NoteLoom Blog
Markdown & AI Docs Practical Guides
We've turned the common Markdown and AI coding documentation questions into practical guides: how to open .md, how to write syntax, how to review Agent plans and manage rule files, and how to preserve AI output formatting cleanly.
Everything works with zero setup and no sign-up. When you need a clean view that previews formatting, mounts your local project folder directly, and offers optional local AI assistance, open NoteLoom in your browser.
Getting started · understand Markdown
What is Markdown? Understand the format in one line, and why AI so often uses it for answers and docs.
What is a markdown file used for? AI answers, READMEs, notes, coding rules, and writing: the main uses of a .md file, and why not Word.
How to edit .md files without importing them? Sick of apps that make you import into a vault first? Mount your existing folder and edit the .md in place, no import, no conversion, files stay yours.
How to open a Notion Markdown export? Exported to .md and got a folder of files with images in subfolders? Unzip, mount the folder, and read the .md with local images rendered, offline, no upload.
How to read a whole folder of .md files locally? A folder of md (repo docs, exports, an archive) you want to browse rendered like GitHub, tree and images? Mount the folder, render in the browser, no install, no upload (not a docs site).
Google Drive opens your .md as a Google Doc? Want the real Markdown, not a converted Doc? Mount the local Drive for Desktop folder and edit the real .md in place; Drive syncs it. Honest about not stopping web conversion.
Dropbox only offers "Convert to Paper"? dropbox.com has no text editor and only offers to convert to Paper? Mount the local Dropbox folder and edit the real .md in place; Dropbox syncs it. No Paper conversion.
How do you write Markdown? The basic syntax every beginner needs, plus how to preview formatting as you type.
How do you make a heading in Markdown? All six levels with #, why #Heading with no space fails, the === underline style, and the --- heading trap.
How do you underline text in Markdown? Markdown has no native underline: _ is italic. Use the <u> HTML tag, or bold, italic, or ==highlight==, and what actually renders.
How do you make italic and bold text in Markdown? * for italic, ** for bold, *** for both; why * is safer than _ inside words; and the stray space that shows the stars instead.
How do you use emoji in Markdown? Paste the Unicode character and it works everywhere; :shortcodes: only convert on a few platforms. With a support table.
What is frontmatter in Markdown? The --- block at the top of a .md file: metadata like tags and title, who writes it there, and why some viewers show it as a table.
How do you make a table of contents in Markdown? Markdown has no native TOC syntax. Write anchor links by hand, let GitHub generate one, or navigate a long doc with an outline panel.
How do you write Markdown tables? Table syntax, left/center/right alignment, and line breaks and escaping in cells, all in one.
How do you make a Markdown checkbox? Task list - [ ]/- [x] syntax, why the box will not tick, and how to get clickable checkboxes that save back to the .md.
Why aren't my Markdown line breaks working? Why a plain Enter doesn't break the line, and the three reliable fixes.
How do you make a horizontal line in Markdown? Draw a divider with --- / *** / ___, and why --- can turn the line above into a heading.
How do you insert an image in Markdown? The  syntax, and why a Markdown image often won't show, plus how to fix it.
How do you shrink an oversized Markdown image? Standard Markdown has no size syntax: the portable HTML <img width>, plus NoteLoom's |300 shorthand and drag-to-resize.
How do you write code blocks in Markdown? Inline code, fenced blocks, a language tag for highlighting, and why a block sometimes fails.
How do you add a link in Markdown? Inline, relative, anchor, and reference-style links, and why a link sometimes breaks.
How do you make a list in Markdown? Bulleted, numbered, nested, and task lists (checkboxes), and why a list sometimes fails.
How do you escape characters in Markdown? Use a backslash to show a literal *, #, or _, when to skip it, and the snake_case italics trap.
How do you write a blockquote in Markdown? The > syntax, multi-paragraph quotes, nesting with >>, and why a quote stops halfway.
How do you make a Markdown callout? The > [!NOTE] note/tip/warning boxes: 13 types and aliases, collapsible, custom titles, Obsidian-compatible and rendered in the browser.
How do you write math in Markdown? Wrap LaTeX in dollar signs: single for inline, double for a block, rendered with KaTeX. Plus the strict rule that keeps a price from turning into an equation.
How do you add footnotes in Markdown? The [^1] reference and [^1]: definition, word labels, why it can show as raw text, and how it renders with a clickable jump.
How do you comment in Markdown? Add a note that does not render with an HTML comment, multi-line, and why it is not truly hidden.
How do you strikethrough text in Markdown? Cross out text with ~~double tildes~~, why it sometimes fails (GFM vs CommonMark), and combining it.
Why is your Markdown bold not working? Seeing ** instead of bold? A plain-text view, a stray space, or an app that does not render Markdown.
Markdown not rendering? The common gotchas A diagnostic hub: whole file raw = a renderer problem, one thing off = a syntax slip, with the fix for each.
Why does AI use Markdown? What those # * - symbols in ChatGPT and Claude answers do: one cheat sheet.
Opening · make sense of .md
How do you open a .md file? What .md is, what opens it, and how to see the formatted result.
Obsidian without admin rights or installing? On a locked-down work or school machine, open your vault's .md notes in the browser you already have. Compatible with frontmatter/wikilinks, not the full app.
