Blockquotes in Markdown

A blockquote is any line that starts with >. It is the syntax email clients have used to quote replies since long before Markdown existed, which is exactly where it came from — and why it looks familiar even if you have never written Markdown before.

> Writing is thinking made visible.
>
> — someone wise

> A quote can contain **formatting**,
> a [link](/markdown-links) and a list:
>
> - like this
> - and this
>
> > and a nested quote inside it.

The basics

> This is a quote.

The space after > is conventional and readable, but not required — >This works too. Be consistent.

For a quote spanning several lines, put > on every line:

> The first line of the quote.
> The second line of the same paragraph.

Because these are soft line breaks, both lines end up in one paragraph — the same rule as everywhere else.

Lazy continuation

Markdown lets you drop the marker on continuation lines:

> The first line has a marker.
and this line is still part of the quote.

It works, and it is a trap. The moment someone edits the paragraph, or a tool reflows it, the quote silently loses half its content. Put > on every line.

Multiple paragraphs

A blank line ends the quote — unless the blank line also carries a marker:

> The first paragraph of the quote.
>
> The second paragraph of the same quote.

That lone > on the middle line is what holds the two together. Without it you get two separate quotes.

Nesting

Add a marker per level:

> The outer quote.
>
> > A quote inside it.
> >
> > > And one more.

This is how a threaded email reply renders, and it is worth knowing for that reason alone.

Other blocks inside a quote

Almost anything can live inside a blockquote as long as every line carries the marker:

> ### A heading in a quote
>
> A list:
>
> 1. First
> 2. Second
>
> ```js
> const quoted = true
> ```

Callouts

Markdown has no syntax for a warning or a note box. The near-universal workaround is a quote with a bold lead-in:

> **Note**
> Trailing spaces are stripped by most editors on save.

> **Warning**
> An unclosed code fence swallows the rest of the document.

GitHub has since added its own alert syntax — > [!NOTE], > [!WARNING] — and some other tools have copied it. It renders as an ordinary blockquote everywhere else, so it degrades gracefully, but do not count on the styling outside GitHub.

Common mistakes

Relying on lazy continuation. It survives until the first edit. Mark every line.

A blank line without a marker. It ends the quote. Use > on the empty line to keep one quote with two paragraphs.

No blank line before the quote. A > directly under a paragraph gets folded into it by some parsers.

Using a quote for emphasis. A blockquote means “this is quoted from somewhere”. For something merely important, use bold, or a callout with an explicit label.

FAQ

How do I quote text in Markdown?

Start the line with > followed by a space. Repeat the marker on every line of the quote, including the blank lines between its paragraphs.

How do I nest blockquotes in Markdown?

Add one > per level: > > is a quote inside a quote, > > > one level deeper. Keep the markers on every line of each level.

How do I write a multi-paragraph blockquote?

Put a > on the blank line between the paragraphs. A truly empty line ends the quote and starts a new block.

Can I put a list or code block inside a blockquote?

Yes. Prefix every line of the nested content with >, including the fence lines of a code block and the blank lines around a list.

Does Markdown have note or warning boxes?

Not in the standard. The portable convention is a blockquote opening with a bold label such as **Note**. GitHub added > [!NOTE] and > [!WARNING], which render as plain blockquotes elsewhere.