spec.txt



---
title: CommonMark Spec
author: John MacFarlane
version: 0.17
date: 2015-01-24
license: '[CC-BY-SA 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)'
...

# Introduction

## What is Markdown?

Markdown is a plain text format for writing structured documents,
based on conventions used for indicating formatting in email and
usenet posts.  It was developed in 2004 by John Gruber, who wrote
the first Markdown-to-HTML converter in perl, and it soon became
widely used in websites.  By 2014 there were dozens of
implementations in many languages.  Some of them extended basic
Markdown syntax with conventions for footnotes, definition lists,
tables, and other constructs, and some allowed output not just in
HTML but in LaTeX and many other formats.

## Why is a spec needed?

John Gruber's [canonical description of Markdown's
syntax](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax)
does not specify the syntax unambiguously.  Here are some examples of
questions it does not answer:

1.  How much indentation is needed for a sublist?  The spec says that
    continuation paragraphs need to be indented four spaces, but is
    not fully explicit about sublists.  It is natural to think that
    they, too, must be indented four spaces, but `Markdown.pl` does
    not require that.  This is hardly a "corner case," and divergences
    between implementations on this issue often lead to surprises for
    users in real documents. (See [this comment by John
    Gruber](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/1997).)

2.  Is a blank line needed before a block quote or header?
    Most implementations do not require the blank line.  However,
    this can lead to unexpected results in hard-wrapped text, and
    also to ambiguities in parsing (note that some implementations
    put the header inside the blockquote, while others do not).
    (John Gruber has also spoken [in favor of requiring the blank
    lines](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/2146).)

3.  Is a blank line needed before an indented code block?
    (`Markdown.pl` requires it, but this is not mentioned in the
    documentation, and some implementations do not require it.)

    ``` markdown
    paragraph
        code?
    ```

4.  What is the exact rule for determining when list items get
    wrapped in `<p>` tags?  Can a list be partially "loose" and partially
    "tight"?  What should we do with a list like this?

    ``` markdown
    1. one

    2. two
    3. three
    ```

    Or this?

    ``` markdown
    1.  one
        - a

        - b
    2.  two
    ```

    (There are some relevant comments by John Gruber
    [here](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/2554).)

5.  Can list markers be indented?  Can ordered list markers be right-aligned?

    ``` markdown
     8. item 1
     9. item 2
    10. item 2a
    ```

6.  Is this one list with a horizontal rule in its second item,
    or two lists separated by a horizontal rule?

    ``` markdown
    * a
    * * * * *
    * b
    ```

7.  When list markers change from numbers to bullets, do we have
    two lists or one?  (The Markdown syntax description suggests two,
    but the perl scripts and many other implementations produce one.)

    ``` markdown
    1. fee
    2. fie
    -  foe
    -  fum
    ```

8.  What are the precedence rules for the markers of inline structure?
    For example, is the following a valid link, or does the code span
    take precedence ?

    ``` markdown
    [a backtick (`)](/url) and [another backtick (`)](/url).
    ```

9.  What are the precedence rules for markers of emphasis and strong
    emphasis?  For example, how should the following be parsed?

    ``` markdown
    *foo *bar* baz*
    ```

10. What are the precedence rules between block-level and inline-level
    structure?  For example, how should the following be parsed?

    ``` markdown
    - `a long code span can contain a hyphen like this
      - and it can screw things up`
    ```

11. Can list items include section headers?  (`Markdown.pl` does not
    allow this, but does allow blockquotes to include headers.)

    ``` markdown
    - # Heading
    ```

12. Can list items be empty?

    ``` markdown
    * a
    *
    * b
    ```

13. Can link references be defined inside block quotes or list items?

    ``` markdown
    > Blockquote [foo].
    >
    > [foo]: /url
    ```

14. If there are multiple definitions for the same reference, which takes
    precedence?

    ``` markdown
    [foo]: /url1
    [foo]: /url2

    [foo][]
    ```

In the absence of a spec, early implementers consulted `Markdown.pl`
to resolve these ambiguities.  But `Markdown.pl` was quite buggy, and
gave manifestly bad results in many cases, so it was not a
satisfactory replacement for a spec.

Because there is no unambiguous spec, implementations have diverged
considerably.  As a result, users are often surprised to find that
a document that renders one way on one system (say, a github wiki)
renders differently on another (say, converting to docbook using
pandoc).  To make matters worse, because nothing in Markdown counts
as a "syntax error," the divergence often isn't discovered right away.

## About this document

This document attempts to specify Markdown syntax unambiguously.
It contains many examples with side-by-side Markdown and
HTML.  These are intended to double as conformance tests.  An
accompanying script `spec_tests.py` can be used to run the tests
against any Markdown program:

    python test/spec_tests.py --spec spec.txt --program PROGRAM

Since this document describes how Markdown is to be parsed into
an abstract syntax tree, it would have made sense to use an abstract
representation of the syntax tree instead of HTML.  But HTML is capable
of representing the structural distinctions we need to make, and the
choice of HTML for the tests makes it possible to run the tests against
an implementation without writing an abstract syntax tree renderer.

This document is generated from a text file, `spec.txt`, written
in Markdown with a small extension for the side-by-side tests.
The script `spec2md.pl` can be used to turn `spec.txt` into pandoc
Markdown, which can then be converted into other formats.

In the examples, the `→` character is used to represent tabs.

# Preliminaries

## Characters and lines

Any sequence of [character]s is a valid CommonMark
document.

A [character](@character) is a unicode code point.
This spec does not specify an encoding; it thinks of lines as composed
of characters rather than bytes.  A conforming parser may be limited
to a certain encoding.

A [line](@line) is a sequence of zero or more [character]s
followed by a [line ending] or by the end of file.

A [line ending](@line-ending) is, depending on the platform, a
newline (`U+000A`), carriage return (`U+000D`), or
carriage return + newline.

For security reasons, a conforming parser must strip or replace the
Unicode character `U+0000`.

A line containing no characters, or a line containing only spaces
(`U+0020`) or tabs (`U+0009`), is called a [blank line](@blank-line).

The following definitions of character classes will be used in this spec:

A [whitespace character](@whitespace-character) is a space
(`U+0020`), tab (`U+0009`), carriage return (`U+000D`), or
newline (`U+000A`).

[Whitespace](@whitespace) is a sequence of one or more [whitespace
character]s.

A [unicode whitespace character](@unicode-whitespace-character) is
any code point in the unicode `Zs` class, or a tab (`U+0009`),
carriage return (`U+000D`), newline (`U+000A`), or form feed
(`U+000C`).

[Unicode whitespace](@unicode-whitespace) is a sequence of one
or more [unicode whitespace character]s.

A [non-space character](@non-space-character) is anything but `U+0020`.

An [ASCII punctuation character](@ascii-punctuation-character)
is `!`, `"`, `#`, `$`, `%`, `&`, `'`, `(`, `)`,
`*`, `+`, `,`, `-`, `.`, `/`, `:`, `;`, `<`, `=`, `>`, `?`, `@`,
`[`, `\`, `]`, `^`, `_`, `` ` ``, `{`, `|`, `}`, or `~`.

A [punctuation character](@punctuation-character) is an [ASCII
punctuation character] or anything in
the unicode classes `Pc`, `Pd`, `Pe`, `Pf`, `Pi`, `Po`, or `Ps`.

## Tab expansion

Tabs in lines are expanded to spaces, with a tab stop of 4 characters:

.
→foo→baz→→bim
.
<pre><code>foo baz     bim
</code></pre>
.

.
    a→a
    ὐ→a
.
<pre><code>a   a
ὐ   a
</code></pre>
.

# Blocks and inlines

We can think of a document as a sequence of
[blocks](@block)---structural
elements like paragraphs, block quotations,
lists, headers, rules, and code blocks.  Blocks can contain other
blocks, or they can contain [inline](@inline) content:
words, spaces, links, emphasized text, images, and inline code.

## Precedence

Indicators of block structure always take precedence over indicators
of inline structure.  So, for example, the following is a list with
two items, not a list with one item containing a code span:

.
- `one
- two`
.
<ul>
<li>`one</li>
<li>two`</li>
</ul>
.

This means that parsing can proceed in two steps:  first, the block
structure of the document can be discerned; second, text lines inside
paragraphs, headers, and other block constructs can be parsed for inline
structure.  The second step requires information about link reference
definitions that will be available only at the end of the first
step.  Note that the first step requires processing lines in sequence,
but the second can be parallelized, since the inline parsing of
one block element does not affect the inline parsing of any other.

## Container blocks and leaf blocks

We can divide blocks into two types:
[container block](@container-block)s,
which can contain other blocks, and [leaf block](@leaf-block)s,
which cannot.

# Leaf blocks

This section describes the different kinds of leaf block that make up a
Markdown document.

## Horizontal rules

A line consisting of 0-3 spaces of indentation, followed by a sequence
of three or more matching `-`, `_`, or `*` characters, each followed
optionally by any number of spaces, forms a
[horizontal rule](@horizontal-rule).

.
***
---
___
.
<hr />
<hr />
<hr />
.

Wrong characters:

.
+++
.
<p>+++</p>
.

.
===
.
<p>===</p>
.

Not enough characters:

.
--
**
__
.
<p>--
**
__</p>
.

One to three spaces indent are allowed:

.
 ***
  ***
   ***
.
<hr />
<hr />
<hr />
.

Four spaces is too many:

.
    ***
.
<pre><code>***
</code></pre>
.

.
Foo
    ***
.
<p>Foo
***</p>
.

More than three characters may be used:

.
_____________________________________
.
<hr />
.

Spaces are allowed between the characters:

.
 - - -
.
<hr />
.

.
 **  * ** * ** * **
.
<hr />
.

.
-     -      -      -
.
<hr />
.

Spaces are allowed at the end:

.
- - - -    
.
<hr />
.

However, no other characters may occur in the line:

.
_ _ _ _ a

a------

---a---
.
<p>_ _ _ _ a</p>
<p>a------</p>
<p>---a---</p>
.

It is required that all of the [non-space character]s be the same.
So, this is not a horizontal rule:

.
 *-*
.
<p><em>-</em></p>
.

Horizontal rules do not need blank lines before or after:

.
- foo
***
- bar
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
.

Horizontal rules can interrupt a paragraph:

.
Foo
***
bar
.
<p>Foo</p>
<hr />
<p>bar</p>
.

