One of the most common issues developers encounter when writing in Markdown concerns the use of backticks. Backticks (`) are used in Markdown to denote code blocks, but what if you want to use a backtick within a code block? This post will explain how to escape backticks in Markdown, helping you efficiently write code examples without interference from Markdown’s rendering.

Why Backticks are Important in Markdown

First things first, let’s clarify why backticks play an important role in Markdown. Backticks are used to create inline code elements and block codes.

For instance, a single backtick is applied for an inline code.

`This is an inline code.`

While triple backticks are utilized for block codes.

This is a block of code

Yet, a question remains: what if you want to use a backtick within a code block? Or more specifically, to display a backtick in the rendered Markdown which usually requires escaping.

Escaping Backticks in Markdown

To escape a backtick in a Markdown document, you’ll use double backticks around the area where backticks appear.

Here’s a basic example. Imagine you want to present this piece of JavaScript code:

``const sayHello = `Hello, World!`;``

Here’s how you’d escape it:

const sayHello = `Hello, World!`;

By surrounding the JavaScript code with double backticks, the single backtick inside the JavaScript code isn't interpreted as the end of the code section.

This will correctly render as:

```javascript
const sayHello = `Hello, World!`;

This technique proves crucial when you’re crafting code examples with JavaScript’s template literals or shell commands.

Additional Resources

For more detailed usage of backticks and other Markdown elements, kindly refer to our other posts:

Wrapping Up

Markdown is an efficient way to plainly format text that can be easily converted into HTML. However, as we’ve found, using backticks within a code block is a common stumbling block for many Markdown users. By using double backticks, you can escape backticks in your code and avoid any formatting interruptions in your documents.

Whether you’re writing technical documentation, creating a GitHub README, or crafting a blog post, this backtick escaping technique will undoubtedly come in handy. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks in our upcoming articles on mastering Markdown.