Python Markdown Extensions¶

The Python Markdown Extensions package is an excellent collection of additional extensions perfectly suited for advanced technical writing. Material for MkDocs lists this package as an explicit dependency, so it's automatically installed with a supported version.

Supported extensions¶

In general, all extensions that are part of Python Markdown Extensions should work with Material for MkDocs. The following list includes all extensions that are natively supported, meaning they work without any further adjustments.

Arithmatex¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.arithmatex

The Arithmatex extension allows for rendering of block and inline block equations and integrates seamlessly with MathJax¹ – a library for mathematical typesetting. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.arithmatex:
      generic: true

Besides enabling the extension in mkdocs.yml, a MathJax configuration and the JavaScript runtime need to be included, which can be done with a few lines of additional JavaScript:

docs/javascripts/mathjax.js mkdocs.yml

window.MathJax = {
  tex: {
    inlineMath: [["\\(", "\\)"]],
    displayMath: [["\\[", "\\]"]],
    processEscapes: true,
    processEnvironments: true
  },
  options: {
    ignoreHtmlClass: ".*|",
    processHtmlClass: "arithmatex"
  }
};

document$.subscribe(() => { // (1)!
  MathJax.startup.output.clearCache()
  MathJax.typesetClear()
  MathJax.texReset()
  MathJax.typesetPromise()
})

This integrates MathJax with instant loading

extra_javascript:
  - javascripts/mathjax.js
  - https://unpkg.com/mathjax@3/es5/tex-mml-chtml.js

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

BetterEm¶

0.1.0 pymdownx.betterem

The BetterEm extension improves the detection of Markup to emphasize text in Markdown using special characters, i.e. for **bold** and _italic_ formatting. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.betterem

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. See the BetterEm documentation for more information.

Caret, Mark & Tilde¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.caret

The Caret, Mark and Tilde extensions add the ability to highlight text and define sub- and superscript using a simple syntax. Enable them together via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.caret
  - pymdownx.mark
  - pymdownx.tilde

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. See the Caret, Mark and Tilde documentation for guidance.

See reference for usage:

Critic¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.critic

The Critic extension allows for the usage of Critic Markup to highlight added, deleted or updated sections in a document, i.e. for tracking changes in Markdown syntax. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.critic

The following configuration options are supported:

mode

view This option defines how the markup should be parsed, i.e. whether to just view all suggested changes, or alternatively accept or reject them:

View changesAccept changesReject changes

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.critic:
      mode: view

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.critic:
      mode: accept

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.critic:
      mode: reject

See reference for usage:

Highlighting changes

Details¶

1.9.0 pymdownx.details

The Details extension supercharges the Admonition extension, making the resulting call-outs collapsible, allowing them to be opened and closed by the user. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.details

No configuration options are available. See reference for usage:

Collapsible blocks

Emoji¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.emoji

The Emoji extension automatically inlines bundled and custom icons and emojis in *.svg file format into the resulting HTML page. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.emoji:
      emoji_index: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.twemoji # (1)!
      emoji_generator: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.to_svg

Python Markdown Extensions uses the pymdownx namespace, but in order to support the inlining of icons, the materialx namespace must be used, as it extends the functionality of pymdownx.

The following configuration options are supported:

emoji_index

emojione This option defines which set of emojis is used for rendering. Note that the use of emojione is not recommended due to restrictions in licensing:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.emoji:
      emoji_index: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.twemoji

emoji_generator

to_png This option defines how the resolved emoji or icon shortcode is render. Note that icons can only be used together with the to_svg configuration:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.emoji:
      emoji_generator: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.to_svg

custom_icons

This option allows to list folders with additional icon sets to be used in Markdown or mkdocs.yml, which is explained in more detail in the icon customization guide:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.emoji:
      emoji_index: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.twemoji
      emoji_generator: !!python/name:material.extensions.emoji.to_svg
      options:
        custom_icons:
          - overrides/.icons

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

Highlight¶

5.0.0 pymdownx.highlight

The Highlight extension adds support for syntax highlighting of code blocks (with the help of SuperFences) and inline code blocks (with the help of InlineHilite). Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      anchor_linenums: true
  - pymdownx.superfences # (1)!

Highlight is used by the SuperFences extension to perform syntax highlighting on code blocks, not the other way round, which is why this extension also needs to be enabled.

The following configuration options are supported:

use_pygments

true This option allows to control whether highlighting should be carried out during build time using Pygments or in the browser with a JavaScript syntax highlighter:

PygmentsJavaScript

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      use_pygments: true
  - pymdownx.superfences

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      use_pygments: false

As an example, Highlight.js, a JavaScript syntax highlighter, can be integrated with some additional JavaScript and an additional style sheet in mkdocs.yml:

docs/javascripts/highlight.js mkdocs.yml

document$.subscribe(() => {
  hljs.highlightAll()
})

extra_javascript:
  - https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/highlight.js/10.7.2/highlight.min.js
  - javascripts/highlight.js
extra_css:
  - https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/highlight.js/10.7.2/styles/default.min.css

Note that Highlight.js has no affiliation with the Highlight extension.