If a line of dashes that meets the above conditions for being a
horizontal rule could also be interpreted as the underline of a [setext
header], the interpretation as a
[setext header] takes precedence. Thus, for example,
this is a setext header, not a paragraph followed by a horizontal rule:

.
Foo
---
bar
.
<h2>Foo</h2>
<p>bar</p>
.

When both a horizontal rule and a list item are possible
interpretations of a line, the horizontal rule takes precedence:

.
* Foo
* * *
* Bar
.
<ul>
<li>Foo</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<ul>
<li>Bar</li>
</ul>
.

If you want a horizontal rule in a list item, use a different bullet:

.
- Foo
- * * *
.
<ul>
<li>Foo</li>
<li>
<hr />
</li>
</ul>
.

## ATX headers

An [ATX header](@atx-header)
consists of a string of characters, parsed as inline content, between an
opening sequence of 1--6 unescaped `#` characters and an optional
closing sequence of any number of `#` characters.  The opening sequence
of `#` characters cannot be followed directly by a
[non-space character].
The optional closing sequence of `#`s must be preceded by a space and may be
followed by spaces only.  The opening `#` character may be indented 0-3
spaces.  The raw contents of the header are stripped of leading and
trailing spaces before being parsed as inline content.  The header level
is equal to the number of `#` characters in the opening sequence.

Simple headers:

.
# foo
## foo
### foo
#### foo
##### foo
###### foo
.
<h1>foo</h1>
<h2>foo</h2>
<h3>foo</h3>
<h4>foo</h4>
<h5>foo</h5>
<h6>foo</h6>
.

More than six `#` characters is not a header:

.
####### foo
.
<p>####### foo</p>
.

A space is required between the `#` characters and the header's
contents.  Note that many implementations currently do not require
the space.  However, the space was required by the [original ATX
implementation](http://www.aaronsw.com/2002/atx/atx.py), and it helps
prevent things like the following from being parsed as headers:

.
#5 bolt
.
<p>#5 bolt</p>
.

This is not a header, because the first `#` is escaped:

.
\## foo
.
<p>## foo</p>
.

Contents are parsed as inlines:

.
# foo *bar* \*baz\*
.
<h1>foo <em>bar</em> *baz*</h1>
.

Leading and trailing blanks are ignored in parsing inline content:

.
#                  foo                     
.
<h1>foo</h1>
.

One to three spaces indentation are allowed:

.
 ### foo
  ## foo
   # foo
.
<h3>foo</h3>
<h2>foo</h2>
<h1>foo</h1>
.

Four spaces are too much:

.
    # foo
.
<pre><code># foo
</code></pre>
.

.
foo
    # bar
.
<p>foo
# bar</p>
.

A closing sequence of `#` characters is optional:

.
## foo ##
  ###   bar    ###
.
<h2>foo</h2>
<h3>bar</h3>
.

It need not be the same length as the opening sequence:

.
# foo ##################################
##### foo ##
.
<h1>foo</h1>
<h5>foo</h5>
.

Spaces are allowed after the closing sequence:

.
### foo ###     
.
<h3>foo</h3>
.

A sequence of `#` characters with a
[non-space character] following it
is not a closing sequence, but counts as part of the contents of the
header:

.
### foo ### b
.
<h3>foo ### b</h3>
.

The closing sequence must be preceded by a space:

.
# foo#
.
<h1>foo#</h1>
.

Backslash-escaped `#` characters do not count as part
of the closing sequence:

.
### foo \###
## foo #\##
# foo \#
.
<h3>foo ###</h3>
<h2>foo ###</h2>
<h1>foo #</h1>
.

ATX headers need not be separated from surrounding content by blank
lines, and they can interrupt paragraphs:

.
****
## foo
****
.
<hr />
<h2>foo</h2>
<hr />
.

.
Foo bar
# baz
Bar foo
.
<p>Foo bar</p>
<h1>baz</h1>
<p>Bar foo</p>
.

ATX headers can be empty:

.
## 
#
### ###
.
<h2></h2>
<h1></h1>
<h3></h3>
.

## Setext headers

A [setext header](@setext-header)
consists of a line of text, containing at least one
[non-space character],
with no more than 3 spaces indentation, followed by a [setext header
underline].  The line of text must be
one that, were it not followed by the setext header underline,
would be interpreted as part of a paragraph:  it cannot be a code
block, header, blockquote, horizontal rule, or list.

A [setext header underline](@setext-header-underline) is a sequence of
`=` characters or a sequence of `-` characters, with no more than 3
spaces indentation and any number of trailing spaces.  If a line
containing a single `-` can be interpreted as an
empty [list items], it should be interpreted this way
and not as a [setext header underline].

The header is a level 1 header if `=` characters are used in the
[setext header underline], and a level 2
header if `-` characters are used.  The contents of the header are the
result of parsing the first line as Markdown inline content.

In general, a setext header need not be preceded or followed by a
blank line.  However, it cannot interrupt a paragraph, so when a
setext header comes after a paragraph, a blank line is needed between
them.

Simple examples:

.
Foo *bar*
=========

Foo *bar*
---------
.
<h1>Foo <em>bar</em></h1>
<h2>Foo <em>bar</em></h2>
.

The underlining can be any length:

.
Foo
-------------------------

Foo
=
.
<h2>Foo</h2>
<h1>Foo</h1>
.

The header content can be indented up to three spaces, and need
not line up with the underlining:

.
   Foo
---

  Foo
-----

  Foo
  ===
.
<h2>Foo</h2>
<h2>Foo</h2>
<h1>Foo</h1>
.

Four spaces indent is too much:

.
    Foo
    ---

    Foo
---
.
<pre><code>Foo
---

Foo
</code></pre>
<hr />
.

The setext header underline can be indented up to three spaces, and
may have trailing spaces:

.
Foo
   ----      
.
<h2>Foo</h2>
.

Four spaces is too much:

.
Foo
    ---
.
<p>Foo
---</p>
.

The setext header underline cannot contain internal spaces:

.
Foo
= =

Foo
--- -
.
<p>Foo
= =</p>
<p>Foo</p>
<hr />
.

Trailing spaces in the content line do not cause a line break:

.
Foo  
-----
.
<h2>Foo</h2>
.

Nor does a backslash at the end:

.
Foo\
----
.
<h2>Foo\</h2>
.

Since indicators of block structure take precedence over
indicators of inline structure, the following are setext headers:

.
`Foo
----
`

<a title="a lot
---
of dashes"/>
.
<h2>`Foo</h2>
<p>`</p>
<h2>&lt;a title=&quot;a lot</h2>
<p>of dashes&quot;/&gt;</p>
.

The setext header underline cannot be a [lazy continuation
line] in a list item or block quote:

.
> Foo
---
.
<blockquote>
<p>Foo</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
.

.
- Foo
---
.
<ul>
<li>Foo</li>
</ul>
<hr />
.

A setext header cannot interrupt a paragraph:

.
Foo
Bar
---

Foo
Bar
===
.
<p>Foo
Bar</p>
<hr />
<p>Foo
Bar
===</p>
.

But in general a blank line is not required before or after:

.
---
Foo
---
Bar
---
Baz
.
<hr />
<h2>Foo</h2>
<h2>Bar</h2>
<p>Baz</p>
.

Setext headers cannot be empty:

.

====
.
<p>====</p>
.

Setext header text lines must not be interpretable as block
constructs other than paragraphs.  So, the line of dashes
in these examples gets interpreted as a horizontal rule:

.
---
---
.
<hr />
<hr />
.

.
- foo
-----
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
<hr />
.

.
    foo
---
.
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
<hr />
.

.
> foo
-----
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
.

If you want a header with `> foo` as its literal text, you can
use backslash escapes:

.
\> foo
------
.
<h2>&gt; foo</h2>
.

## Indented code blocks

An [indented code block](@indented-code-block) is composed of one or more
[indented chunk]s separated by blank lines.
An [indented chunk](@indented-chunk) is a sequence of non-blank lines,
each indented four or more spaces. The contents of the code block are
the literal contents of the lines, including trailing
[line ending]s, minus four spaces of indentation.
An indented code block has no [info string].

An indented code block cannot interrupt a paragraph, so there must be
a blank line between a paragraph and a following indented code block.
(A blank line is not needed, however, between a code block and a following
paragraph.)

.
    a simple
      indented code block
.
<pre><code>a simple
  indented code block
</code></pre>
.

The contents are literal text, and do not get parsed as Markdown:

.
    <a/>
    *hi*

    - one
.
<pre><code>&lt;a/&gt;
*hi*

- one
</code></pre>
.

Here we have three chunks separated by blank lines:

.
    chunk1

    chunk2
  
 
    chunk3
.
<pre><code>chunk1

chunk2


chunk3
</code></pre>
.

Any initial spaces beyond four will be included in the content, even
in interior blank lines:

.
    chunk1
      
      chunk2
.
<pre><code>chunk1
  
  chunk2
</code></pre>
.

An indented code block cannot interrupt a paragraph.  (This
allows hanging indents and the like.)

.
Foo
    bar

.
<p>Foo
bar</p>
.

However, any non-blank line with fewer than four leading spaces ends
the code block immediately.  So a paragraph may occur immediately
after indented code:

.
    foo
bar
.
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
<p>bar</p>
.

And indented code can occur immediately before and after other kinds of
blocks:

.
# Header
    foo
Header
------
    foo
----
.
<h1>Header</h1>
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
<h2>Header</h2>
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
<hr />
.

The first line can be indented more than four spaces:

.
        foo
    bar
.
<pre><code>    foo
bar
</code></pre>
.

Blank lines preceding or following an indented code block
are not included in it:

.

    
    foo
    

.
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
.

Trailing spaces are included in the code block's content:

.
    foo  
.
<pre><code>foo  
</code></pre>
.


## Fenced code blocks

A [code fence](@code-fence) is a sequence
of at least three consecutive backtick characters (`` ` ``) or
tildes (`~`).  (Tildes and backticks cannot be mixed.)
A [fenced code block](@fenced-code-block)
begins with a code fence, indented no more than three spaces.

The line with the opening code fence may optionally contain some text
following the code fence; this is trimmed of leading and trailing
spaces and called the [info string](@info-string).
The [info string] may not contain any backtick
characters.  (The reason for this restriction is that otherwise
some inline code would be incorrectly interpreted as the
beginning of a fenced code block.)