Obsidian on a Chromebook? Skip the Linux container and Android app: open your vault's .md notes right in Chrome. Works offline as a PWA, but not the full app.
Which apps can open an Obsidian vault, and what breaks? A neutral comparison of six: what happens to wikilinks, embeds, block references, and callouts in NoteLoom, Logseq, VS Code, Typora, and a plain text editor.
How to open an Obsidian vault without Obsidian? A vault is a .md folder; plain editors show raw [[ ]] symbols, NoteLoom renders wikilinks/embeds in the browser and saves back to the same files.
Is there an Obsidian web version? No editable official web app (Publish is read-only); but a vault is .md files, so you can read and edit the notes in the browser. Not Obsidian, not a full replacement.
Are Obsidian notes just Markdown? Mostly: plain .md text, not a proprietary format, no lock-in; but Obsidian adds non-standard [[wikilinks]]/![[embeds]] (still text). The portability breakdown.
Will another app break your Obsidian Markdown? Worried an editor will wreck your frontmatter, callouts, or wikilinks on save? What survives a round trip, Source mode for exact edits, and the honest limits.
How to handle Obsidian conflicted-copy files? Sync left a pile of (conflicted copy).md and you fear deleting the wrong one? Mount the vault, read each version, merge the lines by hand. The merging is yours to do.
Share Obsidian notes with a non-Obsidian user? No Publish or Quartz for a few notes? They are just .md, so send the files and the other person mounts the folder and reads them rendered (callouts and images). Not a hosting or share-link service.
How do you open Markdown from ChatGPT? After saving an AI answer as .md, how to store and read it properly.
How do you open a ChatGPT Deep Research report (.md)? Long report saved as .md and the tables, citations, and math look broken? Render GFM tables, footnotes, and KaTeX in the browser, in the reading view, with no upload.
How do you save a Gemini answer as .md? (no code) No console scripts, no dev tools: copy it into a .md yourself, then render it in the browser. NoteLoom picks up from the file you saved.
Is it safe to open a .md file? Can a Markdown file have a virus? Plain text runs no code; the two mild risks and how to inspect one safely.
Which browser editors open a local folder of .md? A neutral comparison of the few browser tools that mount a real folder and edit the .md files in place, plus the popular ones that turn out to be a different category.
AI · keep the formatting of AI answers
How do you edit an AI-generated PRD? A PRD from ChatGPT or Claude is a .md file, and how to read its structure, edit requirements, and save it back locally.
How do you keep the formatting of an AI answer? How to save copied Markdown without the formatting falling apart.
Using · take notes & organize
How do you start taking notes in Markdown? Pick a local folder, set a simple structure, and actually keep your .md notes.
How do you organize .md files? When notes pile up, how to tidy scattered .md files so they're easy to find.
Which Markdown to PDF converters don't upload your file? A neutral comparison: every tool claims your file never leaves your device, so the real differences are how the PDF is produced, whether math and diagrams survive, and who watermarks the free tier.
Extension · save what you read and watch
How do you save a web page as Markdown? Clip an article into a clean .md file: check the text in the reading view first, then send it to a local folder you pick.
How do you save a YouTube transcript as Markdown? The transcript loads into the reading view already split into timestamped chunks. One clip turns it into a .md file, with no copy and paste.
How do you save Bilibili subtitles as Markdown? Bilibili's own AI subtitles pull into the reading view, split by chapter, and clip to a local .md file. Videos without an AI subtitle track have nothing to pull.
Advanced · developer scenarios
How do you read a Codex plan.md? How to open and make sense of the plan.md that AI coding tools generate.
What is README.md? The 'read me first' file in a project's root, and how to open and understand it.
What is CONTRIBUTING.md? The repo file that tells you how to contribute: setup, tests, PR conventions, and how it differs from README.
What is GEMINI.md? The Gemini CLI's rules file: stack, conventions, commands, hierarchical loading, and how it relates to AGENTS.md.
What is .clinerules? Cline's project rules: a .clinerules file or a .clinerules/ folder of Markdown, what goes in and where.
What is .windsurfrules? Windsurf's rules file: a .windsurfrules file or a .windsurf/rules/ folder of Markdown, what goes in and where.
What are AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md? The 'standing rules' files written for AI coding tools, and how to read and write them.
How do you manage AI coding rule files? A pile of AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and .cursorrules: where to keep them, how to organize, how to be sure the AI reads them.
What is copilot-instructions.md? GitHub Copilot's project rules file: where it goes, what to write, and how.
Which AI rules file does your tool read? AGENTS.md vs CLAUDE.md vs .cursorrules vs copilot-instructions: which tool reads which, and where each lives.
AI plans are too long to read? How to actually read a long plan.md: render it, skim the headings, jump to the risk.
Reviewing Claude Code and Cursor plans? How to review agent plan.md files without IDE clutter: a lightweight local review workflow.
What is a .cursorrules file? Cursor's rules file: .cursorrules vs the newer .cursor/rules/*.mdc, what an .mdc is, and where they go.
Want to skip the tutorials and just start? Open the online Markdown editor: read and write local .md, no install, no sign-up. If keeping files local and off the cloud matters most, see the local-first Markdown editor.
Open your local .md folder directly in your browser
No software to install, no account to create. Open NoteLoom in Chrome or Edge, mount your local notes or project directory, and read and edit your own .md files with full formatting and optional AI review, kept entirely on your local disk.