Tables with at least two columns at least must have pipes to separate columns Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 Row-2-Column-1|Row-2-Column-2 |Header-1|Header-2 |---|--- |Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 Header-1|Header-2| ---|---| Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2| |Header-1|Header-2| |---|---| |Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2| Between dashes and pipes spaces are allowed Header-1 | Header-2 --- | --- Row-1-Column-1 | Row-1-Column-2 Tables with alignment hints (left, right and center) Header-1 | Header-2 :--------------|:-------------- Row-1-Column-1 | Row-1-Column-2 Header-1 | Header-2 --------------:|--------------: Row-1-Column-1 | Row-1-Column-2 Header-1 | Header-2 :-------------:|:-------------: Row-1-Column-1 | Row-1-Column-2 Tables could contain inline elements www.example.com | Header-2 --- | --- ~~Row-1-Column-1~~ | *Row-1-Column-2* Tables with single column at least should have a pipes on one side |Header-1 |--- |Row-1-Column-1 Header-1| ---| Row-1-Column-1| |Header-1| |---| |Row-1-Column-1| So this is not not a table with one column but some stings and a separator (it's not an header because it doesn't begin at the first column) Header-1 --- Row-1-Column-1 Tables could have only headers Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Surprisingly tables could have as many leading spaces as wanted, they never turn as code blocks Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 Tables should be preceded by an empty line, so the following is not a table Not an empty line Header-1|Header-2 ---|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2 The separator between header and the rows should have at least 3 dashes, so the following is not a table Header-1|Header-2 --|--- Row-1-Column-1|Row-1-Column-2