The content of the code block consists of all subsequent lines, until
a closing [code fence] of the same type as the code block
began with (backticks or tildes), and with at least as many backticks
or tildes as the opening code fence.  If the leading code fence is
indented N spaces, then up to N spaces of indentation are removed from
each line of the content (if present).  (If a content line is not
indented, it is preserved unchanged.  If it is indented less than N
spaces, all of the indentation is removed.)

The closing code fence may be indented up to three spaces, and may be
followed only by spaces, which are ignored.  If the end of the
containing block (or document) is reached and no closing code fence
has been found, the code block contains all of the lines after the
opening code fence until the end of the containing block (or
document).  (An alternative spec would require backtracking in the
event that a closing code fence is not found.  But this makes parsing
much less efficient, and there seems to be no real down side to the
behavior described here.)

A fenced code block may interrupt a paragraph, and does not require
a blank line either before or after.

The content of a code fence is treated as literal text, not parsed
as inlines.  The first word of the [info string] is typically used to
specify the language of the code sample, and rendered in the `class`
attribute of the `code` tag.  However, this spec does not mandate any
particular treatment of the [info string].

Here is a simple example with backticks:

.
```
<
 >
```
.
<pre><code>&lt;
 &gt;
</code></pre>
.

With tildes:

.
~~~
<
 >
~~~
.
<pre><code>&lt;
 &gt;
</code></pre>
.

The closing code fence must use the same character as the opening
fence:

.
```
aaa
~~~
```
.
<pre><code>aaa
~~~
</code></pre>
.

.
~~~
aaa
```
~~~
.
<pre><code>aaa
```
</code></pre>
.

The closing code fence must be at least as long as the opening fence:

.
````
aaa
```
``````
.
<pre><code>aaa
```
</code></pre>
.

.
~~~~
aaa
~~~
~~~~
.
<pre><code>aaa
~~~
</code></pre>
.

Unclosed code blocks are closed by the end of the document:

.
```
.
<pre><code></code></pre>
.

.
`````

```
aaa
.
<pre><code>
```
aaa
</code></pre>
.

A code block can have all empty lines as its content:

.
```

  
```
.
<pre><code>
  
</code></pre>
.

A code block can be empty:

.
```
```
.
<pre><code></code></pre>
.

Fences can be indented.  If the opening fence is indented,
content lines will have equivalent opening indentation removed,
if present:

.
 ```
 aaa
aaa
```
.
<pre><code>aaa
aaa
</code></pre>
.

.
  ```
aaa
  aaa
aaa
  ```
.
<pre><code>aaa
aaa
aaa
</code></pre>
.

.
   ```
   aaa
    aaa
  aaa
   ```
.
<pre><code>aaa
 aaa
aaa
</code></pre>
.

Four spaces indentation produces an indented code block:

.
    ```
    aaa
    ```
.
<pre><code>```
aaa
```
</code></pre>
.

Closing fences may be indented by 0-3 spaces, and their indentation
need not match that of the opening fence:

.
```
aaa
  ```
.
<pre><code>aaa
</code></pre>
.

.
   ```
aaa
  ```
.
<pre><code>aaa
</code></pre>
.

This is not a closing fence, because it is indented 4 spaces:

.
```
aaa
    ```
.
<pre><code>aaa
    ```
</code></pre>
.


Code fences (opening and closing) cannot contain internal spaces:

.
``` ```
aaa
.
<p><code></code>
aaa</p>
.

.
~~~~~~
aaa
~~~ ~~
.
<pre><code>aaa
~~~ ~~
</code></pre>
.

Fenced code blocks can interrupt paragraphs, and can be followed
directly by paragraphs, without a blank line between:

.
foo
```
bar
```
baz
.
<p>foo</p>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
<p>baz</p>
.

Other blocks can also occur before and after fenced code blocks
without an intervening blank line:

.
foo
---
~~~
bar
~~~
# baz
.
<h2>foo</h2>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
<h1>baz</h1>
.

An [info string] can be provided after the opening code fence.
Opening and closing spaces will be stripped, and the first word, prefixed
with `language-`, is used as the value for the `class` attribute of the
`code` element within the enclosing `pre` element.

.
```ruby
def foo(x)
  return 3
end
```
.
<pre><code class="language-ruby">def foo(x)
  return 3
end
</code></pre>
.

.
~~~~    ruby startline=3 $%@#$
def foo(x)
  return 3
end
~~~~~~~
.
<pre><code class="language-ruby">def foo(x)
  return 3
end
</code></pre>
.

.
````;
````
.
<pre><code class="language-;"></code></pre>
.

[Info string]s for backtick code blocks cannot contain backticks:

.
``` aa ```
foo
.
<p><code>aa</code>
foo</p>
.

Closing code fences cannot have [info string]s:

.
```
``` aaa
```
.
<pre><code>``` aaa
</code></pre>
.


## HTML blocks

An [HTML block tag](@html-block-tag) is
an [open tag] or [closing tag] whose tag
name is one of the following (case-insensitive):
`article`, `header`, `aside`, `hgroup`, `blockquote`, `hr`, `iframe`,
`body`, `li`, `map`, `button`, `object`, `canvas`, `ol`, `caption`,
`output`, `col`, `p`, `colgroup`, `pre`, `dd`, `progress`, `div`,
`section`, `dl`, `table`, `td`, `dt`, `tbody`, `embed`, `textarea`,
`fieldset`, `tfoot`, `figcaption`, `th`, `figure`, `thead`, `footer`,
`tr`, `form`, `ul`, `h1`, `h2`, `h3`, `h4`, `h5`, `h6`, `video`,
`script`, `style`.

An [HTML block](@html-block) begins with an
[HTML block tag], [HTML comment], [processing instruction],
[declaration], or [CDATA section].
It ends when a [blank line] or the end of the
input is encountered.  The initial line may be indented up to three
spaces, and subsequent lines may have any indentation.  The contents
of the HTML block are interpreted as raw HTML, and will not be escaped
in HTML output.

Some simple examples:

.
<table>
  <tr>
    <td>
           hi
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

okay.
.
<table>
  <tr>
    <td>
           hi
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>
<p>okay.</p>
.

.
 <div>
  *hello*
         <foo><a>
.
 <div>
  *hello*
         <foo><a>
.

Here we have two HTML blocks with a Markdown paragraph between them:

.
<DIV CLASS="foo">

*Markdown*

</DIV>
.
<DIV CLASS="foo">
<p><em>Markdown</em></p>
</DIV>
.

In the following example, what looks like a Markdown code block
is actually part of the HTML block, which continues until a blank
line or the end of the document is reached:

.
<div></div>
``` c
int x = 33;
```
.
<div></div>
``` c
int x = 33;
```
.

A comment:

.
<!-- Foo
bar
   baz -->
.
<!-- Foo
bar
   baz -->
.

A processing instruction:

.
<?php
  echo '>';
?>
.
<?php
  echo '>';
?>
.

CDATA:

.
<![CDATA[
function matchwo(a,b)
{
if (a < b && a < 0) then
  {
  return 1;
  }
else
  {
  return 0;
  }
}
]]>
.
<![CDATA[
function matchwo(a,b)
{
if (a < b && a < 0) then
  {
  return 1;
  }
else
  {
  return 0;
  }
}
]]>
.

The opening tag can be indented 1-3 spaces, but not 4:

.
  <!-- foo -->

    <!-- foo -->
.
  <!-- foo -->
<pre><code>&lt;!-- foo --&gt;
</code></pre>
.

An HTML block can interrupt a paragraph, and need not be preceded
by a blank line.

.
Foo
<div>
bar
</div>
.
<p>Foo</p>
<div>
bar
</div>
.

However, a following blank line is always needed, except at the end of
a document:

.
<div>
bar
</div>
*foo*
.
<div>
bar
</div>
*foo*
.

An incomplete HTML block tag may also start an HTML block:

.
<div class
foo
.
<div class
foo
.

This rule differs from John Gruber's original Markdown syntax
specification, which says:

> The only restrictions are that block-level HTML elements —
> e.g. `<div>`, `<table>`, `<pre>`, `<p>`, etc. — must be separated from
> surrounding content by blank lines, and the start and end tags of the
> block should not be indented with tabs or spaces.

In some ways Gruber's rule is more restrictive than the one given
here:

- It requires that an HTML block be preceded by a blank line.
- It does not allow the start tag to be indented.
- It requires a matching end tag, which it also does not allow to
  be indented.

Indeed, most Markdown implementations, including some of Gruber's
own perl implementations, do not impose these restrictions.

There is one respect, however, in which Gruber's rule is more liberal
than the one given here, since it allows blank lines to occur inside
an HTML block.  There are two reasons for disallowing them here.
First, it removes the need to parse balanced tags, which is
expensive and can require backtracking from the end of the document
if no matching end tag is found. Second, it provides a very simple
and flexible way of including Markdown content inside HTML tags:
simply separate the Markdown from the HTML using blank lines:

.
<div>

*Emphasized* text.

</div>
.
<div>
<p><em>Emphasized</em> text.</p>
</div>
.

Compare:

.
<div>
*Emphasized* text.
</div>
.
<div>
*Emphasized* text.
</div>
.

Some Markdown implementations have adopted a convention of
interpreting content inside tags as text if the open tag has
the attribute `markdown=1`.  The rule given above seems a simpler and
more elegant way of achieving the same expressive power, which is also
much simpler to parse.

The main potential drawback is that one can no longer paste HTML
blocks into Markdown documents with 100% reliability.  However,
*in most cases* this will work fine, because the blank lines in
HTML are usually followed by HTML block tags.  For example:

.
<table>

<tr>

<td>
Hi
</td>

</tr>

</table>
.
<table>
<tr>
<td>
Hi
</td>
</tr>
</table>
.

Moreover, blank lines are usually not necessary and can be
deleted.  The exception is inside `<pre>` tags; here, one can
replace the blank lines with `&#10;` entities.

So there is no important loss of expressive power with the new rule.

## Link reference definitions

A [link reference definition](@link-reference-definition)
consists of a [link label], indented up to three spaces, followed
by a colon (`:`), optional [whitespace] (including up to one
[line ending]), a [link destination],
optional [whitespace] (including up to one
[line ending]), and an optional [link
title], which if it is present must be separated
from the [link destination] by [whitespace].
No further [non-space character]s may occur on the line.

