422
votes

I am able to draw checkbox in Github README.md lists using

- [ ] (for unchecked checkbox)
- [x] (for checked checkbox)

But this is not working in table. Does anybody know how to implement checkbox or checkmark in GitHub Markdown table?

11
Markdown requires you to add some text after the checkbox. E.g., - [ ] myLabelPiano Telope

11 Answers

592
votes

Try adding a - before the [] or [x]. That's an - followed by a blank space .

Below is an example from Github blog.

### Solar System Exploration, 1950s – 1960s

- [ ] Mercury
- [x] Venus
- [x] Earth (Orbit/Moon)
- [x] Mars
- [ ] Jupiter
- [ ] Saturn
- [ ] Uranus
- [ ] Neptune
- [ ] Comet Haley

It appears like below:

Resultant Image

Here's how one could do the same in a table:

| Task           | Time required | Assigned to   | Current Status | Finished | 
|----------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|-----------|
| Calendar Cache | > 5 hours  |  | in progress | - [x] ok?
| Object Cache   | > 5 hours  |  | in progress | [x] item1<br/>[ ] item2
| Object Cache   | > 5 hours  |  | in progress | <ul><li>- [x] item1</li><li>- [ ] item2</li></ul>
| Object Cache   | > 5 hours  |  | in progress | <ul><li>[x] item1</li><li>[ ] item2</li></ul>


- [x] works
- [x] works too

Here's how it looks:

enter image description here

102
votes

Now emojis are supported! :white_check_mark: / :heavy_check_mark: gives a good impression and is widely supported:

Function | MySQL / MariaDB | PostgreSQL | SQLite
:------------ | :-------------| :-------------| :-------------
substr | :heavy_check_mark: |  :white_check_mark: | :heavy_check_mark:

renders to (here on older chromium 65.0.3x) :

enter image description here

73
votes

I used &#9744; (☐) for [ ] and &#9745; (☑) for [x] and it works for marked.js which says it is compatible with Github markdown. I based my solution on answers for this question. See also this informative answer.

Update: I should have mentioned that when you do it this way, you do not need the <ul>, e.g:

| Unchecked | Checked |
| --------- | ------- |
| &#9744;   | &#9745; |
47
votes

You can use emojis

Done? | Name
:---:| ---
⬜️| Nope
✅| Yep
42
votes

There are very nice Emoji icons instructions available at

You can check them out. I hope you would find suitable icons for your writing.

Nice Emojis

Best,

23
votes
|checked|unchecked|crossed|
|---|---|---|
|&check;|_|&cross;|

Where

✓ via HTML Entity Code
✗ via HTML Entity Code
_ via underscore character
and table via markdown table syntax.

12
votes

Unfortunately, the accepted answer doesn't work for me (I'm using GitHub flavoured markdown).

It occurs to me since we're adding HTML elements, why not just add an <input> instead.

| demo                                              | demo |
| ------------------------------------------------- | ---- |
| <input type="checkbox" disabled checked /> works  |      |
| <input type="checkbox" disabled /> works here too |      |

This should work in any environment cuz it's plain HTML (see FYI below).

Rendered result

FYI, this example was tested in VS Code markdown preview mode(GitHub flavoured), the screenshot is also taken in VS Code preview mode, It's not exactly working on GitHub.

Emoji mentioned above is a good alternative, if this doesn't work in your target environment.

2
votes

Here is what I have that helps you and others about markdown checkbox table. Enjoy!

| Projects | Operating Systems | Programming Languages   | CAM/CAD Programs | Microcontrollers and Processors | 
|---------------------------------- |---------------|---------------|----------------|-----------|
| <ul><li>[ ] Blog </li></ul>       | <ul><li>[ ] CentOS</li></ul>        | <ul><li>[ ] Python </li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] AutoCAD Electrical </li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] Arduino </li></ul> |
| <ul><li>[ ] PyGame</li></ul>   | <ul><li>[ ] Fedora </li></ul>       | <ul><li>[ ] C</li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] 3DsMax </li></ul> |<ul><li>[ ] Raspberry Pi </li></ul> |
| <ul><li>[ ] Server Info Display</li></ul>| <ul><li>[ ] Ubuntu</li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] C++ </li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] Adobe AfterEffects </li></ul> |<ul><li>[ ]  </li></ul> |
| <ul><li>[ ] Twitter Subs Bot </li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] ROS </li></ul>    | <ul><li>[ ] C# </li></ul> | <ul><li>[ ] Adobe Illustrator </li></ul> |<ul><li>[ ]  </li></ul> |
1
votes

Following is how I draw a checkbox in a table!

| Checkbox Experiments | [ ] unchecked header  | [x] checked header  |
| ---------------------|:---------------------:|:-------------------:|
| checkbox             | [ ] row               | [x] row             |


Displays like this:
enter image description here

1
votes

Edit the document or wiki page, and use the - [ ] and - [x] syntax to update your task list. Furthermore you can refer to this link.

0
votes

09 2021

If you have an issue with the standard markdown code. You can use emojis.

Native Github

If you are using GitHub default emoji, you can use these. Something to note is that there is no uncheck, so you have to use different emojis to get that look.

:white_large_square

:white_check_mark

Source

:white_large_square: https://github.com/ikatyang/emoji-cheat-sheet/blob/master/README.md#geometric
:white_check_mark: https://github.com/ikatyang/emoji-cheat-sheet/blob/master/README.md#other-symbol

Complete list https://github.com/ikatyang/emoji-cheat-sheet/blob/master/README.md