands Markdown and shows you a preview. Typed is built for exactly this: open it, start typing, and the formatting appears as you write. You can organize notes into folders and tags, and export them as Markdown, plain text or a ZIP whenever you want to move them.

Start small. Write your next shopping list with checkboxes, or your next idea with a heading and a few bullets. After a day or two, the symbols become second nature.