A [link reference-definition]
does not correspond to a structural element of a document.  Instead, it
defines a label which can be used in [reference link]s
and reference-style [images] elsewhere in the document.  [Link
reference definitions] can come either before or after the links that use
them.

.
[foo]: /url "title"

[foo]
.
<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
.

.
   [foo]: 
      /url  
           'the title'  

[foo]
.
<p><a href="/url" title="the title">foo</a></p>
.

.
[Foo*bar\]]:my_(url) 'title (with parens)'

[Foo*bar\]]
.
<p><a href="my_(url)" title="title (with parens)">Foo*bar]</a></p>
.

.
[Foo bar]:
<my url>
'title'

[Foo bar]
.
<p><a href="my%20url" title="title">Foo bar</a></p>
.

The title may extend over multiple lines:

.
[foo]: /url '
title
line1
line2
'

[foo]
.
<p><a href="/url" title="
title
line1
line2
">foo</a></p>
.

However, it may not contain a [blank line]:

.
[foo]: /url 'title

with blank line'

[foo]
.
<p>[foo]: /url 'title</p>
<p>with blank line'</p>
<p>[foo]</p>
.

The title may be omitted:

.
[foo]:
/url

[foo]
.
<p><a href="/url">foo</a></p>
.

The link destination may not be omitted:

.
[foo]:

[foo]
.
<p>[foo]:</p>
<p>[foo]</p>
.

A link can come before its corresponding definition:

.
[foo]

[foo]: url
.
<p><a href="url">foo</a></p>
.

If there are several matching definitions, the first one takes
precedence:

.
[foo]

[foo]: first
[foo]: second
.
<p><a href="first">foo</a></p>
.

As noted in the section on [Links], matching of labels is
case-insensitive (see [matches]).

.
[FOO]: /url

[Foo]
.
<p><a href="/url">Foo</a></p>
.

.
[ΑΓΩ]: /φου

[αγω]
.
<p><a href="/%CF%86%CE%BF%CF%85">αγω</a></p>
.

Here is a link reference definition with no corresponding link.
It contributes nothing to the document.

.
[foo]: /url
.
.

Here is another one:

.
[
foo
]: /url
bar
.
<p>bar</p>
.

This is not a link reference definition, because there are
[non-space character]s after the title:

.
[foo]: /url "title" ok
.
<p>[foo]: /url &quot;title&quot; ok</p>
.

This is not a link reference definition, because it is indented
four spaces:

.
    [foo]: /url "title"

[foo]
.
<pre><code>[foo]: /url &quot;title&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>[foo]</p>
.

This is not a link reference definition, because it occurs inside
a code block:

.
```
[foo]: /url
```

[foo]
.
<pre><code>[foo]: /url
</code></pre>
<p>[foo]</p>
.

A [link reference definition] cannot interrupt a paragraph.

.
Foo
[bar]: /baz

[bar]
.
<p>Foo
[bar]: /baz</p>
<p>[bar]</p>
.

However, it can directly follow other block elements, such as headers
and horizontal rules, and it need not be followed by a blank line.

.
# [Foo]
[foo]: /url
> bar
.
<h1><a href="/url">Foo</a></h1>
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
.

Several [link reference definition]s
can occur one after another, without intervening blank lines.

.
[foo]: /foo-url "foo"
[bar]: /bar-url
  "bar"
[baz]: /baz-url

[foo],
[bar],
[baz]
.
<p><a href="/foo-url" title="foo">foo</a>,
<a href="/bar-url" title="bar">bar</a>,
<a href="/baz-url">baz</a></p>
.

[Link reference definition]s can occur
inside block containers, like lists and block quotations.  They
affect the entire document, not just the container in which they
are defined:

.
[foo]

> [foo]: /url
.
<p><a href="/url">foo</a></p>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
.


## Paragraphs

A sequence of non-blank lines that cannot be interpreted as other
kinds of blocks forms a [paragraph](@paragraph).
The contents of the paragraph are the result of parsing the
paragraph's raw content as inlines.  The paragraph's raw content
is formed by concatenating the lines and removing initial and final
[whitespace].

A simple example with two paragraphs:

.
aaa

bbb
.
<p>aaa</p>
<p>bbb</p>
.

Paragraphs can contain multiple lines, but no blank lines:

.
aaa
bbb

ccc
ddd
.
<p>aaa
bbb</p>
<p>ccc
ddd</p>
.

Multiple blank lines between paragraph have no effect:

.
aaa


bbb
.
<p>aaa</p>
<p>bbb</p>
.

Leading spaces are skipped:

.
  aaa
 bbb
.
<p>aaa
bbb</p>
.

Lines after the first may be indented any amount, since indented
code blocks cannot interrupt paragraphs.

.
aaa
             bbb
                                       ccc
.
<p>aaa
bbb
ccc</p>
.

However, the first line may be indented at most three spaces,
or an indented code block will be triggered:

.
   aaa
bbb
.
<p>aaa
bbb</p>
.

.
    aaa
bbb
.
<pre><code>aaa
</code></pre>
<p>bbb</p>
.

Final spaces are stripped before inline parsing, so a paragraph
that ends with two or more spaces will not end with a [hard line
break]:

.
aaa     
bbb     
.
<p>aaa<br />
bbb</p>
.

## Blank lines

[Blank line]s between block-level elements are ignored,
except for the role they play in determining whether a [list]
is [tight] or [loose].

Blank lines at the beginning and end of the document are also ignored.

.
  

aaa
  

# aaa

  
.
<p>aaa</p>
<h1>aaa</h1>
.


# Container blocks

A [container block] is a block that has other
blocks as its contents.  There are two basic kinds of container blocks:
[block quotes] and [list items].
[Lists] are meta-containers for [list items].

We define the syntax for container blocks recursively.  The general
form of the definition is:

> If X is a sequence of blocks, then the result of
> transforming X in such-and-such a way is a container of type Y
> with these blocks as its content.

So, we explain what counts as a block quote or list item by explaining
how these can be *generated* from their contents. This should suffice
to define the syntax, although it does not give a recipe for *parsing*
these constructions.  (A recipe is provided below in the section entitled
[A parsing strategy](#appendix-a-a-parsing-strategy).)

## Block quotes

A [block quote marker](@block-quote-marker)
consists of 0-3 spaces of initial indent, plus (a) the character `>` together
with a following space, or (b) a single character `>` not followed by a space.

The following rules define [block quotes]:

1.  **Basic case.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a sequence
    of blocks *Bs*, then the result of prepending a [block quote
    marker] to the beginning of each line in *Ls*
    is a [block quote](#block-quotes) containing *Bs*.

2.  **Laziness.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a [block
    quote](#block-quotes) with contents *Bs*, then the result of deleting
    the initial [block quote marker] from one or
    more lines in which the next [non-space character] after the [block
    quote marker] is [paragraph continuation
    text] is a block quote with *Bs* as its content.
    [Paragraph continuation text](@paragraph-continuation-text) is text
    that will be parsed as part of the content of a paragraph, but does
    not occur at the beginning of the paragraph.

3.  **Consecutiveness.**  A document cannot contain two [block
    quotes] in a row unless there is a [blank line] between them.

Nothing else counts as a [block quote](#block-quotes).

Here is a simple example:

.
> # Foo
> bar
> baz
.
<blockquote>
<h1>Foo</h1>
<p>bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
.

The spaces after the `>` characters can be omitted:

.
># Foo
>bar
> baz
.
<blockquote>
<h1>Foo</h1>
<p>bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
.

The `>` characters can be indented 1-3 spaces:

.
   > # Foo
   > bar
 > baz
.
<blockquote>
<h1>Foo</h1>
<p>bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
.

Four spaces gives us a code block:

.
    > # Foo
    > bar
    > baz
.
<pre><code>&gt; # Foo
&gt; bar
&gt; baz
</code></pre>
.

The Laziness clause allows us to omit the `>` before a
paragraph continuation line:

.
> # Foo
> bar
baz
.
<blockquote>
<h1>Foo</h1>
<p>bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
.

A block quote can contain some lazy and some non-lazy
continuation lines:

.
> bar
baz
> foo
.
<blockquote>
<p>bar
baz
foo</p>
</blockquote>
.

Laziness only applies to lines that are continuations of
paragraphs. Lines containing characters or indentation that indicate
block structure cannot be lazy.

.
> foo
---
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
.

.
> - foo
- bar
.
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
.

.
>     foo
    bar
.
<blockquote>
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
</blockquote>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
.

