MD032 - Separate lists with blank lines

January 27, 2026 · View on GitHub

Aliases: blanks-around-lists

What this rule does

Ensures lists have blank lines before and after them, making them visually distinct from surrounding content.

Why this matters

Reliable parsing: Many Markdown parsers require blank lines to properly recognize lists
Visual clarity: Blank lines make lists stand out from paragraphs
Better readability: Clear separation helps readers scan documents quickly
Consistent rendering: Prevents lists from merging with adjacent content

Examples

✅ Correct

Text before the list.

* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3

Text after the list.

❌ Incorrect

Text before the list.
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3
Text after the list.

🔧 Fixed

Text before the list.

* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3

Text after the list.

Configuration

Option	Type	Default	Description
`allow-lazy-continuation`	boolean	`true`	Whether to allow lazy continuation (unindented text after list items)

Lazy continuation

By default, this rule allows "lazy continuation" - a CommonMark feature where unindented text following a list item becomes part of that list item:

1. List item
Some text that continues the list item.

When allow-lazy-continuation is set to false, the rule requires a blank line between the list item and any following unindented text:

[MD032]
allow-lazy-continuation = false

With this setting, the above example would trigger a warning and be auto-fixed to:

1. List item
   Some text that continues the list item.

The fix adds proper indentation to align with the list item's content column, making the continuation explicit rather than relying on lazy continuation behavior.

Automatic fixes

This rule will:

Add a blank line before lists that follow other content
Add a blank line after lists that precede other content
Handle nested lists correctly (only the outermost list needs surrounding blank lines)
When allow-lazy-continuation is false: add proper indentation to lazy continuation lines