How to List Things in Markdown

Markdown isn’t just for bolding text and linking blog posts — it’s a seriously useful format for organizing lists. Whether you’re building a checklist, a nested set of notes, or a clean tutorial, knowing your way around list syntax makes your Markdown pop.

Let’s go deep on every way to list things in Markdown — from the basics to edge cases most writers miss.

1. Bullet Lists (Unordered Lists)

Use -, *, or + followed by a space:

- Apples
- Bananas
- Cherries

These render as:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Cherries

All three symbols work the same. Choose one and stick to it for consistency.

2. Numbered Lists (Ordered Lists)

Used for steps, sequences, and instructions. Markdown doesn’t care what number you use — it auto-renumbers on render.

1. Wake up
2. Make coffee
3. Write code

This is also valid and renders identically:

a. Wake up
b. Make coffee
c. Write code

Use whichever is easier to maintain. Writing all steps as 1. makes it easier to reorder or copy/paste.

3. Nested Lists

Indent by two or four spaces or a tab to nest:

- Groceries
  - Fruit
    - Apples
    - Oranges
  - Vegetables

You can also nest ordered inside unordered and vice versa:

1. Groceries
   - Milk
   - Eggs
2. Chores
   - Laundry
   - Dishes

4. Task Lists (GitHub Flavored Markdown)

Perfect for checklists. Use - [ ] for unchecked and - [x] for checked:

- [x] Research Markdown
- [ ] Write article
- [ ] Publish guide

Rendered in supported tools as:

• Research Markdown
• Write article
• Publish guide

Only works on platforms that support GFM, like GitHub, Obsidian, or VS Code preview.

5. Definition Lists (Not Official)

Some Markdown engines support this pseudo-format:

Term 1
: Definition of the first term

Term 2
: Definition of the second term

Not all renderers support it, so test before relying on it.

6. Edge Case: Multiple Paragraphs in a List Item

Use a blank line within the item and indent the second paragraph:

- First item.

  Extra explanation here.

- Second item.

This preserves structure and avoids breaking the list.

7. Edge Case: Code Blocks Inside Lists

Indent by at least four spaces after the list marker:

1. Install:

       sudo dnf install pandoc

2. Write your Markdown

Using indented blocks avoids rendering errors in engines like Pandoc. Avoid triple-backtick blocks inside list items unless your renderer fully supports it.

Takeaways

• Stick to one bullet style per document
• Use 1. repeatedly for easier maintenance in numbered lists
• GitHub-flavored Markdown adds task lists and extra goodies
• Indentation is everything for nesting and code blocks

Need a copy-paste template? Done. Want a full Markdown cheat sheet with examples? This is it.

Back to my cold brew.

Last updated: 2025-04-09 UTC