.
> ```
foo
```
.
<blockquote>
<pre><code></code></pre>
</blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
<pre><code></code></pre>
.

A block quote can be empty:

.
>
.
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

.
>
>  
> 
.
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

A block quote can have initial or final blank lines:

.
>
> foo
>  
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
</blockquote>
.

A blank line always separates block quotes:

.
> foo

> bar
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
.

(Most current Markdown implementations, including John Gruber's
original `Markdown.pl`, will parse this example as a single block quote
with two paragraphs.  But it seems better to allow the author to decide
whether two block quotes or one are wanted.)

Consecutiveness means that if we put these block quotes together,
we get a single block quote:

.
> foo
> bar
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo
bar</p>
</blockquote>
.

To get a block quote with two paragraphs, use:

.
> foo
>
> bar
.
<blockquote>
<p>foo</p>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
.

Block quotes can interrupt paragraphs:

.
foo
> bar
.
<p>foo</p>
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
.

In general, blank lines are not needed before or after block
quotes:

.
> aaa
***
> bbb
.
<blockquote>
<p>aaa</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<blockquote>
<p>bbb</p>
</blockquote>
.

However, because of laziness, a blank line is needed between
a block quote and a following paragraph:

.
> bar
baz
.
<blockquote>
<p>bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
.

.
> bar

baz
.
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
<p>baz</p>
.

.
> bar
>
baz
.
<blockquote>
<p>bar</p>
</blockquote>
<p>baz</p>
.

It is a consequence of the Laziness rule that any number
of initial `>`s may be omitted on a continuation line of a
nested block quote:

.
> > > foo
bar
.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>foo
bar</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

.
>>> foo
> bar
>>baz
.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>foo
bar
baz</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

When including an indented code block in a block quote,
remember that the [block quote marker] includes
both the `>` and a following space.  So *five spaces* are needed after
the `>`:

.
>     code

>    not code
.
<blockquote>
<pre><code>code
</code></pre>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>not code</p>
</blockquote>
.


## List items

A [list marker](@list-marker) is a
[bullet list marker] or an [ordered list marker].

A [bullet list marker](@bullet-list-marker)
is a `-`, `+`, or `*` character.

An [ordered list marker](@ordered-list-marker)
is a sequence of one of more digits (`0-9`), followed by either a
`.` character or a `)` character.

The following rules define [list items]:

1.  **Basic case.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls* constitute a sequence of
    blocks *Bs* starting with a [non-space character] and not separated
    from each other by more than one blank line, and *M* is a list
    marker *M* of width *W* followed by 0 < *N* < 5 spaces, then the result
    of prepending *M* and the following spaces to the first line of
    *Ls*, and indenting subsequent lines of *Ls* by *W + N* spaces, is a
    list item with *Bs* as its contents.  The type of the list item
    (bullet or ordered) is determined by the type of its list marker.
    If the list item is ordered, then it is also assigned a start
    number, based on the ordered list marker.

For example, let *Ls* be the lines

.
A paragraph
with two lines.

    indented code

> A block quote.
.
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
.

And let *M* be the marker `1.`, and *N* = 2.  Then rule #1 says
that the following is an ordered list item with start number 1,
and the same contents as *Ls*:

.
1.  A paragraph
    with two lines.

        indented code

    > A block quote.
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

The most important thing to notice is that the position of
the text after the list marker determines how much indentation
is needed in subsequent blocks in the list item.  If the list
marker takes up two spaces, and there are three spaces between
the list marker and the next [non-space character], then blocks
must be indented five spaces in order to fall under the list
item.

Here are some examples showing how far content must be indented to be
put under the list item:

.
- one

 two
.
<ul>
<li>one</li>
</ul>
<p>two</p>
.

.
- one

  two
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>one</p>
<p>two</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

.
 -    one

     two
.
<ul>
<li>one</li>
</ul>
<pre><code> two
</code></pre>
.

.
 -    one

      two
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>one</p>
<p>two</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

It is tempting to think of this in terms of columns:  the continuation
blocks must be indented at least to the column of the first
[non-space character] after the list marker. However, that is not quite right.
The spaces after the list marker determine how much relative indentation
is needed.  Which column this indentation reaches will depend on
how the list item is embedded in other constructions, as shown by
this example:

.
   > > 1.  one
>>
>>     two
.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
<p>one</p>
<p>two</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

Here `two` occurs in the same column as the list marker `1.`,
but is actually contained in the list item, because there is
sufficent indentation after the last containing blockquote marker.

The converse is also possible.  In the following example, the word `two`
occurs far to the right of the initial text of the list item, `one`, but
it is not considered part of the list item, because it is not indented
far enough past the blockquote marker:

.
>>- one
>>
  >  > two
.
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>one</li>
</ul>
<p>two</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
.

Note that at least one space is needed between the list marker and
any following content, so these are not list items:

.
-one

2.two
.
<p>-one</p>
<p>2.two</p>
.

A list item may not contain blocks that are separated by more than
one blank line.  Thus, two blank lines will end a list, unless the
two blanks are contained in a [fenced code block].

.
- foo

  bar

- foo


  bar

- ```
  foo


  bar
  ```

- baz

  + ```
    foo


    bar
    ```
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<p>bar</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>bar</p>
<ul>
<li>
<pre><code>foo


bar
</code></pre>
</li>
<li>
<p>baz</p>
<ul>
<li>
<pre><code>foo


bar
</code></pre>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
.

A list item may contain any kind of block:

.
1.  foo

    ```
    bar
    ```

    baz

    > bam
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
<p>baz</p>
<blockquote>
<p>bam</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

2.  **Item starting with indented code.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls*
    constitute a sequence of blocks *Bs* starting with an indented code
    block and not separated from each other by more than one blank line,
    and *M* is a list marker *M* of width *W* followed by
    one space, then the result of prepending *M* and the following
    space to the first line of *Ls*, and indenting subsequent lines of
    *Ls* by *W + 1* spaces, is a list item with *Bs* as its contents.
    If a line is empty, then it need not be indented.  The type of the
    list item (bullet or ordered) is determined by the type of its list
    marker.  If the list item is ordered, then it is also assigned a
    start number, based on the ordered list marker.

An indented code block will have to be indented four spaces beyond
the edge of the region where text will be included in the list item.
In the following case that is 6 spaces:

.
- foo

      bar
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
</li>
</ul>
.

And in this case it is 11 spaces:

.
  10.  foo

           bar
.
<ol start="10">
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<pre><code>bar
</code></pre>
</li>
</ol>
.

If the *first* block in the list item is an indented code block,
then by rule #2, the contents must be indented *one* space after the
list marker:

.
    indented code

paragraph

    more code
.
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<p>paragraph</p>
<pre><code>more code
</code></pre>
.

.
1.     indented code

   paragraph

       more code
.
<ol>
<li>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<p>paragraph</p>
<pre><code>more code
</code></pre>
</li>
</ol>
.

Note that an additional space indent is interpreted as space
inside the code block:

.
1.      indented code

   paragraph

       more code
.
<ol>
<li>
<pre><code> indented code
</code></pre>
<p>paragraph</p>
<pre><code>more code
</code></pre>
</li>
</ol>
.

Note that rules #1 and #2 only apply to two cases:  (a) cases
in which the lines to be included in a list item begin with a
[non-space character], and (b) cases in which
they begin with an indented code
block.  In a case like the following, where the first block begins with
a three-space indent, the rules do not allow us to form a list item by
indenting the whole thing and prepending a list marker:

.
   foo

bar
.
<p>foo</p>
<p>bar</p>
.

.
-    foo

  bar
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
<p>bar</p>
.

This is not a significant restriction, because when a block begins
with 1-3 spaces indent, the indentation can always be removed without
a change in interpretation, allowing rule #1 to be applied.  So, in
the above case:

.
-  foo

   bar
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<p>bar</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

3. **Empty list item.**  A [list marker] followed by a
line containing only [whitespace] is a list item with no contents.

Here is an empty bullet list item:

.
- foo
-
- bar
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
<li></li>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
.

It does not matter whether there are spaces following the [list marker]:

.
- foo
-   
- bar
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
<li></li>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
.

Here is an empty ordered list item:

.
1. foo
2.
3. bar
.
<ol>
<li>foo</li>
<li></li>
<li>bar</li>
</ol>
.

A list may start or end with an empty list item:

.
*
.
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
.

4.  **Indentation.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls* constitutes a list item
    according to rule #1, #2, or #3, then the result of indenting each line
    of *L* by 1-3 spaces (the same for each line) also constitutes a
    list item with the same contents and attributes.  If a line is
    empty, then it need not be indented.

Indented one space:

.
 1.  A paragraph
     with two lines.

         indented code

     > A block quote.
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

Indented two spaces:

.
  1.  A paragraph
      with two lines.

          indented code

      > A block quote.
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

Indented three spaces:

.
   1.  A paragraph
       with two lines.

           indented code

       > A block quote.
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

Four spaces indent gives a code block:

.
    1.  A paragraph
        with two lines.

            indented code

        > A block quote.
.
<pre><code>1.  A paragraph
    with two lines.

        indented code

    &gt; A block quote.
</code></pre>
.


5.  **Laziness.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a [list
    item](#list-items) with contents *Bs*, then the result of deleting
    some or all of the indentation from one or more lines in which the
    next [non-space character] after the indentation is
    [paragraph continuation text] is a
    list item with the same contents and attributes.  The unindented
    lines are called
    [lazy continuation line](@lazy-continuation-line)s.

Here is an example with [lazy continuation line]s:

.
  1.  A paragraph
with two lines.

          indented code

      > A block quote.
.
<ol>
<li>
<p>A paragraph
with two lines.</p>
<pre><code>indented code
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>A block quote.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
.

Indentation can be partially deleted:

.
  1.  A paragraph
    with two lines.
.
<ol>
<li>A paragraph
with two lines.</li>
</ol>
.

These examples show how laziness can work in nested structures:

.
> 1. > Blockquote
continued here.
.
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>Blockquote
continued here.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
.

.
> 1. > Blockquote
> continued here.
.
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>Blockquote
continued here.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
.


6.  **That's all.** Nothing that is not counted as a list item by rules
    #1--5 counts as a [list item](#list-items).

The rules for sublists follow from the general rules above.  A sublist
must be indented the same number of spaces a paragraph would need to be
in order to be included in the list item.

So, in this case we need two spaces indent:

.
- foo
  - bar
    - baz
.
<ul>
<li>foo
<ul>
<li>bar
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
.

One is not enough:

.
- foo
 - bar
  - baz
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
<li>bar</li>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
.

Here we need four, because the list marker is wider:

.
10) foo
    - bar
.
<ol start="10">
<li>foo
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
.

Three is not enough:

.
10) foo
   - bar
.
<ol start="10">
<li>foo</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
.

A list may be the first block in a list item:

.
- - foo
.
<ul>
<li>
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
.

.
1. - 2. foo
.
<ol>
<li>
<ul>
<li>
<ol start="2">
<li>foo</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
.

A list item can contain a header:

.
- # Foo
- Bar
  ---
  baz
.
<ul>
<li>
<h1>Foo</h1>
</li>
<li>
<h2>Bar</h2>
baz</li>
</ul>
.

### Motivation

John Gruber's Markdown spec says the following about list items:

1. "List markers typically start at the left margin, but may be indented
   by up to three spaces. List markers must be followed by one or more
   spaces or a tab."

2. "To make lists look nice, you can wrap items with hanging indents....
   But if you don't want to, you don't have to."

3. "List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent
   paragraph in a list item must be indented by either 4 spaces or one
   tab."

4. "It looks nice if you indent every line of the subsequent paragraphs,
   but here again, Markdown will allow you to be lazy."

5. "To put a blockquote within a list item, the blockquote's `>`
   delimiters need to be indented."

6. "To put a code block within a list item, the code block needs to be
   indented twice — 8 spaces or two tabs."

These rules specify that a paragraph under a list item must be indented
four spaces (presumably, from the left margin, rather than the start of
the list marker, but this is not said), and that code under a list item
must be indented eight spaces instead of the usual four.  They also say
that a block quote must be indented, but not by how much; however, the
example given has four spaces indentation.  Although nothing is said
about other kinds of block-level content, it is certainly reasonable to
infer that *all* block elements under a list item, including other
lists, must be indented four spaces.  This principle has been called the
*four-space rule*.

