Markdown Hard & Soft Breaks
Last updated: 2026-10-14
Hard & Soft Breaks CommonMark core
A single Enter is a soft break rendered as a space (same paragraph); two trailing spaces or a backslash make a hard break rendered as <br>. GitHub's Enter-as-<br> is platform dialect — never rely on it cross-platform.
| Group | Edge Cases & Rules |
|---|---|
| Spec level | CommonMark core |
| Spec version | CommonMark 0.31.2 + GFM |
📝 Syntax
soft = single Enter
hard = two trailing spaces or \▶ Live Example
Edit Markdown on the left, see the result on the right
💡 Key points
ℹ️ Note GitHub issues/READMEs render Enter as <br>; strict CommonMark gives a space — both behaviors exist.
⚠️ Warning Trailing spaces vanish in diffs; backslash breaks survive review better.
❓ FAQ
Q Why does Enter break lines on some platforms?
A Platform dialect: GFM discussions and Discord render Enter as <br>, beyond the spec.
Q Which hard-break style is better?
A Backslash — survives trailing-space trimming and shows in diffs.
Q What is good about soft breaks as spaces?
A English prose can wrap at any column while output keeps natural spaces.
📚 See also
Line BreaksCommonMark core Lazy ContinuationCommonMark core