Markdown Tables

Tables are an great way to structure data and information into a readable format. Although tables are not part of the original Markdown specification, tables are supported in GitHub Flavored Markdown and many other Markdown flavors.

Basic table syntax

Markdown tables are created using pipes | between columns and hyphens - to create a header row:

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Row 1    | Data     | Data     |
| Row 2    | Data     | Data     |
| Row 3    | Data     | Data     |

Rendering in the document as:

Header 1	Header 2	Header 3
Row 1	Data	Data
Row 2	Data	Data
Row 3	Data	Data

Aligning columns

A colon : is used in the header row to align the content inside the columns:

Align left (default): |-------|
Align center: |:-----:|
Align right: |-------:|

| Left-aligned | Center-aligned | Right-aligned |
|:-------------|:--------------:|--------------:|
| Left         | Center         | Right         |
| Left         | Center         | Right         |

Aligning the text in each column as follows:

Left-aligned	Center-aligned	Right-aligned
Left	Center	Right
Left	Center	Right

Simplified syntax

The pipes | at the beginning and end of each row are optional:

Header 1 | Header 2
--- | ---
Data | Data
Data | Data

Displaying as a regular table:

Header 1	Header 2
Data	Data
Data	Data

This still renders as a properly formatted table. However, for readability in the source file, it's generally recommended to:

Use the outer pipes.
Align the pipe characters vertically.
Use at least three hyphens (---) for each column in the header row.

Formatting table content

Table cells can include most formatting options:

| Type | Output |
|------------|---------|
| Italic     | *Italic text* |
| Bold       | **Bold text** |
| Code       | `code` |
| Link      | [Click me](https://learn-webdevelopment.com/course/markdown/more-advanced-features/markdown-tables) |

Rendering as:

Type	Output
Italic	Italic text
Bold	Bold text
Code	`code`
Link	Click me

Escaping Pipe Characters

If you need to include a pipe character | within your table content, you can escape it with a backslash \:

| Heading 1 | Heading 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Data   | Data   |
| Data with \| pipe | Data |

Heading 1	Heading 2
Data	Data
Data with \| pipe	Data

Empty Cells

To create an empty cell, simply leave the cell empty between the pipes:

| Heading 1 | Heading 2 | Heading 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Data     |          | Data     |
|          | Data     | Data     |