Markdown
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What is Markdown?
A lightweight markup language that uses simple plaintext formatting syntax (like asterisks for bolding) to easily create beautifully formatted web documents.
Markdown allows writers to format text for the web without writing raw HTML tags. Using simple symbols (like # for headers or () for links), it is instantly converted into stylized web pages. It is the universal standard for writing README files, software documentation, and AI prompt instructions.
How it relates to Orbit
Orbit stores context and handoff material as Markdown and can export activity summaries in that format. See MCP Tool Catalog for details.
When you would use it
You use Markdown whenever you need to write formatted, highly readable text documents, particularly in software development and documentation environments.
Common operations
- Writing the central README.md documentation file for a GitHub repository.
- Providing structured system prompt instructions to an AI agent.