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Everything in a doc’s body is a block: a paragraph, a heading, a list, a table, an image. Add any block from the / slash menu or the toolbar’s Insert menu, or with a typing shortcut. See Writing and formatting for the full list of shortcuts. For live HTML widgets, see Interactive blocks.

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Text and headings

Plain text is a paragraph. Headings structure your doc and feed the outline that appears on the right of the page.
  • Type #, ##, ###, or #### and a space for Heading 1 to 4, or use the Heading menu in the toolbar.
  • Pick Paragraph in the Heading menu, or Text in the slash menu, to turn a heading back into text.
  • The doc’s first line is always its title.

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Lists and to-do lists

Press Tab to nest an item and ⇧Tab / Shift+Tab to move it back out. Click a to-do item’s checkbox to tick it off.

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Assign a to-do

To assign a to-do item to someone, type @ inside the item and pick them under Assign to. You can tag more than one person. Who you can tag is explained in Mention people.

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Toggles

A toggle is a block you can open and close, useful for hiding detail until someone needs it.
  • Type > at the start of a line, or choose Toggle from the slash menu.
  • Click the arrow to open or close it. Whether it’s open or closed is saved with the doc.
  • To move a line out of a toggle, press ⇧Tab / Shift+Tab. To turn the toggle back into normal text, press Backspace at the start of its title.

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Toggle headings

A toggle heading is a heading that collapses everything under it. Choose Toggle heading 1, 2, or 3 from the slash menu, or type # > , ## > , or ### > . Toggle headings appear in the doc outline. Headings hidden inside a closed toggle don’t.

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Callouts

A callout is a coloured box with an icon, for notes and warnings the reader shouldn’t miss. There are five types: Note, Tip, Important, Warning, and Caution.
  • Choose Callout from the slash menu to add a Note callout.
  • Or type [!note], [!tip], [!important], [!warning], or [!caution] and a space at the start of a line.
  • To change the type, click the callout’s icon and pick another.
Callouts can hold any blocks, including lists and images.

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Quotes

Type " and a space, choose Quote from the slash menu or Insert menu, or press ⌘⇧B / Ctrl+Shift+B.

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Divider

Type --- or choose Divider from the slash menu to add a horizontal line. Dividers also split a doc into slides when you present it.

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Tables

Choose Table from the slash menu or Insert menu to add a 3 × 3 table with a header row. When your cursor is in a table, a Table options button appears. It lets you: Drag a column’s edge to resize it. Press Tab to move to the next cell. Tables pasted from Markdown, spreadsheets, or web pages come in as tables.

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Math

Cleve renders equations written in LaTeX.
  • Block equation: choose Math equation from the slash menu. It sits on its own line, centred.
  • Inline equation: choose Inline equation from the Insert menu, or type $$ around a formula, like $$E = mc^2$$. If you select text first, it becomes the formula.
Click an equation to edit it. Type the formula in the Formula (LaTeX) box, then press Enter or click Save. Press Esc or click Cancel to leave it unchanged.

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Code blocks

Type ``` and a space, choose Code block from the slash menu or Insert menu, or press ⌘⌥C / Ctrl+Alt+C.
  • Language: pick one from the menu at the top of the block to get syntax highlighting. Options include Plain text, JavaScript, TypeScript, TSX, JSX, Python, Bash, JSON, HTML, CSS, SQL, Markdown, YAML, Go, and Rust, plus Mermaid for diagrams. You can also set it as you type, for example ```python.
  • Copy code copies the code to your clipboard.
  • Download code saves it as a file.

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Mermaid diagrams

Mermaid turns short text descriptions into flowcharts, sequence diagrams, timelines, Gantt charts, and more. Choose Mermaid diagram from the slash menu or Insert menu. Cleve adds a small example flowchart for you to edit. You can also set any code block’s language to Mermaid. A Mermaid block has two views:
  • Preview shows the rendered diagram. Use Download diagram to save it as Download SVG or Download PNG.
  • Code shows the Mermaid source, which you edit like any code block.
If the diagram can’t be drawn, you’ll see “Couldn’t render this diagram. Open Code to check the syntax.”

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Work on a diagram full screen

In Preview, click View fullscreen to open the diagram in a full-screen view.
  • Drag to move around, and use the zoom controls or pinch to zoom.
  • Click Code to open the Mermaid source beside the diagram. Edits update the diagram and the doc as you type, and ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z and ⌘⇧Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z undo and redo them.
  • Describe a change in the box at the bottom, such as “add a step for legal review”, and Cleve updates the diagram for you. This works like editing an interactive block with Cleve and uses your usage.
  • Click Exit fullscreen or press Esc to go back to the doc.
You can also ask Cleve in chat to create or change diagrams in a doc.

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Images

Add images in any of these ways:
  • Choose Image from the slash menu or Insert menu, then click to upload or drag files onto the upload box. You can add up to 3 images at a time.
  • Drag image files straight into the doc.
  • Paste an image from your clipboard.
Images can be PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP, up to 5 MB each. Click an image and drag its handles to resize it. Its proportions stay the same. Right-click an image for more options: To create images with AI, see Image generation.

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YouTube videos

Paste a YouTube link on its own and Cleve embeds the video, with playback controls, in the doc. Other embeds aren’t supported as their own block type. To show something interactive, such as a chart or a calculator, use an interactive block.

Writing and formatting

The toolbar, slash menu, and Markdown shortcuts.

Interactive blocks

Live widgets and visuals, built and edited with Cleve.

Links, backlinks and Brain

Link docs and folders, and mention people.

Import and export

Export docs with their tables, diagrams, and images.