The four-space rule is clear and principled, and if the reference
implementation `Markdown.pl` had followed it, it probably would have
become the standard.  However, `Markdown.pl` allowed paragraphs and
sublists to start with only two spaces indentation, at least on the
outer level.  Worse, its behavior was inconsistent: a sublist of an
outer-level list needed two spaces indentation, but a sublist of this
sublist needed three spaces.  It is not surprising, then, that different
implementations of Markdown have developed very different rules for
determining what comes under a list item.  (Pandoc and python-Markdown,
for example, stuck with Gruber's syntax description and the four-space
rule, while discount, redcarpet, marked, PHP Markdown, and others
followed `Markdown.pl`'s behavior more closely.)

Unfortunately, given the divergences between implementations, there
is no way to give a spec for list items that will be guaranteed not
to break any existing documents.  However, the spec given here should
correctly handle lists formatted with either the four-space rule or
the more forgiving `Markdown.pl` behavior, provided they are laid out
in a way that is natural for a human to read.

The strategy here is to let the width and indentation of the list marker
determine the indentation necessary for blocks to fall under the list
item, rather than having a fixed and arbitrary number.  The writer can
think of the body of the list item as a unit which gets indented to the
right enough to fit the list marker (and any indentation on the list
marker).  (The laziness rule, #5, then allows continuation lines to be
unindented if needed.)

This rule is superior, we claim, to any rule requiring a fixed level of
indentation from the margin.  The four-space rule is clear but
unnatural. It is quite unintuitive that

``` markdown
- foo

  bar

  - baz
```

should be parsed as two lists with an intervening paragraph,

``` html
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
<p>bar</p>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
```

as the four-space rule demands, rather than a single list,

``` html
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<p>bar</p>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
```

The choice of four spaces is arbitrary.  It can be learned, but it is
not likely to be guessed, and it trips up beginners regularly.

Would it help to adopt a two-space rule?  The problem is that such
a rule, together with the rule allowing 1--3 spaces indentation of the
initial list marker, allows text that is indented *less than* the
original list marker to be included in the list item. For example,
`Markdown.pl` parses

``` markdown
   - one

  two
```

as a single list item, with `two` a continuation paragraph:

``` html
<ul>
<li>
<p>one</p>
<p>two</p>
</li>
</ul>
```

and similarly

``` markdown
>   - one
>
>  two
```

as

``` html
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p>one</p>
<p>two</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
```

This is extremely unintuitive.

Rather than requiring a fixed indent from the margin, we could require
a fixed indent (say, two spaces, or even one space) from the list marker (which
may itself be indented).  This proposal would remove the last anomaly
discussed.  Unlike the spec presented above, it would count the following
as a list item with a subparagraph, even though the paragraph `bar`
is not indented as far as the first paragraph `foo`:

``` markdown
 10. foo

   bar  
```

Arguably this text does read like a list item with `bar` as a subparagraph,
which may count in favor of the proposal.  However, on this proposal indented
code would have to be indented six spaces after the list marker.  And this
would break a lot of existing Markdown, which has the pattern:

``` markdown
1.  foo

        indented code
```

where the code is indented eight spaces.  The spec above, by contrast, will
parse this text as expected, since the code block's indentation is measured
from the beginning of `foo`.

The one case that needs special treatment is a list item that *starts*
with indented code.  How much indentation is required in that case, since
we don't have a "first paragraph" to measure from?  Rule #2 simply stipulates
that in such cases, we require one space indentation from the list marker
(and then the normal four spaces for the indented code).  This will match the
four-space rule in cases where the list marker plus its initial indentation
takes four spaces (a common case), but diverge in other cases.

## Lists

A [list](@list) is a sequence of one or more
list items [of the same type].  The list items
may be separated by single [blank lines], but two
blank lines end all containing lists.

Two list items are [of the same type](@of-the-same-type)
if they begin with a [list marker] of the same type.
Two list markers are of the
same type if (a) they are bullet list markers using the same character
(`-`, `+`, or `*`) or (b) they are ordered list numbers with the same
delimiter (either `.` or `)`).

A list is an [ordered list](@ordered-list)
if its constituent list items begin with
[ordered list marker]s, and a
[bullet list](@bullet-list) if its constituent list
items begin with [bullet list marker]s.

The [start number](@start-number)
of an [ordered list] is determined by the list number of
its initial list item.  The numbers of subsequent list items are
disregarded.

A list is [loose](@loose) if it any of its constituent
list items are separated by blank lines, or if any of its constituent
list items directly contain two block-level elements with a blank line
between them.  Otherwise a list is [tight](@tight).
(The difference in HTML output is that paragraphs in a loose list are
wrapped in `<p>` tags, while paragraphs in a tight list are not.)

Changing the bullet or ordered list delimiter starts a new list:

.
- foo
- bar
+ baz
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
.

.
1. foo
2. bar
3) baz
.
<ol>
<li>foo</li>
<li>bar</li>
</ol>
<ol start="3">
<li>baz</li>
</ol>
.

In CommonMark, a list can interrupt a paragraph. That is,
no blank line is needed to separate a paragraph from a following
list:

.
Foo
- bar
- baz
.
<p>Foo</p>
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
.

`Markdown.pl` does not allow this, through fear of triggering a list
via a numeral in a hard-wrapped line:

.
The number of windows in my house is
14.  The number of doors is 6.
.
<p>The number of windows in my house is</p>
<ol start="14">
<li>The number of doors is 6.</li>
</ol>
.

Oddly, `Markdown.pl` *does* allow a blockquote to interrupt a paragraph,
even though the same considerations might apply.  We think that the two
cases should be treated the same.  Here are two reasons for allowing
lists to interrupt paragraphs:

First, it is natural and not uncommon for people to start lists without
blank lines:

    I need to buy
    - new shoes
    - a coat
    - a plane ticket

Second, we are attracted to a

> [principle of uniformity](@principle-of-uniformity):
> if a chunk of text has a certain
> meaning, it will continue to have the same meaning when put into a
> container block (such as a list item or blockquote).

(Indeed, the spec for [list items] and [block quotes] presupposes
this principle.) This principle implies that if

      * I need to buy
        - new shoes
        - a coat
        - a plane ticket

is a list item containing a paragraph followed by a nested sublist,
as all Markdown implementations agree it is (though the paragraph
may be rendered without `<p>` tags, since the list is "tight"),
then

    I need to buy
    - new shoes
    - a coat
    - a plane ticket

by itself should be a paragraph followed by a nested sublist.

Our adherence to the [principle of uniformity]
thus inclines us to think that there are two coherent packages:

1.  Require blank lines before *all* lists and blockquotes,
    including lists that occur as sublists inside other list items.

2.  Require blank lines in none of these places.

[reStructuredText](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html) takes
the first approach, for which there is much to be said.  But the second
seems more consistent with established practice with Markdown.

There can be blank lines between items, but two blank lines end
a list:

.
- foo

- bar


- baz
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>bar</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
.

As illustrated above in the section on [list items],
two blank lines between blocks *within* a list item will also end a
list:

.
- foo


  bar
- baz
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
</ul>
<p>bar</p>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
.

Indeed, two blank lines will end *all* containing lists:

.
- foo
  - bar
    - baz


      bim
.
<ul>
<li>foo
<ul>
<li>bar
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<pre><code>  bim
</code></pre>
.

Thus, two blank lines can be used to separate consecutive lists of
the same type, or to separate a list from an indented code block
that would otherwise be parsed as a subparagraph of the final list
item:

.
- foo
- bar


- baz
- bim
.
<ul>
<li>foo</li>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>baz</li>
<li>bim</li>
</ul>
.

.
-   foo

    notcode

-   foo


    code
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<p>notcode</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
</li>
</ul>
<pre><code>code
</code></pre>
.

List items need not be indented to the same level.  The following
list items will be treated as items at the same list level,
since none is indented enough to belong to the previous list
item:

.
- a
 - b
  - c
   - d
  - e
 - f
- g
.
<ul>
<li>a</li>
<li>b</li>
<li>c</li>
<li>d</li>
<li>e</li>
<li>f</li>
<li>g</li>
</ul>
.

This is a loose list, because there is a blank line between
two of the list items:

.
- a
- b

- c
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>a</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>b</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>c</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

So is this, with a empty second item:

.
* a
*

* c
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>a</p>
</li>
<li></li>
<li>
<p>c</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

These are loose lists, even though there is no space between the items,
because one of the items directly contains two block-level elements
with a blank line between them:

.
- a
- b

  c
- d
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>a</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>b</p>
<p>c</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>d</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

.
- a
- b

  [ref]: /url
- d
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>a</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>b</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>d</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

This is a tight list, because the blank lines are in a code block:

.
- a
- ```
  b


  ```
- c
.
<ul>
<li>a</li>
<li>
<pre><code>b


</code></pre>
</li>
<li>c</li>
</ul>
.

This is a tight list, because the blank line is between two
paragraphs of a sublist.  So the sublist is loose while
the outer list is tight:

.
- a
  - b

    c
- d
.
<ul>
<li>a
<ul>
<li>
<p>b</p>
<p>c</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>d</li>
</ul>
.

This is a tight list, because the blank line is inside the
block quote:

.
* a
  > b
  >
* c
.
<ul>
<li>a
<blockquote>
<p>b</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>c</li>
</ul>
.

This list is tight, because the consecutive block elements
are not separated by blank lines:

.
- a
  > b
  ```
  c
  ```
- d
.
<ul>
<li>a
<blockquote>
<p>b</p>
</blockquote>
<pre><code>c
</code></pre>
</li>
<li>d</li>
</ul>
.

A single-paragraph list is tight:

.
- a
.
<ul>
<li>a</li>
</ul>
.

.
- a
  - b
.
<ul>
<li>a
<ul>
<li>b</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
.

