# Tables (extension)

GFM enables the table extension, where an additional leaf block type is available.

A table is an arrangement of data with rows and columns, consisting of a single header row, a delimiter rowseparating the header from the data, and zero or more data rows.

Each row consists of cells containing arbitrary text, in which inlines are parsed, separated by pipes (|). A leading and trailing pipe is also recommended for clarity of reading, and if there’s otherwise parsing ambiguity. Spaces between pipes and cell content are trimmed. Block-level elements cannot be inserted in a table.

The delimiter row consists of cells whose only content are hyphens (-), and optionally, a leading or trailing colon (:), or both, to indicate left, right, or center alignment respectively.

| foo | bar |
| --- | --- |
| baz | bim |

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>foo</th>
<th>bar</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>baz</td>
<td>bim</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Cells in one column don’t need to match length, though it’s easier to read if they are. Likewise, use of leading and trailing pipes may be inconsistent:

| abc | defghi |
:-: | -----------:
bar | baz

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="center">abc</th>
<th align="right">defghi</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">bar</td>
<td align="right">baz</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Include a pipe in a cell’s content by escaping it, including inside other inline spans:

| f\|oo  |
| ------ |
| b `\|` az |
| b **\|** im |

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>f|oo</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>b <code>|</code> az</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>b <strong>|</strong> im</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The table is broken at the first empty line, or beginning of another block-level structure:

| abc | def |
| --- | --- |
| bar | baz |
> bar

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>abc</th>
<th>def</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>bar</td>
<td>baz</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>

| abc | def |
| --- | --- |
| bar | baz |
bar

bar

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>abc</th>
<th>def</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>bar</td>
<td>baz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>bar</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>bar</p>

The header row must match the delimiter row in the number of cells. If not, a table will not be recognized:

| abc | def |
| --- |
| bar |

<p>| abc | def |
| --- |
| bar |</p>

The remainder of the table’s rows may vary in the number of cells. If there are a number of cells fewer than the number of cells in the header row, empty cells are inserted. If there are greater, the excess is ignored:

| abc | def |
| --- | --- |
| bar |
| bar | baz | boo |

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>abc</th>
<th>def</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>bar</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>bar</td>
<td>baz</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

If there are no rows in the body, no <tbody> is generated in HTML output:

| abc | def |
| --- | --- |

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>abc</th>
<th>def</th>
</tr>
</thead>
</table>