Markdown Trello Guide: Format Cards, Descriptions, and Comments

The markdown Trello supports is a set of typing shortcuts, not a raw text mode. Type **bold**, # Heading, or - item in a card description, comment, or checklist and Trello converts it to formatted text as you go. This guide lists what converts, what doesn't, and how to work around the gaps.

How Do I Format Text in Trello?

Trello text formatting has three entry points: a toolbar, a quick insert menu, and Markdown shortcuts. All three produce the same result. The toolbar sits above the description field, the quick insert menu opens when you type /, and the Markdown shortcuts fire as soon as you type the closing character.

According to Atlassian's formatting documentation, these shortcuts convert while you type:

# Heading 1 through ###### Heading 6
**bold** and *italic*
~~strikethrough~~
`inline code`
- bullet item (or * bullet item)
1. numbered item
> blockquote
--- or *** for a divider
[Link text](https://example.com)
:tada: emoji shortcodes

Each line converts the moment you finish it. Type # Sprint goals and press Enter, and the line becomes a heading. Type **done** and the asterisks vanish as the word turns bold. The syntax itself is the same as the general Markdown cheat sheet, so you don't need to learn anything Trello-specific.

Keyboard shortcuts cover the same ground. Cmd+B (Ctrl+B on Windows) makes bold, Cmd+I makes italic, and Cmd+Shift+S applies strikethrough. Cmd+Option+1 through 6 (Ctrl+Alt on Windows) set heading levels. Cmd+\ or Ctrl+\ clears formatting from the selection.

Where Markdown Works Inside Trello

Markdown shortcuts work in four places: card descriptions, comments, checklist items, and your profile bio. Descriptions and comments accept the full shortcut list. Checklist items are narrower.

Atlassian's docs say checklist items support bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, and links. Headings, lists, and blockquotes don't apply there, which makes sense since each item is a single line. If you need a nested structure, use the description instead and keep the checklist for the tickable items. Our Markdown checkbox guide explains why - [ ] task syntax and Trello checklists aren't the same thing: Trello never converts - [ ] into a checkbox, it stays a bullet with brackets.

One thing to plan for: the description and comment editors don't show a preview pane while you type. What you see is the converted result. If you want to draft a long description with a side-by-side preview first, write it in the editor and paste it in.

Can You Edit Raw Markdown in Trello?

No. The current editor has no raw Markdown toggle, and this is the single most common complaint on Atlassian's community forum. In a 2023 thread on editing raw Markdown, an Atlassian team member confirmed that Markdown converts automatically as you type. He pointed to a Confluence feature request for an editable source view and said Trello would likely follow if Confluence adopted it. Nothing in the current docs suggests that has happened.

Two things soften this. First, pasting works: paste a block of Markdown into a description and Trello converts it to formatted text in one go. That's the paste-in workflow this post recommends. Second, Trello keeps the Markdown behind the scenes. After you save a description, a preview option shows the underlying Markdown source, so you can copy it back out. You just can't edit it there.

The thread also mentions a workaround for typing literal syntax: start a fenced code block with three backticks, and anything inside it stays untouched. That's useful when a card is documenting Markdown itself.

Which Markdown Trello Does Not Support

Atlassian's own page says the web version "doesn't support the complete Markdown syntax" and names one gap outright: nested blockquotes. The wider unsupported list below draws on Atlassian's docs and the compatibility table published by Markdown Guide.

Element	Trello behaviour
Tables (| a | b |)	Not converted; pipes stay as plain text
Task lists (- [ ])	Not converted; use a Trello checklist instead
Nested blockquotes (> >)	Not supported (stated in Atlassian's docs)
Footnotes ([^1])	Not converted
Raw HTML (<b>, <br />)	Not rendered
Syntax highlighting in code blocks	Not documented by Atlassian; listed as unsupported in Markdown Guide's table
Heading IDs, definition lists, sub/superscript	Not converted

Tables are the sore point. "Trello markdown table" is a popular search, and the honest answer is that there's no native table in a description. Your options are a fenced code block (monospaced, so pipe tables line up), a numbered list with a consistent pattern, or an attached file. The Markdown table guide covers the syntax you'd use in the code-block version.

The Markdown Trello converts has one more quirk worth knowing. A single Enter inside a paragraph creates a line break rather than a new paragraph, so you don't need the two-trailing-spaces trick from standard Markdown.

Draft a Description, Then Paste It Into Trello

Trello converts pasted Markdown in one pass. So the fastest way to write a structured card is to draft it elsewhere with a live preview, then paste the finished text. Here's a description drafted in our editor; every line uses syntax Trello converts.

Copy the Markdown pane, open the card, click into the description, and paste. Headings, lists, bold, strikethrough, the blockquote, and the link all convert. The blank lines between sections become paragraph spacing.

Trello isn't the only tool that behaves this way. Notion converts Markdown shortcuts as you type too, and the Notion Markdown guide uses the same draft-then-paste mental model. We prefer this workflow over typing directly into Trello for anything longer than a few lines, because you get a preview and an undo history that survives the paste.

Trello Markdown on Mobile (iOS and Android)

The mobile apps take a different approach. Atlassian's docs state that Markdown is "the only way to format text in Trello mobile", meaning there's no toolbar on a phone. You type the syntax and the app renders it.

The shortcut list is the same as on the web: headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, lists, blockquotes, code, dividers, and links. Rendering isn't identical, though. Markdown Guide's compatibility notes warn that not all formatting displays properly in the iOS and Android apps. In our experience, code blocks and dividers are the elements most likely to look different between phone and desktop. If a card will be read mainly on mobile, stick to headings, lists, and emphasis.

Export Trello Boards and Cards to Markdown

Trello doesn't export to Markdown directly. It exports to JSON on every plan and to CSV on Premium workspaces. Per Atlassian's export documentation, open the board menu, choose Print, Export, and Share, then pick the export option. Any board member can produce the JSON file.

The JSON contains every card's description in its stored Markdown form, along with comments and checklist items. From there you have two routes:

1. Open-source converters such as the trello-json-to-markdown projects on GitHub turn the JSON into one Markdown file per list or card. Check the README of whichever you pick; these are community tools and their output formats vary.
2. For a single card, use the preview option on a saved description to view the source Markdown, copy it, and paste it into a .md file.

Neither path brings attachments into the Markdown files. A board export only links to Trello-hosted files, and bundling the originals needs a Premium workspace export. Atlassian also notes that JSON and CSV can't be re-imported to rebuild a board. Treat the export as a one-way archive or a migration source, not a backup you can restore.

Common Trello Markdown Mistakes

Typing a table and expecting a grid. Pipe tables don't convert. Wrap the table in a fenced code block so the columns stay aligned in monospace, or restructure the data as a list.

Writing - [ ] for checkboxes. Trello renders it as a bullet containing brackets. Create a real Trello checklist for tickable items; the checklist supports bold, italic, code, and links on each line.

Nesting a quote inside a quote. The second > level is dropped. Flatten the quote or split it into two separate blockquotes.

Markdown Trello FAQ

The markdown Trello understands covers headings, emphasis, lists, quotes, code, dividers, and links, converted as you type in descriptions, comments, and checklists. It doesn't cover tables, task lists, or a raw source view. Draft anything longer than a few lines in the editor, check the preview, and paste the finished Markdown into the card in one step.