Jira wiki markup vs Markdown cheat sheet

Updated October 15, 2026

Jira's native notation is wiki markup, not markdown: h1. for headings, *bold* with a single asterisk, {code:java} for code, ||header|| for tables and [text|url] for links. The Jira Cloud editor also accepts markdown typing shortcuts and converts them to rich text, and REST API v2 still takes wiki markup strings. The translation table below maps every common markdown element to its Jira form; paste a whole document into the markdown to Jira converter to do it in one go.

Markdown to Jira wiki markup translation table

Element	Markdown	Jira wiki markup	Notes
Heading 1–6	`# Title … ###### Title`	`h1. Title … h6. Title`	Letter h, level, period, space.
Bold	`bold`	`bold`	Single asterisk — the markdown italic marker.
Italic	`italic or _italic_`	`_italic_`	Underscore only.
Strikethrough	`~~deleted~~`	`-deleted-`	Hyphens; keep them touching the text.
Underline / inserted	`<u>text</u>`	`+inserted+`
Superscript	`<sup>2</sup>`	`^superscript^`
Subscript	`<sub>2</sub>`	`~subscript~`	Single tilde is subscript, not strike.
Inline code / monospace	`code`	`{{code}}`	Double curly braces.
Code block	```java code ```	`{code:java} code {code}`	Default language is Java; add title=Foo.java\|borderStyle=solid for a titled panel.
Preformatted, no markup	``` text ```	`{noformat} text {noformat}`	No highlighting; wiki markup inside is not parsed.
Blockquote (one paragraph)	`> quote`	`bq. quote`
Blockquote (multi-paragraph)	`> para 1 > > para 2`	`{quote} para 1 para 2 {quote}`
Callout / panel	`> [!NOTE] > text`	`{panel:title=Note} text {panel}`	Also borderStyle, borderColor, bgColor, titleBGColor parameters.
Link	`[text](https://example.com)`	`[text\|https://example.com]`	Pipe, not parentheses; [https://example.com] with no alias also works.
Anchor	`[Jump](#section)`	`{anchor:section} … [#section]`
User mention	`@username`	`[~username]`
Image	`![alt](image.png)`	`!image.png!`	Exclamation marks; attachments by filename.
Bulleted list	`- item - nested`	`* item ** nested`	Depth by repeating *, no indentation.
Numbered list	`1. item 1. nested`	`# item ## nested`	# is a list, not a heading, in wiki markup.
Mixed nesting	`1. item - sub`	`# item #* sub`
Table header row	`\| A \| B \| \|---\|---\|`	`\|\|A\|\|B\|\|`	No separator row.
Table body row	`\| a \| b \|`	`\|a\|b\|`
Horizontal rule	`---`	`----`	Four hyphens.
Line break	`two trailing spaces or \\`	`\\\\`	Two backslashes.
Colored text	`(no syntax)`	`{color:red}text{color}`	Named HTML colors or #hex.
Escape a character	`\\*`	`\\*`	Backslash before the special character.

Jira wiki markup: text effects

Wiki markup is what Jira Data Center, the Jira Cloud REST API v2 and text-mode fields understand. The right column shows the markdown equivalent rendered, so you can see the intended result.

Headings

h1. Biggest heading
h2. Bigger heading
h3. Big heading
h4. Normal heading

Biggest heading

Bigger heading

Big heading

Normal heading

The space after the period is required; "h1.Title" stays plain text.

Bold, italic, strike, inserted

*bold* _italic_ -strikethrough- +inserted+

bold italic ~~strikethrough~~ inserted

Single asterisk is bold here; the hyphen strike needs no space between hyphen and text, so "a - b" is safe.

Superscript, subscript, monospace

E = mc^2^, H~2~O, run {{npm install}}

E = mc2, H2O, run npm install

Single tilde is subscript in Jira, not strikethrough as in some chat apps.

Color

{color:red}look ma, red text!{color} and {color:#336699}hex works too{color}

Any of the sixteen standard HTML color names or a hex code; markdown has no equivalent.

Code, quotes, panels

Code block with language

{code:python}
def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}"
{code}

def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}"

Without a language the block is highlighted as Java; {code:title=app.py|borderStyle=solid} adds a titled frame.

No-format block

{noformat}
This is text \#&@!@(*!&*@()#*@\ *not bold* {macros} _wont_work_here_
{noformat}

This is text \#&@!@(*!&*@()#*@\ *not bold* {macros} _wont_work_here_

Use it for log output, JSON and anything containing * _ { } that must stay literal.

Single-paragraph quote

bq. Some block quoted text

Some block quoted text

bq. quotes only until the next blank line.

Multi-paragraph quote

{quote}
This is text from another source.

Second paragraph of the quote.
{quote}

This is text from another source.

Second paragraph of the quote.

Panel

{panel:title=My Title|borderStyle=dashed|borderColor=#ccc|titleBGColor=#F7D6C1|bgColor=#FFFFCE}
a block of text surrounded with a *panel*
yet _another_ line
{panel}

The closest wiki-markup equivalent to a GitHub alert; every parameter is optional.

Links, lists, tables

Links

[Atlassian|http://atlassian.com]
[http://jira.atlassian.com]
[mailto:support@example.com]
[#anchor] [^attachment.pdf] [~username]

Alias first, then a pipe, then the URL — the reverse order of markdown's [text](url).

