Escape Pipes in Markdown Tables
Markdown tables are a convenient way of presenting data in tabular format. They’re often employed in documentation, blog posts, tutorials, README files, or technical guides. But errors will arise if you have to show a pipe character (|) in a cell of the table.
A pipe character (“|”) is used in Markdown tables for a special reason and it separates out columns. When not used as escaped text, Markdown might be rendering it as a column separator.
In this guide, you’ll discover how to break out from pipes in Markdown tables, how pipes can cause tables to break, and how to render pipes properly under various conditions.
What is Pipe Character in Markdown?
A vertical line (|) can be used to separate columns in Markdown tables. Describes the separation of cells in a cell block, and notifies the Markdown parser of the transition.
In fact, lets use this table from Markdown:
| Name | Language |
| --- | --- |
| Alex | JavaScript |
| Sarah | Python |It generates a table that has two columns – Name and Language.
The issue is that sometimes you have to add a pipe in a cell (e.g., when writing a command documentation, describing a syntax or even a logical expression, etc.).
For example:
| Expression | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| A | B | A or B |The pipe within A | B can be a column separator. This may cause the table to not show the way it is supposed to, or to form extra table cells.
In order to prevent this you must remove the pipe character from the string.
How to get out of Pipes in Markdown Tables
A backslash \ is the most common method used to remove the escape character in Markdown.
The pipe that has escaped resumes its form as shown below.
\|If the Markdown parser recognizes this syntax in a cell of a table, the Markdown parser will use a literal pipe (|) in the table, but not as a column separator.
Examine a situation where one pipe has to escape a cell element in another pipe.
What is the correct way to produce the expression A | B when the expression is to be displayed in a Markdown table?
You can write:
| Expression | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| A \| B | A or B |The table should look like this:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | B | A or B |
The backslash makes the following pipe a literal pipe, and instructs the Markdown parser to do that.
Important: There are differences in how markdown is processed between implementations. Most do support backslash escaping inside table cells but it varies by Markdown processor/website.
Why Pipes Break Markdown Tables (Part III)
Markdown tables are marked using pipes. If a pipe is not preceded by an escape character at the start of a cell, it can be considered to be the start of a new column by the parser.
For example:
| Code | Description |
| --- | --- |
| A | B | Logical OR |There is an additional pipe character in the third row. The parser might assume that there are more cells in the row than there actually are.
This can entail various difficulties:
- The columns of a table may get misaligned.
- The Text can be placed in the improper cells.
- Extra columns may be created.
- The formatting of tables might vary from one Markdown editor to another.
- It may get difficult to read the documentation.
These problem are avoided when data is not enclosed in literal pipes, preserving the table structure.
To display Code Formatting please use pipes.
An additional typical use case is when you want to show a pipe character as a part of a program expression or a code example.
You can use backticks to format code within a paragraph.For inline code use backticks in markdown. But simply turning on the code formatting doesn’t ensure the pipe won’t be recognized as a table separator.
For example:
| Expression | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `A \| B` | A logical expression |If escaped pipes are supported in cells by the Markdown implementer, this will be rendered as code formatting for the expression, but the table formatting will remain.
The backticks will let the reader know that the ‘’ is a literal value, and the backslash prevents the pipe from being treated as a tab delimiter.
Tests your Markdown if your platform uses pipes in different ways, in the real editor or renderer you intend to use or create.
Display multiple pipes in a Markdown Table
In some cases, after the text, you will need to place more than one “pipe” character in the same table cell. This is typical when recording shell commands, programming expressions, regular expression or logical operators.
For example:
| Expression | Description |
| --- | --- |
| A \| B \| C | Multiple alternatives |
| `x \|\| y` | Logical OR in JavaScript |
| `command1 \| command2` | Pipe output between commands |Each literal pipe is escaped with a backslash.
This is a good way to prevent the Markdown parser from considering the internal pipes as other field separators.
Check all literal pipes with multiple pipes are escaped properly, and the table’s structural pipes are not modified.
How to use pipes in GitHub-flavored Markdown
Tables and backslash escapes are supported for GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM). The pipe symbol (\|) is usually the symbol used in table cell to represent literal pipe.
For example:
| Operator | Example |
| --- | --- |
| OR | `A \| B` |
| Logical OR | `x \|\| y` |This is helpful in describing the methods of writing Readme.md on github, codes in technical writings and explanations, or codes in README files.
Bear in mind that interpreters aren’t the same thing. When creating content for GitHub (such as tables and text), run it through GitHub to check for rendering.
This is what you can do if you have broken markdown tables with pipes.
If your Markdown table is not rendering correctly, check for the cause and troubleshoot the issue.
Identify Literal Pipe Characters.Locate Literal Pipe Characters.
Check that you don’t have pipe characters anywhere in the table that aren’t supposed to be there—that is, because they are part of your content instead of the column separator.
These can occur in code examples, logical expressions, command-line usage, or in “plain text”.
