using-streamlit-markdown

name	using-streamlit-markdown
description	Covers all Markdown features in Streamlit including GitHub-flavored syntax plus Streamlit extensions like colored text, badges, Material icons, and LaTeX. Use when formatting text, labels, tooltips, or any text-rendering element.
license	Apache-2.0

Using Markdown in Streamlit

Streamlit supports Markdown throughout its API—in st.markdown(), widget labels, help tooltips, metrics, st.table() cells, and more. Beyond standard GitHub-flavored Markdown, Streamlit adds colored text, badges, icons, and LaTeX.

Quick reference

Feature	Syntax	Example	Works in labels
Bold	**text**	**Bold**	✓
Italic	*text*	*Italic*	✓
Strikethrough	~text~	~Strikethrough~	✓
Inline code	`code`	`variable`	✓
Code block	```lang...```	```python...```	✗
Link	[text](url)	[Streamlit](https://streamlit.io)	✓
Image			✓
Heading	# to ######	## Section	✗
Blockquote	> text	> Note	✗
Horizontal rule	---	---	✗
Unordered list	- item	- First - Second	✗
Ordered list	1. item	1. First 2. Second	✗
Task list	- [ ] / - [x]	- [x] Done - [ ] Todo	✗
Table	| a | b |	| H1 | H2 | |--|--|	✗
Emoji	Direct or shortcode	🎉 or :tada:	✓
Streamlit logo	:streamlit:	:streamlit:	✓
Material icon	:material/icon_name:	:material/check_circle:	✓
Colored text	:color[text]	:red[Error]	✓
Colored background	:color-background[text]	:blue-background[Info]	✓
Badge	:color-badge[text]	:green-badge[Success]	✓
Small text	:small[text]	:small[footnote]	✓
LaTeX (inline)	$formula$	$ax^2 + bx + c$	✓
LaTeX (block)	$$formula$$	$$\int_0^1 x^2 dx$$	✗

Where Markdown works

Markdown is supported in most places where text is rendered. Streamlit has three levels of markdown support:

Full Markdown — All syntax shown in the table above:

• st.markdown(), st.write(), st.caption(), st.info(), st.warning(), st.error(), st.success(), st.table cells and headers, tooltips (help parameter)

Label subset — Inline formatting only (see table above). Block elements (e.g. headings, lists, tables) are silently stripped:

• Widget and element labels (st.button, st.checkbox, st.radio, st.expander, st.page_link, etc.), st.radio and st.select_slider options, st.tabs names, st.metric label/value/delta, st.title, st.header, st.subheader, st.image caption, st.dialog title, st.progress, st.spinner.

No Markdown — Text displays literally:

• st.text(), st.json(), st.dataframe() / st.data_editor() cells, st.selectbox / st.multiselect options, input placeholders, st.Page titles, chart/map labels

GitHub-flavored Markdown

Standard GFM syntax works as expected. Headings automatically get anchor links for navigation.

st.markdown("""
# Heading

**Bold**, *italic*, ~~strikethrough~~, `inline code`, [links](url)

- Unordered list
- [x] Task list

| Column | Column |
|--------|--------|
| Cell   | Cell   |

> Blockquote

```python
code_block = "with syntax highlighting"
```
""")

Colored text, backgrounds, and badges

st.markdown(":red[Error] and :green[Success]")  # Colored text
st.markdown(":blue-background[Highlighted]")     # Colored background
st.markdown(":green-badge[Active] :red-badge[Inactive]")  # Inline badges

Available colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, gray/grey, rainbow, primary

Note: rainbow is not supported for backgrounds or badges. Standalone badges also available via st.badge().

Material icons

Use Google Material Symbols with :material/icon_name: syntax. Find icons at fonts.google.com/icons

st.markdown(":material/check_circle: Complete")

Material icons also work in icon parameters across many elements (st.button, st.expander, st.info, etc.).

Emojis

Both Unicode emojis (preferred) and shortcodes work.

st.markdown("Hello! 👋 :+1: :tada: :streamlit:")

Note: Material icons are preferred over emojis for a more professional look.

LaTeX math

Single $ for inline, double $$ for display mode. Inline math requires non-whitespace after $ to avoid conflicts with currency (e.g., "$5" won't be parsed as math).

# Inline math
st.markdown("The quadratic formula is $x = \\frac{-b \\pm \\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$")

# Display math (centered, larger)
st.markdown("""
$$
\\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i = x_1 + x_2 + ... + x_n
$$
""")

Images in Markdown

st.markdown("![Alt text](https://example.com/image.png)")
st.button("![Logo](app/static/logo.png) Click me")  # Image as icon in label

In labels, images display as icons with max height equal to font height.

Markdown in element labels

Widgets, containers, and other elements support Markdown in their labels (using the label subset).

st.radio(":material/palette: Choose **color**", [":red-background[Red]", ":blue-background[Blue]", ":green-background[Green]"])
tab1, tab2 = st.tabs([":material/home: Home", ":material/settings: Settings"])
st.metric(label=":material/attach_money: Revenue", value=":green[$1.2M]", delta=":material/trending_up: 12%")

Escaping special characters

Use backslash to show literal characters: \\[, \\*, 1\\.

st.markdown(":blue[Array: \\[1, 2, 3\\]]")
st.button("1\\. Not a list")

Markdown in st.table

st.table() renders Markdown in cells and headers.

st.table({
    "**Name**": "Alice",
    "**Status**": ":green-badge[Active]",
    "**Role**": ":material/shield: Admin"
})

Combining features

Mix multiple features for rich formatting.

st.markdown("""
### :material/rocket: Launch status

| Phase | Status | Notes |
|-------|--------|-------|
| Build | :green-badge[Complete] | All tests passing |
| Deploy | :orange-badge[In Progress] | ETA: 2 hours |
| Monitor | :gray-badge[Pending] | Waiting on deploy |

:small[Last updated: just now]
""")

st.markdown - text alignment and width

Control layout with text_alignment and width parameters.

st.markdown("Centered heading", text_alignment="center")  # left, center, right, justify
st.markdown("Content width only", width="content")  # stretch, content, or pixels (e.g. 400)

HTML (use very sparingly!)

Mix Markdown with HTML using unsafe_allow_html=True. For pure HTML without markdown processing, use st.html() instead.

st.markdown("**Status:** <span style='color: coral'>Custom styled</span>", unsafe_allow_html=True)
st.html("<div class='custom'>Pure HTML content</div>")

References

• st.markdown
• st.latex
• GitHub-flavored Markdown spec
• Material Symbols
• KaTeX supported functions