Advanced Elements·17 / 19

Footnotes

Add reference notes at the bottom of your document.

Footnotes

Footnotes let you add reference notes without cluttering the main text.

Syntax

Here is a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Named Footnotes

You can use descriptive names instead of numbers:

Markdown was created by John Gruber.[^gruber]

[^gruber]: John Gruber created Markdown in 2004 with Aaron Swartz.

Multi-line Footnotes

Here is a complex footnote.[^complex]

[^complex]: This footnote has multiple paragraphs.

    Indent subsequent paragraphs with 4 spaces.

    You can even add code blocks.

Important Notes

  • Footnote definitions can be placed anywhere in the document
  • They will always render at the bottom of the page
  • Footnotes are auto-numbered regardless of your label
  • Not all renderers support footnotes (it's an extension)
  • GitHub supports footnotes in Markdown files

Best Practices

  • Use footnotes for citations and references
  • Keep footnote content concise
  • Don't overuse footnotes — they interrupt reading flow

💡 Footnotes are perfect for academic writing, blog posts, and documentation!

Practice

Markdown Input
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Footnote Practice

Markdown1 is a lightweight markup language created in 20042.

It is widely used for documentation and content writing.

Footnotes

  1. Markdown was created by John Gruber.

  2. The first version was released in March 2004.