The three ways to break a line
Two trailing spaces are the classic syntax but invisible in editors and often stripped by formatters; the backslash and <br> are explicit and survive reformatting.
Line one·· (two trailing spaces)
Line two\
Line three<br>Line fourParagraphs vs line breaks
A blank line starts a new paragraph (with vertical spacing). A line break keeps the text in the same paragraph on a new line. Single newlines in the source are collapsed to a space in standard Markdown, although some renderers (Obsidian, many chat apps) treat every newline as a break.
How each platform treats a single newline
The same file can look different depending on where it is rendered, because some platforms switch on "hard line breaks" and turn every newline into a <br>.
| Platform | Single newline | Note |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub .md files | Joined into one line | Standard GFM behavior |
| GitHub issues, PRs, comments | Line break | Comments use hard line breaks |
| Obsidian | Line break | Unless "Strict line breaks" is turned on |
| VS Code preview | Joined | Setting markdown.preview.breaks changes it |
| Discord | Line break | Every newline in a message is kept |
| Notion | New block on Enter | Shift+Enter adds a line break inside a block |
| MDTool converters | Line break | Single newlines are kept as breaks |
Line breaks inside a table cell
A table row must stay on one source line, so trailing spaces and backslash breaks cannot work there. Use the <br> tag inside the cell. GitHub, GitLab and most GFM renderers accept it.
| Step | Details |
|------|---------|
| Install | Download the file<br>Run the installer |Line breaks inside list items
To start a new line within a single bullet without creating a new bullet, end the line with a backslash (or two spaces) and indent the next line to match the item text. For a full new paragraph inside the item, leave a blank line instead.
- Name: MDTool\
Type: Markdown converter
- Second item
A separate paragraph in the second item.Adding extra blank space
Several blank lines in a row collapse into one paragraph gap, so pressing Enter repeatedly adds no space. To force extra vertical space, put <br> on its own line or a non-breaking space entity ( ) as a paragraph of its own. Use it sparingly: headings and paragraphs usually give enough rhythm, and extra space often looks odd in PDF exports.
First paragraph.
Paragraph after an extra gap.
<br>
<br>
Paragraph after more space.Which method to choose
Prefer the backslash: it is part of CommonMark and GFM, visible in the source, and survives editors and formatters that trim trailing whitespace (EditorConfig’s trim_trailing_whitespace setting, for example, silently deletes two-space breaks). Use <br> in table cells and HTML blocks. Use trailing spaces only when you must support an old parser that predates the backslash rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does pressing Enter once not create a new line in Markdown?
Standard Markdown collapses single newlines into a space so that source files can be hard-wrapped. End the line with two spaces or a backslash to force the break.
How do I add a blank line or extra space in Markdown?
Extra empty lines are ignored. Put or <br> on its own line, surrounded by blank lines, to add visible vertical space.
How do I break a line inside a Markdown table cell?
Use the HTML tag <br> inside the cell, for example "Line one<br>Line two". Trailing spaces and backslashes do not work because each table row must be a single source line.
Does the backslash line break work on GitHub?
Yes. A backslash at the end of a line is a hard line break in CommonMark, and GitHub Flavored Markdown inherits it, so it works in READMEs, issues and comments.
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