Lists

* some
* bullet
** indented
** bullets
* points

# a
# numbered
#* with
#* nested
#* bullet
# list

some
bullet
- indented
- bullets
points

a
numbered
- with
- nested
- bullet
list

Nesting depth is the number of repeated markers (**, ##, #*), and markers must start in the first column.

Table

||heading 1||heading 2||heading 3||
|cell A1|cell A2|cell A3|
|cell B1|cell B2|cell B3|

heading 1	heading 2	heading 3
cell A1	cell A2	cell A3
cell B1	cell B2	cell B3

Double pipes mark header cells (any row, not just the first); there is no |---| separator line.

Rules, breaks, images

Line one\\Line two after a forced break
----
!screenshot.png!

Two backslashes force a line break, four hyphens draw a rule, and !filename! embeds an attachment.

Jira Cloud editor: markdown shortcuts and keys

The Jira Cloud (Atlassian) editor converts these as you type, per Atlassian's markdown and keyboard shortcuts page. Conversion is one-way: the editor stores rich text (ADF), not markdown or wiki markup.

Result	Type (markdown shortcut)	Key or slash command
Bold	`text or __text__`	`Cmd/Ctrl+B`
Italic	`text or _text_`	`Cmd/Ctrl+I`
Underline	`—`	`Cmd/Ctrl+U`
Strikethrough	`~~text~~`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+S`
Inline code	`text`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+M`
Code block	``` then space	`/ quick insert`
Heading 1–6	`# to ###### then space`	`—`
Bulleted list	`* or - then space`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+8`
Numbered list	`1. or 2) then space`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+7`
Action item (checkbox)	`[] then space`	`—`
Block quote	`> then space`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+9`
Divider	`--- or ***`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+-`
Link	`[text](url)`	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K`
Image from URL	`![alt](url)`	`/ quick insert`
Emoji	`:smile:`	`:`
Table	`— (no markdown shortcut)`	`/ quick insert`
Panel (info/note/warning)	`—`	`/ quick insert`
Clear formatting	`—`	`Cmd/Ctrl+\`

Where does each syntax apply?

Surface	Accepts	Stores
Jira Cloud editor (issues, comments)	Markdown typing shortcuts, toolbar, / commands	ADF rich text
Jira Cloud REST API v2	Wiki markup strings	Wiki markup
Jira Cloud REST API v3	ADF JSON	ADF
Jira Data Center / Server	Wiki markup (text mode) or visual editor	Wiki markup
Confluence Cloud legacy editor	Insert > Markup: wiki markup or markdown	Confluence storage format
Confluence Cloud new editor	Markdown typing shortcuts only ("doesn’t support markup")	ADF

Source: Atlassian's REST API overview (v2 vs v3) and Confluence wiki markup page.

Does Jira use markdown?

Partly. Jira's native rich-text notation is wiki markup (h1., *bold*, {code}), which is what the REST API v2, Jira Data Center and the legacy text editor speak. The Jira Cloud editor additionally recognises a set of markdown shortcuts as you type (**bold**, # heading, ``` code) and converts them into rich text — but, in Atlassian's words, "you can copy raw markdown into the Atlassian editor but you can't convert content from it into raw markdown."

How do I make text bold in Jira?

In wiki markup wrap the text in single asterisks: *bold*. In the Jira Cloud editor type **bold** or _bold_ with double markers, or press Cmd/Ctrl+B. Note the inversion: single asterisks are bold in wiki markup but italic in markdown.

How do I add a code block in Jira?

Wiki markup: {code:java} … {code} with the language after the colon (default language is Java), or {noformat} … {noformat} for text with no highlighting at all. Jira Cloud editor: type ``` at the start of a line, or use the / quick insert menu, to add a code block and pick the language from its dropdown.

How do I make a table in Jira?

Wiki markup uses double pipes for header cells and single pipes for body cells: ||Name||Status|| on the first line, then |Login|Done| per row. There is no separator row of dashes as in markdown. In the Jira Cloud editor, markdown pipe tables are not a typing shortcut — use the / quick insert menu or paste from a spreadsheet.

Markdown table generator →

What is the difference between Jira and Confluence wiki markup?

The core notation is shared (Atlassian's Confluence wiki markup page lists the same h1., *bold*, _italic_, {{monospace}}, bq., ||table|| and {color} syntax). Differences: Confluence Cloud only accepts wiki markup through Insert > Markup in the legacy editor ("the new editor doesn't support markup"), while Jira still stores wiki markup in REST v2 fields and renders it in Data Center; Confluence adds page-link syntax like [Page title] and [alias|Page#anchor], and each product ships its own macro set.

Which Jira REST API version uses wiki markup?

Version 2 of the Jira Cloud platform REST API accepts wiki markup strings in description and comment fields. Version 3 offers the same operations but represents rich text as Atlassian Document Format (ADF), a JSON document tree, in comment bodies, descriptions and text custom fields. If you are sending a plain string with *bold* and {code}, use v2.

How do I convert markdown to Jira wiki markup?

Paste the markdown into the markdown-to-Jira converter on this site, or do it by hand with the translation table above: swap ** for *, * for _, ``` for {code}, # for h1., | tables for ||header|| rows, [text](url) for [text|url] and > quotes for {quote}. Pandoc also has a "jira" output format: pandoc -t jira file.md.

Markdown to Jira converter →

Markdown to Jira converter · Markdown cheat sheet · Table generator · Pandoc markdown (has a jira writer) · Code block guide · Blockquote guide