This list is loose, because of the blank line between the
two block elements in the list item:

.
1. ```
   foo
   ```

   bar
.
<ol>
<li>
<pre><code>foo
</code></pre>
<p>bar</p>
</li>
</ol>
.

Here the outer list is loose, the inner list tight:

.
* foo
  * bar

  baz
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>foo</p>
<ul>
<li>bar</li>
</ul>
<p>baz</p>
</li>
</ul>
.

.
- a
  - b
  - c

- d
  - e
  - f
.
<ul>
<li>
<p>a</p>
<ul>
<li>b</li>
<li>c</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>d</p>
<ul>
<li>e</li>
<li>f</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
.

# Inlines

Inlines are parsed sequentially from the beginning of the character
stream to the end (left to right, in left-to-right languages).
Thus, for example, in

.
`hi`lo`
.
<p><code>hi</code>lo`</p>
.

`hi` is parsed as code, leaving the backtick at the end as a literal
backtick.

## Backslash escapes

Any ASCII punctuation character may be backslash-escaped:

.
\!\"\#\$\%\&\'\(\)\*\+\,\-\.\/\:\;\<\=\>\?\@\[\\\]\^\_\`\{\|\}\~
.
<p>!&quot;#$%&amp;'()*+,-./:;&lt;=&gt;?@[\]^_`{|}~</p>
.

Backslashes before other characters are treated as literal
backslashes:

.
\→\A\a\ \3\φ\«
.
<p>\   \A\a\ \3\φ\«</p>
.

Escaped characters are treated as regular characters and do
not have their usual Markdown meanings:

.
\*not emphasized*
\<br/> not a tag
\[not a link](/foo)
\`not code`
1\. not a list
\* not a list
\# not a header
\[foo]: /url "not a reference"
.
<p>*not emphasized*
&lt;br/&gt; not a tag
[not a link](/foo)
`not code`
1. not a list
* not a list
# not a header
[foo]: /url &quot;not a reference&quot;</p>
.

If a backslash is itself escaped, the following character is not:

.
\\*emphasis*
.
<p>\<em>emphasis</em></p>
.

A backslash at the end of the line is a [hard line break]:

.
foo\
bar
.
<p>foo<br />
bar</p>
.

Backslash escapes do not work in code blocks, code spans, autolinks, or
raw HTML:

.
`` \[\` ``
.
<p><code>\[\`</code></p>
.

.
    \[\]
.
<pre><code>\[\]
</code></pre>
.

.
~~~
\[\]
~~~
.
<pre><code>\[\]
</code></pre>
.

.
<http://example.com?find=\*>
.
<p><a href="http://example.com?find=%5C*">http://example.com?find=\*</a></p>
.

.
<a href="/bar\/)">
.
<p><a href="/bar\/)"></p>
.

But they work in all other contexts, including URLs and link titles,
link references, and [info string]s in [fenced code block]s:

.
[foo](/bar\* "ti\*tle")
.
<p><a href="/bar*" title="ti*tle">foo</a></p>
.

.
[foo]

[foo]: /bar\* "ti\*tle"
.
<p><a href="/bar*" title="ti*tle">foo</a></p>
.

.
``` foo\+bar
foo
```
.
<pre><code class="language-foo+bar">foo
</code></pre>
.


## Entities

With the goal of making this standard as HTML-agnostic as possible, all
valid HTML entities (except in code blocks and code spans)
are recognized as such and converted into unicode characters before
they are stored in the AST. This means that renderers to formats other
than HTML need not be HTML-entity aware.  HTML renderers may either escape
unicode characters as entities or leave them as they are.  (However,
`"`, `&`, `<`, and `>` must always be rendered as entities.)

[Named entities](@name-entities) consist of `&`
+ any of the valid HTML5 entity names + `;`. The
[following document](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/entities.json)
is used as an authoritative source of the valid entity names and their
corresponding codepoints.

.
&nbsp; &amp; &copy; &AElig; &Dcaron; &frac34; &HilbertSpace; &DifferentialD; &ClockwiseContourIntegral;
.
<p>  &amp; © Æ Ď ¾ ℋ ⅆ ∲</p>
.

[Decimal entities](@decimal-entities)
consist of `&#` + a string of 1--8 arabic digits + `;`. Again, these
entities need to be recognised and tranformed into their corresponding
UTF8 codepoints. Invalid Unicode codepoints will be written as the
"unknown codepoint" character (`0xFFFD`)

.
&#35; &#1234; &#992; &#98765432;
.
<p># Ӓ Ϡ �</p>
.

[Hexadecimal entities](@hexadecimal-entities)
consist of `&#` + either `X` or `x` + a string of 1-8 hexadecimal digits
+ `;`. They will also be parsed and turned into their corresponding UTF8 values in the AST.

.
&#X22; &#XD06; &#xcab;
.
<p>&quot; ആ ಫ</p>
.

Here are some nonentities:

.
&nbsp &x; &#; &#x; &ThisIsWayTooLongToBeAnEntityIsntIt; &hi?;
.
<p>&amp;nbsp &amp;x; &amp;#; &amp;#x; &amp;ThisIsWayTooLongToBeAnEntityIsntIt; &amp;hi?;</p>
.

Although HTML5 does accept some entities without a trailing semicolon
(such as `&copy`), these are not recognized as entities here, because it
makes the grammar too ambiguous:

.
&copy
.
<p>&amp;copy</p>
.

Strings that are not on the list of HTML5 named entities are not
recognized as entities either:

.
&MadeUpEntity;
.
<p>&amp;MadeUpEntity;</p>
.

Entities are recognized in any context besides code spans or
code blocks, including raw HTML, URLs, [link title]s, and
[fenced code block] [info string]s:

.
<a href="&ouml;&ouml;.html">
.
<p><a href="&ouml;&ouml;.html"></p>
.

.
[foo](/f&ouml;&ouml; "f&ouml;&ouml;")
.
<p><a href="/f%C3%B6%C3%B6" title="föö">foo</a></p>
.

.
[foo]

[foo]: /f&ouml;&ouml; "f&ouml;&ouml;"
.
<p><a href="/f%C3%B6%C3%B6" title="föö">foo</a></p>
.

.
``` f&ouml;&ouml;
foo
```
.
<pre><code class="language-föö">foo
</code></pre>
.

Entities are treated as literal text in code spans and code blocks:

.
`f&ouml;&ouml;`
.
<p><code>f&amp;ouml;&amp;ouml;</code></p>
.

.
    f&ouml;f&ouml;
.
<pre><code>f&amp;ouml;f&amp;ouml;
</code></pre>
.

## Code spans

A [backtick string](@backtick-string)
is a string of one or more backtick characters (`` ` ``) that is neither
preceded nor followed by a backtick.

A [code span](@code-span) begins with a backtick string and ends with
a backtick string of equal length.  The contents of the code span are
the characters between the two backtick strings, with leading and
trailing spaces and [line ending]s removed, and
[whitespace] collapsed to single spaces.

This is a simple code span:

.
`foo`
.
<p><code>foo</code></p>
.

Here two backticks are used, because the code contains a backtick.
This example also illustrates stripping of leading and trailing spaces:

.
`` foo ` bar  ``
.
<p><code>foo ` bar</code></p>
.

This example shows the motivation for stripping leading and trailing
spaces:

.
` `` `
.
<p><code>``</code></p>
.

[Line ending]s are treated like spaces:

.
``
foo
``
.
<p><code>foo</code></p>
.

Interior spaces and [line ending]s are collapsed into
single spaces, just as they would be by a browser:

.
`foo   bar
  baz`
.
<p><code>foo bar baz</code></p>
.

Q: Why not just leave the spaces, since browsers will collapse them
anyway?  A:  Because we might be targeting a non-HTML format, and we
shouldn't rely on HTML-specific rendering assumptions.

(Existing implementations differ in their treatment of internal
spaces and [line ending]s.  Some, including `Markdown.pl` and
`showdown`, convert an internal [line ending] into a
`<br />` tag.  But this makes things difficult for those who like to
hard-wrap their paragraphs, since a line break in the midst of a code
span will cause an unintended line break in the output.  Others just
leave internal spaces as they are, which is fine if only HTML is being
targeted.)

.
`foo `` bar`
.
<p><code>foo `` bar</code></p>
.

Note that backslash escapes do not work in code spans. All backslashes
are treated literally:

.
`foo\`bar`
.
<p><code>foo\</code>bar`</p>
.

Backslash escapes are never needed, because one can always choose a
string of *n* backtick characters as delimiters, where the code does
not contain any strings of exactly *n* backtick characters.

Code span backticks have higher precedence than any other inline
constructs except HTML tags and autolinks.  Thus, for example, this is
not parsed as emphasized text, since the second `*` is part of a code
span:

.
*foo`*`
.
<p>*foo<code>*</code></p>
.

And this is not parsed as a link:

.
[not a `link](/foo`)
.
<p>[not a <code>link](/foo</code>)</p>
.

Code spans, HTML tags, and autolinks have the same precedence.
Thus, this is code:

.
`<a href="`">`
.
<p><code>&lt;a href=&quot;</code>&quot;&gt;`</p>
.

But this is an HTML tag:

.
<a href="`">`
.
<p><a href="`">`</p>
.

And this is code:

.
`<http://foo.bar.`baz>`
.
<p><code>&lt;http://foo.bar.</code>baz&gt;`</p>
.

But this is an autolink:

.
<http://foo.bar.`baz>`
.
<p><a href="http://foo.bar.%60baz">http://foo.bar.`baz</a>`</p>
.

When a backtick string is not closed by a matching backtick string,
we just have literal backticks:

.
```foo``
.
<p>```foo``</p>
.

.
`foo
.
<p>`foo</p>
.

## Emphasis and strong emphasis

John Gruber's original [Markdown syntax
description](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax#em) says:

> Markdown treats asterisks (`*`) and underscores (`_`) as indicators of
> emphasis. Text wrapped with one `*` or `_` will be wrapped with an HTML
> `<em>` tag; double `*`'s or `_`'s will be wrapped with an HTML `<strong>`
> tag.

This is enough for most users, but these rules leave much undecided,
especially when it comes to nested emphasis.  The original
`Markdown.pl` test suite makes it clear that triple `***` and
`___` delimiters can be used for strong emphasis, and most
implementations have also allowed the following patterns:

``` markdown
***strong emph***
***strong** in emph*
***emph* in strong**
**in strong *emph***
*in emph **strong***
```

The following patterns are less widely supported, but the intent
is clear and they are useful (especially in contexts like bibliography
entries):

``` markdown
*emph *with emph* in it*
**strong **with strong** in it**
```

Many implementations have also restricted intraword emphasis to
the `*` forms, to avoid unwanted emphasis in words containing
internal underscores.  (It is best practice to put these in code
spans, but users often do not.)

``` markdown
internal emphasis: foo*bar*baz
no emphasis: foo_bar_baz
```

The rules given below capture all of these patterns, while allowing
for efficient parsing strategies that do not backtrack.

