This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2021-03-02. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

About writing and formatting on GitHub

GitHub combines a syntax for formatting text called GitHub Flavored Markdown with a few unique writing features.

In this article

Markdown is an easy-to-read, easy-to-write syntax for formatting plain text.

We've added some custom functionality to create GitHub Flavored Markdown, used to format prose and code across our site.

You can also interact with other users in pull requests and issues using features like @mentions, issue and PR references, and emoji.

Text formatting toolbar

Every comment field on GitHub Enterprise Server contains a text formatting toolbar, allowing you to format your text without learning Markdown syntax. In addition to Markdown formatting like bold and italic styles and creating headers, links, and lists, the toolbar includes GitHub Enterprise Server-specific features such as @mentions, task lists, and links to issues and pull requests.

Markdown toolbar

Further reading