How do I align a column in a Markdown table?

Put colons in the delimiter row: :-- for left, :-: for center, --: for right (GitHub Flavored Markdown). In the generator, click the button above a column; it cycles Left, Center and Right, and the delimiter row changes to match.

How do I put a pipe character inside a table cell?

Escape it with a backslash, as GFM requires. The generator does it for you: a|b is written a\|b. A line break inside a cell becomes .

Can I convert a spreadsheet or CSV to a Markdown table?

Yes. Copy cells from a spreadsheet and press Paste from Spreadsheet; the browser may ask for permission to read the clipboard. If it refuses, paste tab-separated, comma-separated or Markdown table text into the box and press Import pasted text. Quoted CSV cells keep their commas, so "x, y",2 gives the cells x, y and 2. Up to 50 rows and 20 columns are imported; the rest is cut with a note.

Do the columns have to line up?

No. GFM says cells in a column do not need to match in length; padding only makes the source easier to read. Copy Compact gives the table without padding.

Why does the CSV copy put a quote mark before some cells?

Only when you tick the CSV option: cells that start with =, + or @, or with - followed by a letter, a bracket or one of = + - @, get a leading ' so a spreadsheet shows them as text, so =SUM(A1:A3) is written '=SUM(A1:A3). It is off by default because it changes the data.

Markdown Table Generator

Type cells in a grid or paste from a spreadsheet to get a padded Markdown pipe table with left, center or right alignment, plus HTML and CSV copies. How it works

Rows (including header)

Columns

Template

Row and column tools act on row 1, column 1: click a cell to pick another.

Markdown Output

| Name  | Role     | City     |
| :---- | :------- | :------- |
| Ada   | Engineer | London   |
| Grace | Admiral  | New York |

CSV: put a ' in front of cells that start with =, + or @, or with - before a letter, bracket or operator (so a spreadsheet shows them as text instead of running them)

Cells are padded to the widest cell of their column (counted in characters; wide characters such as CJK or emoji may not line up), pipes are written as \| and line breaks as <br>. Up to 50 rows and 20 columns.

Import: paste a Markdown table, or tab- or comma-separated text (up to 50 rows and 20 columns)

About the Markdown Table Generator

A Markdown table is a header row, a delimiter row of hyphens and the body rows, with cells between pipes. The Markdown table generator writes one from a grid you type in or paste, pads each cell to the widest in its column so the source lines up, and sets left, center or right alignment with :--, :-: or --: in the delimiter row.

The starting table with Role centered and City right-aligned

Line	Markdown
Header row	\| Name \| Role \| City \|
Delimiter row	\| :---- \| :------: \| -------: \|
Row 2	\| Ada \| Engineer \| London \|
Row 3	\| Grace \| Admiral \| New York \|

Copy Compact gives the same table without padding: | Name | Role | City |, then | :-- | :-: | --: |.

Characters that are escaped

In the cell	In the Markdown
a\|b	a\\|b
a\\|b	a\\\\|b
line1 ⏎ line2	line1<br>line2

⏎ is a line break typed in the cell. Backslashes already in front of a pipe are doubled, so a renderer reads the cell back as typed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I align a column in a Markdown table?: Put colons in the delimiter row: :-- for left, :-: for center, --: for right (GitHub Flavored Markdown). In the generator, click the button above a column; it cycles Left, Center and Right, and the delimiter row changes to match.
How do I put a pipe character inside a table cell?: Escape it with a backslash, as GFM requires. The generator does it for you: a|b is written a\|b. A line break inside a cell becomes <br>.
Can I convert a spreadsheet or CSV to a Markdown table?: Yes. Copy cells from a spreadsheet and press Paste from Spreadsheet; the browser may ask for permission to read the clipboard. If it refuses, paste tab-separated, comma-separated or Markdown table text into the box and press Import pasted text. Quoted CSV cells keep their commas, so "x, y",2 gives the cells x, y and 2. Up to 50 rows and 20 columns are imported; the rest is cut with a note.
Do the columns have to line up?: No. GFM says cells in a column do not need to match in length; padding only makes the source easier to read. Copy Compact gives the table without padding.
Why does the CSV copy put a quote mark before some cells?: Only when you tick the CSV option: cells that start with =, + or @, or with - followed by a letter, a bracket or one of = + - @, get a leading ' so a spreadsheet shows them as text, so =SUM(A1:A3) is written '=SUM(A1:A3). It is off by default because it changes the data.

Where a pipe table renders

Pipe tables are a GitHub Flavored Markdown extension, not part of core CommonMark. GitHub READMEs, issues and pull requests show them as tables, and so do most Markdown editors and static-site generators that enable the GFM extensions. A renderer that sticks to plain CommonMark shows the pipes as text. For a page or email that takes HTML but not Markdown, use Copy HTML: it gives a <table> with inline borders, padding and alignment, so it keeps its look without a stylesheet.

How a pipe table is built

A GitHub Flavored Markdown table is a header row, a delimiter row and the body rows, with cells between pipes. In the delimiter row a colon on the left means left-aligned, colons at both ends centered, and a colon on the right right-aligned: :--, :-:, --:. The generator pads every cell and delimiter to the widest cell of its column, at least 3 characters, so the source lines up. A pipe inside a cell gets a backslash in front of it, and a line break becomes <br>.

Example: a two-column table, Item left-aligned and Qty right-aligned, with the rows Pens 12 and Ink 3:

| Item | Qty |
| :--- | --: |
| Pens | 12 |
| Ink | 3 |

Qty is only 3 characters wide, so its delimiter is the minimum --:. The padding always goes after the text, even in a right-aligned column: alignment is applied by the renderer, not by spaces in the source.

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