ghostWriter

Ghost Writer supports common markdown for everyday writing and richer documents. You can keep this section open while you type.

Paragraphs

Separate paragraphs with an empty line. Press Enter twice between ordinary blocks of text to render them as separate paragraphs. Pressing Enter once within ordinary text keeps it in the same paragraph.

To start a new line within the same paragraph, end the preceding line with two spaces or a backslash, then press Enter. This creates a line break rather than a new paragraph.

Headings

Headings use one to six number signs.

Add heading

# Heading 1

## Heading 2

### Heading 3

Lists

Use a dash or an asterisk for bullet lists. Numbered lists can start with any number, and pressing Enter continues the list automatically. Nested lists stay indented, and pressing Enter again on an empty list line ends the list.

Indent a nested list to align its marker with the start of the parent item’s text. Use two spaces under * , three under 1. , and four under 10. .

* First bullet
  * Nested bullet

1. First numbered item
   1. Nested numbered item

Note: Lettered lists are not supported by Markdown, but can be created using HTML directly in the editor.

Emphasis

For emphasis, wrap text in single or double markers.

Add emphasis

*italic*

_italic_

**bold**

__bold__

~~strikethrough~~

`inline code`

Inline Links And Images

Links and images use brackets followed by parentheses.

[Marconius](https://marconius.com)

![Alt text](https://example.com/image.jpg)

Reference Links And Images

Reference links let you keep the visible text separate from the URL definition.

[Marconius][home]

[home]: https://marconius.com

![Ghost logo][ghost]

[ghost]: https://example.com/ghost.png

Blockquotes And Rules

Blockquotes begin with a greater-than sign. Horizontal rules use three dashes, asterisks, or underscores.

> This is a blockquote

---

Code Blocks

Fenced code blocks use three backticks before and after the code, with an optional language name on the opening fence.

Add code block

```js
const note = "Ghost Writer";
```

Tables

Tables use pipes between cells and a divider row beneath the headers.

Add table

| Feature | Syntax |
| --- | --- |
| Bold | **text** |
| Link | [text](https://example.com) |

HTML

You can also write HTML directly in the editor when you need markup that markdown alone does not cover.

Add HTML

Indentation

Open Indentation Controls, choose tabs, two spaces, or four spaces, then use Indent or Outdent to change the current line or selected lines. In the editor, use Command+] and Command+[ on Mac, or Control+] and Control+[ on Windows and Linux.

Rendering and exports

Use Render Output to update the preview and move to the rendered result.

Under Export, use Download Markdown to save your source for further editing. Download Plain Text saves readable text without Markdown formatting, keeping paragraphs, list items, and table contents. Code keeps its punctuation, indentation, and line breaks.

Expand HTML to choose its settings, then use Download HTML to save a formatted document. Styled document is selected by default. Uncheck it to download a document without the ghostWriter colors and styling.

Styled HTML uses ghostWriter’s Warm paper colors in light mode: a cream background, charcoal-brown text, forest-green headings, and deep-blue links. In dark mode, it uses Midnight colors: an almost-black brown background, ivory text, pale mint-green headings, and sky-blue links. Table headings have sage-green shading in light mode and dark-green shading in dark mode. Code appears on a beige or dark-brown background, and quotes have a gray-brown line beside them.

Select Table of contents to include links to your headings. Expand Table of contents in the downloaded document and choose a heading to go to that section.

Spookiness

Spookiness changes words in your draft when you use Render Output and animates the preview. Leave it unchecked to render your text as written. Rendering plays a sound when browser audio is available, with either setting.