All following configuration options are only compatible with build-time syntax highlighting using Pygments, so they don't apply if use_pygments is set to false.

pygments_lang_class

false This option instructs Pygments to add a CSS class to identify the language of the code block, which is essential for custom annotation markers to function:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      pygments_lang_class: true

auto_title

false This option will automatically add a title to all code blocks that shows the name of the language being used, e.g. Python is printed for a py block:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      auto_title: true

linenums

false This option will add line numbers to all code blocks. If you wish to add line numbers to some, but not all code blocks, consult the section on adding line numbers in the code block reference, which also contains some tips on working with line numbers:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      linenums: true

linenums_style

table The Highlight extension provides three ways to add line numbers, two of which are supported by Material for MkDocs. While table wraps a code block in a <table> element, pymdownx-inline renders line numbers as part of the line itself:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      linenums_style: pymdownx-inline

Note that inline will put line numbers next to the actual code, which means that they will be included when selecting text with the cursor or copying a code block to the clipboard. Thus, the usage of either table or pymdownx-inline is recommended.

anchor_linenums

8.1.0 Default: false – If a code blocks contains line numbers, enabling this setting will wrap them with anchor links, so they can be hyperlinked and shared more easily:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      anchor_linenums: true

line_spans

When this option is set, each line of a code block is wrapped in a span, which is essential for features like line highlighting to work correctly:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      line_spans: __span

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

InlineHilite¶

5.0.0 pymdownx.inlinehilite

The InlineHilite extension add support for syntax highlighting of inline code blocks. It's built on top of the Highlight extension, from which it sources its configuration. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.highlight
  - pymdownx.inlinehilite

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. The only exception is the css_class option, which must not be changed. See the InlineHilite documentation for guidance.

See reference for usage:

Highlighting inline code blocks

Keys¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.keys

The Keys extension adds a simple syntax to allow for the rendering of keyboard keys and combinations, e.g. Ctrl+Alt+Del. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.keys

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. The only exception is the class option, which must not be changed. See the Keys documentation for more information.

See reference for usage:

Adding keyboard keys

SmartSymbols¶

0.1.0 pymdownx.smartsymbols

The SmartSymbols extension converts some sequences of characters into their corresponding symbols, e.g. copyright symbols or fractions. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.smartsymbols

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. See the SmartSymbols documentation for guidance.

Snippets¶

0.1.0 pymdownx.snippets

The Snippets extension adds the ability to embed content from arbitrary files into a document, including other documents or source files, by using a simple syntax. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.snippets

The configuration options of this extension are not specific to Material for MkDocs, as they only impact the Markdown parsing stage. See the Snippets documentation for more information.

See reference for usage:

SuperFences¶

0.1.0 pymdownx.superfences

The SuperFences extension allows for arbitrary nesting of code and content blocks inside each other, including admonitions, tabs, lists and all other elements. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.superfences

The following configuration options are supported:

custom_fences

This option allows to define a handler for custom fences, e.g. to preserve the definitions of Mermaid.js diagrams to be interpreted in the browser:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.superfences:
      custom_fences:
        - name: mermaid
          class: mermaid
          format: !!python/name:pymdownx.superfences.fence_code_format

Note that this will primarily prevent syntax highlighting from being applied. See the reference on diagrams to learn how Mermaid.js is integrated with Material for MkDocs.

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

Tabbed¶

5.0.0 pymdownx.tabbed

The Tabbed extension allows the usage of content tabs, a simple way to group related content and code blocks under accessible tabs. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      alternate_style: true

The following configuration options are supported:

alternate_style

7.3.1 false This option enables the content tabs alternate style, which has better behavior on mobile viewports, and is the only supported style:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      alternate_style: true

combine_header_slug

false This option enables the content tabs' [combine_header_slug style] flag, which prepends the id of the header to the id of the tab:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      combine_header_slug: true

slugify

None This option allows for customization of the slug function. For some languages, the default may not produce good and readable identifiers – consider using another slug function like for example those from Python Markdown Extensions:

UnicodeUnicode, case-sensitive

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      slugify: !!python/object/apply:pymdownx.slugs.slugify
        kwds:
          case: lower

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      slugify: !!python/object/apply:pymdownx.slugs.slugify {}

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

Tasklist¶

1.0.0 pymdownx.tasklist

The Tasklist extension allows for the usage of GitHub Flavored Markdown inspired task lists, following the same syntactical conventions. Enable it via mkdocs.yml:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tasklist:
      custom_checkbox: true

The following configuration options are supported:

custom_checkbox

false This option toggles the rendering style of checkboxes, replacing native checkbox styles with beautiful icons, and is therefore recommended:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tasklist:
      custom_checkbox: true

clickable_checkbox

false This option toggles whether checkboxes are clickable. As the state is not persisted, the use of this option is rather discouraged from a user experience perspective:

markdown_extensions:
  - pymdownx.tasklist:
      clickable_checkbox: true

The other configuration options of this extension are not officially supported by Material for MkDocs, which is why they may yield unexpected results. Use them at your own risk.

See reference for usage:

Using task lists

Other libraries like KaTeX are also supported and can be integrated with some additional effort. See the Arithmatex documentation on KaTeX for further guidance, as this is beyond the scope of Material for MkDocs. ↩