Footnotes in Markdown
Add a reference such as [^1] in the sentence, then define the matching note on its own line. mdedit.ai renders the reference as a link to a footnotes section and adds a return link after the note.
How footnote syntax works
The identifier between [^ and ] connects the reference to its definition. It can be a number or a short descriptive label; the identifier itself is not shown in the rendered note.
A sentence can cite the same note twice.[^source]
Another sentence can cite it again.[^source]
[^source]: The note text appears in the footnotes section.Keep each definition on a separate line and leave a blank line before the definitions. A definition can contain links, emphasis, code, and other inline Markdown.
Support in mdedit.ai
The mdedit.ai web and desktop previews use the shared @mdedit/markdown-preview renderer. In the current renderer, footnote references become superscript links, definitions move into a labeled footnotes section, and each note includes a link back to its reference.
The source remains normal Markdown. Copying or exporting the Markdown preserves the [^label] reference and definition syntax rather than replacing it with generated HTML.
Markdown flavor compatibility
Footnotes are an extension, not part of the original CommonMark specification (opens in a new tab). GitHub also documents footnote syntax (opens in a new tab) for supported Markdown contexts, but other renderers may leave the markers as literal text or use different output markup.
Preview the document in its final destination when footnotes are important. For broadly portable content, consider an ordinary inline link when the destination does not support footnotes.