Grid Tables

Grid tables use "ASCII art" made of +, -, =, and | to lay out rows and columns. Every +/| column boundary must line up in the same character position across all rows — a table whose boundaries are misaligned is rejected as malformed.

Simple Table with a Header

The = divider line marks the boundary between the header row and the body:

Table Without a Header Row

Header rows are optional; omit the = divider and every row is a body row:

Cells Spanning Columns

Dropping the | (and the + above/below it) merges a cell across columns:

Cells Spanning Rows

Dropping the - divider between two rows in one column merges that cell downward, so it spans multiple rows while its neighbours do not:

Hierarchical (Nested) Headers

A header row can span multiple lines and introduce a new column split partway through — the + on the second header line divides "Example values" into two sub-columns, even though the top border only shows one wide column there: