Start with the header row

Keep the same number of columns in each row. A blank line above the table makes the boundary clear.

| Page | Status |
| --- | --- |
| Home | Draft ready |
| About | In progress |

Choose column alignment

Use a colon on the left, right, or both ends of a separator to align a column. Alignment affects the rendered table.

| Task | Estimate |
| :--- | ---: |
| Draft | 30 min |
| Review | 15 min |

Keep pipes inside a cell

Escape a literal pipe with a backslash. Keep multi-paragraph notes outside the table so the data stays readable.

| Symbol | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| a \| b | Either option |

Check the receiving app

GitHub Flavored Markdown supports tables. CommonMark alone does not define them. Preview the file where your reader will use it.