Help:Wikitext

Wikitext is the main markup language used to format content on Fandom. It can be used to add photos, tables, bold styles, links, and many other visual changes.

It's not necessary to know wikitext in order to edit a page: you can use the VisualEditor or source editor, to avoid it. However, users who learn it may appreciate the additional control they have over page content.

Wikitext can be used via source editor in either editor. To access an article's wikitext:

• VisualEditor: click "VisualEditor" in the top middle, above the edit bar, which will open a menu where you can select "Source editing".
• Before editing, you can go right to source mode by clicking the arrow next to the edit button, and clicking "edit source" from the drop-down menu.

On both platforms, you can also choose your preferred editor in preferences, and it will open by default when you click the edit button.

Below is an outline of basic wikitext that you can use while editing. Many of the options listed below have shortcut buttons in the editor toolbars.

Text formatting

Inline wikitext: code you can use anywhere in the page

Description	You type	You get
Italicize text	''italic''	italic
Bold text	'''bold'''	bold
Bold and italic	'''''bold & italic'''''	bold & italic
Strikethrough	<s>strikethrough</s>	strikethrough
Internal link (within a wiki)	[[Help:Contents]] [[Help:Contents|Displayed text]]	Help:Contents Displayed text
Redirect to another page	#REDIRECT [[Help:Contents]]	Help:Contents
External link (to other websites)	[https://www.example.org] [https://www.example.org displayed text] https://www.example.org	[1] displayed text https://www.example.org
Sign your posts on talk pages (username only)	~~~	Your username
Sign your posts on talk pages	~~~~ (4 tildes)	Your username 02:20, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
Insert the current date and time (UTC). Generally only used on talk pages.	~~~~~ (5 tildes)	02:20, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
Display wikitext code as typed	<nowiki>[[This is not a link]]</nowiki>	[[This is not a link]]

Code that works only at the start of a line

Description	You type	You get
Headings A Table of Contents will automatically be generated when four headings are added to an article. (Skip level 1; it's used for the page name.)	== Level 2 == === Level 3 === ==== Level 4 ==== ===== Level 5 ===== ====== Level 6 ======	Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Indented paragraph or line	No indent : One indent :: Two indents	No indent One indent Two indents
Bulleted list	* One * Two ** Two point one * Three	One Two Two point one Three
Numbered list	# One # Two ## Two point one # Three	One Two Two point one Three
Mixed list	* bulleted item *# numbered item 1 *#: indented item a *#: indented item b *# numbered item 2	bulleted item numbered item 1 indented item a indented item b numbered item 2
Preformatted text with working links	" "Color Text (note space at start, remove quotation marks)	Color Text
Preformatted text that shows underlying wikitext	<pre>[[Color]] Text</pre>	[[Color]] Text

Image formatting

Description	You type	You get
Image	[[File:SeaOtter.png]]
Sized image (width change with aspect ratio maintained)	[[File:SeaOtter.png|100px]]
Thumbnail image	[[File:SeaOtter.png|thumb|Caption text]]	Caption text
Aligned image	[[File:SeaOtter.png|thumb|100px|left]] [[File:SeaOtter.png|thumb|100px|center]] [[File:SeaOtter.png|thumb|100px|right]]
Linked image	[[File:SeaOtter.png|link=Help:Contents]]
Changed alt text	[[File:SeaOtter.png|alt=A sea otter|]]

Further wikitext examples

For more complex content that is sometimes more easily managed with wikitext editing, see:

• Help:Galleries, Slideshows, and Sliders/wikitext
• Help:Main page column tags
• Help:Templates
• Help:Signature
• Help:Tables
• Help:Magic words

See also

• Help:Editing
• MediaWiki's thorough reference on image formatting
• For print cheatsheets, see the MediaWiki reference card or the poster-size cheatsheet (available in many languages).

Further help and feedback

• Browse and search other help pages at Help:Contents
• Check Fandom Community Central for sources of further help and support
• Check Contacting Fandom for how to report any errors or unclear steps in this article