Markup Quest

Tracks

1. 01📝Markdown Fundamentals — Plain Text That Reads Like Rich Text

   0/8 lessons

   CommonMark first. Everything else is a dialect.

   The eight building blocks of Markdown — headings, paragraphs, emphasis, lists, links, code, quotes, rules. Learn them as a CommonMark speaker, not as a 'looks like the README' guesser.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     What Is Markdown?~10 min · markdown, commonmark, history
   • 02
     Headings — # Through ######~10 min · markdown, headings, structure
   • 03
     Paragraphs & Line Breaks~10 min · markdown, paragraphs, whitespace
   • 04
     Emphasis — Bold, Italic, Strikethrough~10 min · markdown, emphasis, inline
   • 05
     Lists — Unordered, Ordered, Nested, Tasks~12 min · markdown, lists, tasks
   • 06
     Links & Images~12 min · markdown, links, images, accessibility
   • 07
     Code — Inline & Fenced Blocks~10 min · markdown, code, syntax-highlighting
   • 08
     Blockquotes, Horizontal Rules & Escaping~10 min · markdown, blockquotes, escaping

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

2. 02⚡Markdown Advanced & GFM — The Flavor Everyone Calls 'Markdown' Now

   0/8 lessons

   Tables, tasks, alerts, footnotes, math, mermaid — the GitHub extensions that became the de facto baseline.

   GitHub Flavored Markdown extends CommonMark with the features the modern web treats as standard. Tables and task lists you actually use every PR. Footnotes and alerts that make docs feel professional. Front matter, embedded HTML, math, and mermaid — the moves that turn a README into a publishing pipeline.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     Tables — Pipes, Alignment, and Their Limits~12 min · markdown, gfm, tables
   • 02
     Task Lists — Checkboxes That Actually Commit~10 min · markdown, gfm, tasks, github
   • 03
     Strikethrough, Autolinks & Inline References~10 min · markdown, gfm, strikethrough, autolinks
   • 04
     Footnotes — Notes That Don't Interrupt~10 min · markdown, footnotes, pandoc
   • 05
     Alerts — > [!NOTE], [!WARNING], and Friends~10 min · markdown, gfm, alerts, callouts
   • 06
     Front Matter — YAML, TOML, JSON at the Top~12 min · markdown, front-matter, yaml, static-sites
   • 07
     HTML in Markdown — Power and Danger~12 min · markdown, html, security, xss
   • 08
     Math, Mermaid & Diagram Embeds~12 min · markdown, math, katex, mermaid, diagrams

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

3. 03📦JSON Fundamentals — Strict by Design

   0/8 lessons

   JavaScript Object Notation, the lingua franca of APIs and configs.

   JSON's whole game is strictness. Six types, double-quoted strings, no comments, no trailing commas. Master the rules and you can read, write, and debug any API payload, npm/cargo/composer manifest, or VS Code settings file with confidence.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     What Is JSON, and Why It Won~10 min · json, history, interchange
   • 02
     The Six Types — and What's Missing~10 min · json, types, spec
   • 03
     Strings — Double Quotes, Always~10 min · json, strings, escapes, unicode
   • 04
     Numbers — IEEE 754 With Caveats~10 min · json, numbers, ieee754, precision
   • 05
     Objects — Keys Are Always Strings~10 min · json, objects, keys
   • 06
     Arrays — Ordered, Heterogeneous, No Trailing Comma~10 min · json, arrays, ordering
   • 07
     Whitespace, Pretty-Printing & Compact Form~10 min · json, whitespace, pretty-print, jq
   • 08
     Common Bugs & Debugging Tooling~12 min · json, debugging, validation, tooling

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

4. 04🔧JSON Advanced & Schema — Contracts for Data

   0/8 lessons

   JSON Schema, $ref, oneOf, and the schemas behind every config file you trust.

   JSON Schema turns 'JSON document' into 'JSON document that follows a contract.' You will read the schemas behind tsconfig, package.json, and OpenAPI; write your own; understand allOf/oneOf/anyOf composition; and know when to draft your own schema versus reuse one. This is the layer that makes JSON safe to consume.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     JSON Schema, In One Page~12 min · json-schema, validation, draft-2020-12
   • 02
     type, properties, required — The Three Workhorses~10 min · json-schema, type, properties
   • 03
     Constraints — Length, Range, Pattern, Format~12 min · json-schema, constraints, validation, regex
   • 04
     Arrays — items, uniqueItems, contains~10 min · json-schema, arrays, items
   • 05
     Objects — additionalProperties, patternProperties~10 min · json-schema, objects, additional-properties
   • 06
     Composition — allOf, oneOf, anyOf, not~12 min · json-schema, composition, polymorphism
   • 07
     $ref and $defs — Reusable Fragments~12 min · json-schema, ref, defs, reuse
   • 08
     Schemas in the Wild — package.json, tsconfig, OpenAPI~12 min · json-schema, openapi, tsconfig, schemastore

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

5. 05⚙️YAML Fundamentals — Indentation Is the Syntax

   0/8 lessons

   YAML Ain't Markup Language — the human-readable superset of JSON that runs Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, and Ansible.