B: Escape the Internal Pipes
Insert a backslash in front of literal pipe characters.
For example, change:
| Expression | Description |
| --- | --- |
| A | B | Logical OR |To:
| Expression | Description |
| --- | --- |
| A \| B | Logical OR |3. Check the Number of Columns
Ensure that there are the correct number of cells in each row and that the header and the separator row are of the correct structure as the table.
4. Preview the Markdown
Using an online Markdown editor or the editor of your system, type the table over.Type over the table in your desired Markdown editor or system. Edge cases are handled differently by different parsers and and a preview is the safest way to ensure the output.
Next, test the code examples individually.Then test the code examples one by one.
Test the programming syntax and escaping without complex code in the table, first to test the code formatting and escaping.
This makes it easier to tell if it is a problem with the table structure, the inline code or the Markdown parser.
Occasionally, there are some typical errors when escaping pipes in Markdown.There are some common mistakes when escaping pipes in Markdown.
Although it’s easy to escape pipes, there are the occasional dumb things you can do that result in formatting issues.
Forgetting the Backslash
The pipe character can be used to separate fields, and can thus be interpreted as a cell separator if it is placed within a table cell.
If your Markdown parser supports backslash escaping in table cells, use the backslash before `| to create a table header.If your Markdown parser allows for backslash-escaping in table cells, use backslash before the | to make a table header.
Pressing Escape once to exit each pipe in the Table
Be careful not to pass through the columns that divide tables. Only escape pipes which are intended to be part of the literal content in a cell should show up inside.
For example:
| Name | Expression |
| --- | --- |
| Example | A \| B |The outer pipes form a table structure. The escaped pipe in ‘A | B’ is part of the cell contents.
Assuming Backticks Are Enough
This does not mean that the table parser will recognize code with a pipe as regular text. Certain parsers execute table separators prior to inline formatting of code.
When supported by your Markdown implementation, it is most likely safer to escape a pipe.
There is 1 too many backslashes.
The back slash is a special character in mark down. It can also cause unwanted results if additional backslashes are added and not understood by the parser.
Use \| and see the result when the image is rendered. If your content passes through another processing layer — a programming language or a template system — then you may need more escaping.
Best Practices for Writing Markdown Tables
Here are some helpful tips to ensure that your tables work properly and are easy to read, even in Markdown.
- Use
\|for the literal pipe to escape characters used in pipes if supported by your Markdown parser. - Don’t allow structural pipes to become infested with scab.
- Present programming expressions and commands in an In-line format.
- Review tables prior to publishing.
- Test Markdown in the application it’s being used for.
- Don’t use complicated tables when more easily conveyed by a code block or list.
- If Markdown content is programmatically generated, see how backslashes are interpreted.
It prevents broken tables, simplifies technical documentation and generally helps to avoid drama.
A set of frequently asked questions (FAQ):
How would you go around escaping a pipe in Markdown?
To use pipe character use a backslash () right before it: \|. If your markdown implementation supports this escape in a table cell, it shows as the plain text in the cell.
Why is it that a pipe breaks a Markdown table?
Pipes (|) are used to denote columns in markdown tables. If an unescaped pipe occurs within a cell, it might be mistaken for another pipe separator and cause additional cells or formatting to be produced.
4. Is there a way to include a pipe character in a cell in a Markdown table?
Yes. A literal pipe may typically be preceded by a backslash, for example, A | B. Its exact behaviour is dependent on the Markdown parser.
4. Would it be safe to wrap a pipe around it so it wouldn’t generate table formatting issues?
Not always. There are some Markdown parsers that define table separators prior to handling line-level code. If the parser does support it, it is much more reliable to escape the pipe in the code span.
5. How to make multiple pipes in a single cell of the Markdown table?
Escape literals, one pipe at a time. For instance, A \| B \| C may render multiple pipes within a cell, but not as the separator for columns in a cells compatible markdown implementation.
7. Can you use escaped pipes in the Markdown tables in GitHub?
Yes. Table cells can use backslash escapes, which means that you can use \| in table cells. Check the result on GitHub with complex examples of code.
7. Do I need to go get the pipes between the columns of tables?
No. The pipes (separate rows and columns) should be left unescaped. Only escape the characters that are specified as cells content.
8. If escaping a pipe fails what should I do?
Have a look at the Markdown parser or the platform you’re using, and make sure that backslashes are retained, and that the table displays accordingly. If there’s another layer of programming/templating on top of this, ascertain if that layer needs further escaping.
Conclusion
If you are creating technical documentation, code examples and structured content, you’ll want to know how to escape pipes in Markdown tables. Unless escaped, there should be a pipe separating the columns, all of which lie within the cell, which may disrupt the format of the table.An unescaped pipe in a cell may break the layout of the table; normally the columns are separated by a pipe.
In backgable Markdown processors a backslash prior to that literal pipe | ( is the standard solution. Do not modify structural pipes, only pipes which are part of your content and always check your table before publishing it.