   YAML drops JSON's punctuation overhead in favor of indentation and bare values. The result is friendlier to humans and trickier than it looks — tabs are forbidden, the wrong spacing changes the data shape, and a string that says 'no' becomes a boolean. Learn the rules, and YAML becomes the most readable config format you'll touch.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     What Is YAML, and Where You Already Use It~10 min · yaml, history, config
   • 02
     Indentation — Spaces Only, Always~10 min · yaml, indentation, whitespace
   • 03
     Scalars — Strings, Numbers, Booleans, Null~12 min · yaml, scalars, strings, norway
   • 04
     Lists & Maps — Block Style and Flow Style~10 min · yaml, lists, maps, flow-style
   • 05
     Multi-Line Strings — | Literal vs > Folded~12 min · yaml, strings, block-scalars
   • 06
     Anchors & Aliases — DRY YAML~12 min · yaml, anchors, aliases, merge-keys
   • 07
     Comments & Multi-Document Files~10 min · yaml, comments, multi-document
   • 08
     Linting & Validation — yamllint, schema, tooling~10 min · yaml, linting, validation, yamllint

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

6. 06🚀YAML Advanced & Real-World — The Configs You Ship

   0/8 lessons

   Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, Helm, OpenAPI — the same YAML, six dialects.

   Ten years ago YAML was a niche format. Today it runs production. This track tours the YAML shapes that pay developer salaries: Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose stacks, GitHub Actions workflows, Helm chart values, OpenAPI specs, and the templating tools (Kustomize, Jinja, SOPS) that bind them together. Same syntax, six dialects, one literacy.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     Kubernetes Manifests — apiVersion, kind, spec~12 min · yaml, kubernetes, manifests
   • 02
     Docker Compose — services, networks, volumes~12 min · yaml, docker, compose
   • 03
     GitHub Actions — Workflows, Jobs, Steps~12 min · yaml, github-actions, ci
   • 04
     Ansible Playbooks — Idempotent Ops in YAML~10 min · yaml, ansible, automation
   • 05
     Helm — Templated YAML for Kubernetes~12 min · yaml, helm, kubernetes, templating
   • 06
     OpenAPI — API Contracts in YAML~12 min · yaml, openapi, api
   • 07
     Application Config — pydantic, dataclass, env override~10 min · yaml, config, pydantic, dataclass
   • 08
     Encrypted YAML, Templating, and the CUE Alternative~10 min · yaml, sops, kustomize, cue

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

7. 07🎯TOML — Tom's Obvious, Minimal Language

   0/8 lessons

   Config the way pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, and Hugo do it.

   TOML is config-first by design. Tom Preston-Werner built it as the format YAML and JSON both fail to be: unambiguous, explicit, easy to read, easy to write. Learn the table-and-key model, see why Rust and modern Python adopted it, and know when to pick TOML over YAML.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     What Is TOML, and Why Rust + Python Picked It~10 min · toml, config, history
   • 02
     Keys & Values — Bare, Quoted, Dotted~10 min · toml, keys, syntax
   • 03
     Strings — Four Forms, One Rule (Quotes Always)~10 min · toml, strings
   • 04
     Numbers, Booleans, Dates — Native Types~10 min · toml, numbers, dates
   • 05
     Arrays — Homogeneous Convention, Flexible in 1.0~10 min · toml, arrays
   • 06
     Tables — Sections, Nested, Inline~12 min · toml, tables, sections
   • 07
     Arrays of Tables — Repeating Structured Items~10 min · toml, arrays-of-tables
   • 08
     TOML in the Wild — pyproject, Cargo, Hugo~12 min · toml, pyproject, cargo, hugo

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→

8. 08🔀Format Interop & Patterns — Picking the Right Tool

   0/8 lessons

   When to convert, when to coexist, and how to think about all four formats as one literacy.

   Now that you read Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML, the last skill is choosing between them — and converting cleanly when you must. This track tours the conversion toolchain (yq, jq, dasel, gron), covers JSON Lines for streaming, polyglot patterns (front matter, MDX), schema-as-glue, the round-trip pitfalls that bite teams, and ends with a decision matrix you can apply tomorrow.

   Lesson list (8)

   • 01
     Four Formats, One Data Model~10 min · interop, comparison
   • 02
     Conversion Tools — yq, jq, dasel, gron~12 min · interop, yq, jq, tools
   • 03
     JSON Lines — One JSON Value Per Line~10 min · json, jsonl, ndjson, streaming
   • 04
     Polyglot Patterns — Front Matter, MDX, Embedded JSON~10 min · interop, front-matter, mdx, polyglot
   • 05
     Schema as Glue — JSON Schema Across Formats~10 min · interop, json-schema, validation
   • 06
     Round-Trip Pitfalls — Comments, Order, Coercion~10 min · interop, round-trip, pitfalls
   • 07
     Pipelines — Wrangling Data Across Formats~10 min · interop, pipelines, yq, jq
   • 08
     Picking the Right Format — A Decision Matrix~12 min · interop, decision-matrix, summary

   ✓Quiz · 5 questions→