First, some definitions.  A [delimiter run](@delimiter-run) is either
a sequence of one or more `*` characters that is not preceded or
followed by a `*` character, or a sequence of one or more `_`
characters that is not preceded or followed by a `_` character.

A [left-flanking delimiter run](@left-flanking-delimiter-run) is
a [delimiter run] that is (a) not followed by [unicode whitespace],
and (b) either not followed by a [punctuation character], or
preceded by [unicode whitespace] or a [punctuation character].

A [right-flanking delimiter run](@right-flanking-delimiter-run) is
a [delimiter run] that is (a) not preceded by [unicode whitespace],
and (b) either not preceded by a [punctuation character], or
followed by [unicode whitespace] or a [punctuation character].

Here are some examples of delimiter runs.

  - left-flanking but not right-flanking:

    ```
    ***abc
      _abc
    **"abc"
     _"abc"
    ```

  - right-flanking but not left-flanking:

    ```
    abc***
      abc_
    "abc"**
     _"abc"
    ```

  - Both right and right-flanking:

    ```
    abc***def
    "abc"_"def"
    ```

  - Neither right nor right-flanking:

    ```
    abc *** def
    a _ b
    ```

(The idea of distinguishing left-flanking and right-flanking
delimiter runs based on the character before and the character
after comes from Roopesh Chander's
[vfmd](http://www.vfmd.org/vfmd-spec/specification/#procedure-for-identifying-emphasis-tags).
vfmd uses the terminology "emphasis indicator string" instead of "delimiter
run," and its rules for distinguishing left- and right-flanking runs
are a bit more complex than the ones given here.)

The following rules define emphasis and strong emphasis:

1.  A single `*` character [can open emphasis](@can-open-emphasis)
    iff it is part of a [left-flanking delimiter run].

2.  A single `_` character [can open emphasis] iff
    it is part of a [left-flanking delimiter run]
    and not part of a [right-flanking delimiter run].

3.  A single `*` character [can close emphasis](@can-close-emphasis)
    iff it is part of a [right-flanking delimiter run].

4.  A single `_` character [can close emphasis]
    iff it is part of a [right-flanking delimiter run]
    and not part of a [left-flanking delimiter run].

5.  A double `**` [can open strong emphasis](@can-open-strong-emphasis)
    iff it is part of a [left-flanking delimiter run].

6.  A double `__` [can open strong emphasis]
    iff it is part of a [left-flanking delimiter run]
    and not part of a [right-flanking delimiter run].

7.  A double `**` [can close strong emphasis](@can-close-strong-emphasis)
    iff it is part of a [right-flanking delimiter run].

8.  A double `__` [can close strong emphasis]
    iff it is part of a [right-flanking delimiter run]
    and not part of a [left-flanking delimiter run].

9.  Emphasis begins with a delimiter that [can open emphasis] and ends
    with a delimiter that [can close emphasis], and that uses the same
    character (`_` or `*`) as the opening delimiter.  There must
    be a nonempty sequence of inlines between the open delimiter
    and the closing delimiter; these form the contents of the emphasis
    inline.

10. Strong emphasis begins with a delimiter that
    [can open strong emphasis] and ends with a delimiter that
    [can close strong emphasis], and that uses the same character
    (`_` or `*`) as the opening delimiter.
    There must be a nonempty sequence of inlines between the open
    delimiter and the closing delimiter; these form the contents of
    the strong emphasis inline.

11. A literal `*` character cannot occur at the beginning or end of
    `*`-delimited emphasis or `**`-delimited strong emphasis, unless it
    is backslash-escaped.

12. A literal `_` character cannot occur at the beginning or end of
    `_`-delimited emphasis or `__`-delimited strong emphasis, unless it
    is backslash-escaped.

Where rules 1--12 above are compatible with multiple parsings,
the following principles resolve ambiguity:

13. The number of nestings should be minimized. Thus, for example,
    an interpretation `<strong>...</strong>` is always preferred to
    `<em><em>...</em></em>`.

14. An interpretation `<strong><em>...</em></strong>` is always
    preferred to `<em><strong>..</strong></em>`.

15. When two potential emphasis or strong emphasis spans overlap,
    so that the second begins before the first ends and ends after
    the first ends, the first takes precedence. Thus, for example,
    `*foo _bar* baz_` is parsed as `<em>foo _bar</em> baz_` rather
    than `*foo <em>bar* baz</em>`.  For the same reason,
    `**foo*bar**` is parsed as `<em><em>foo</em>bar</em>*`
    rather than `<strong>foo*bar</strong>`.

16. When there are two potential emphasis or strong emphasis spans
    with the same closing delimiter, the shorter one (the one that
    opens later) takes precedence. Thus, for example,
    `**foo **bar baz**` is parsed as `**foo <strong>bar baz</strong>`
    rather than `<strong>foo **bar baz</strong>`.

17. Inline code spans, links, images, and HTML tags group more tightly
    than emphasis.  So, when there is a choice between an interpretation
    that contains one of these elements and one that does not, the
    former always wins.  Thus, for example, `*[foo*](bar)` is
    parsed as `*<a href="bar">foo*</a>` rather than as
    `<em>[foo</em>](bar)`.

These rules can be illustrated through a series of examples.

Rule 1:

.
*foo bar*
.
<p><em>foo bar</em></p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the opening `*` is followed by
whitespace, and hence not part of a [left-flanking delimiter run]:

.
a * foo bar*
.
<p>a * foo bar*</p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the opening `*` is preceded
by an alphanumeric and followed by punctuation, and hence
not part of a [left-flanking delimiter run]:

.
a*"foo"*
.
<p>a*&quot;foo&quot;*</p>
.

Unicode nonbreaking spaces count as whitespace, too:

.
* a *
.
<p>* a *</p>
.

Intraword emphasis with `*` is permitted:

.
foo*bar*
.
<p>foo<em>bar</em></p>
.

.
5*6*78
.
<p>5<em>6</em>78</p>
.

Rule 2:

.
_foo bar_
.
<p><em>foo bar</em></p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the opening `_` is followed by
whitespace:

.
_ foo bar_
.
<p>_ foo bar_</p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the opening `_` is preceded
by an alphanumeric and followed by punctuation:

.
a_"foo"_
.
<p>a_&quot;foo&quot;_</p>
.

Emphasis with `_` is not allowed inside words:

.
foo_bar_
.
<p>foo_bar_</p>
.

.
5_6_78
.
<p>5_6_78</p>
.

.
пристаням_стремятся_
.
<p>пристаням_стремятся_</p>
.

Here `_` does not generate emphasis, because the first delimiter run
is right-flanking and the second left-flanking:

.
aa_"bb"_cc
.
<p>aa_&quot;bb&quot;_cc</p>
.

Here there is no emphasis, because the delimiter runs are
both left- and right-flanking:

.
"aa"_"bb"_"cc"
.
<p>&quot;aa&quot;_&quot;bb&quot;_&quot;cc&quot;</p>
.

Rule 3:

This is not emphasis, because the closing delimiter does
not match the opening delimiter:

.
_foo*
.
<p>_foo*</p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the closing `*` is preceded by
whitespace:

.
*foo bar *
.
<p>*foo bar *</p>
.

A newline also counts as whitespace:

.
*foo bar
*
.
<p>*foo bar</p>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
.

This is not emphasis, because the second `*` is
preceded by punctuation and followed by an alphanumeric
(hence it is not part of a [right-flanking delimiter run]:

.
*(*foo)
.
<p>*(*foo)</p>
.

The point of this restriction is more easily appreciated
with this example:

.
*(*foo*)*
.
<p><em>(<em>foo</em>)</em></p>
.

Intraword emphasis with `*` is allowed:

.
*foo*bar
.
<p><em>foo</em>bar</p>
.


Rule 4:

This is not emphasis, because the closing `_` is preceded by
whitespace:

.
_foo bar _
.
<p>_foo bar _</p>
.

This is not emphasis, because the second `_` is
preceded by punctuation and followed by an alphanumeric:

.
_(_foo)
.
<p>_(_foo)</p>
.

This is emphasis within emphasis:

.
_(_foo_)_
.
<p><em>(<em>foo</em>)</em></p>
.

Intraword emphasis is disallowed for `_`:

.
_foo_bar
.
<p>_foo_bar</p>
.

.
_пристаням_стремятся
.
<p>_пристаням_стремятся</p>
.

.
_foo_bar_baz_
.
<p><em>foo_bar_baz</em></p>
.

Rule 5:

.
**foo bar**
.
<p><strong>foo bar</strong></p>
.

This is not strong emphasis, because the opening delimiter is
followed by whitespace:

.
** foo bar**
.
<p>** foo bar**</p>
.

This is not strong emphasis, because the opening `**` is preceded
by an alphanumeric and followed by punctuation, and hence
not part of a [left-flanking delimiter run]:

.
a**"foo"**
.
<p>a**&quot;foo&quot;**</p>
.

Intraword strong emphasis with `**` is permitted:

.
foo**bar**
.
<p>foo<strong>bar</strong></p>
.

Rule 6:

.
__foo bar__
.
<p><strong>foo bar</strong></p>
.

This is not strong emphasis, because the opening delimiter is
followed by whitespace:

.
__ foo bar__
.
<p>__ foo bar__</p>
.

A newline counts as whitespace:
.
__
foo bar__
.
<p>__
foo bar__</p>
.

This is not strong emphasis, because the opening `__` is preceded
by an alphanumeric and followed by punctuation:

.
a__"foo"__
.
<p>a__&quot;foo&quot;__</p>
.

Intraword strong emphasis is forbidden with `__`:

.
foo__bar__
.
<p>foo__bar__</p>
.

.
5__6__78
.
<p>5__6__78</p>
.

.
пристаням__стремятся__
.
<p>пристаням__стремятся__</p>
.

.
__foo, __bar__, baz__
.
<p><strong>foo, <strong>bar</strong>, baz</strong></p>
.

Rule 7:

This is not strong emphasis, because the closing delimiter is preceded
by whitespace:

.
**foo bar **
.
<p>**foo bar **</p>
.

(Nor can it be interpreted as an emphasized `*foo bar *`, because of
Rule 11.)

This is not strong emphasis, because the second `**` is
preceded by punctuation and followed by an alphanumeric:

.
**(**foo)
.
<p>**(**foo)</p>
.

The point of this restriction is more easily appreciated
with these examples:

.
*(**foo**)*
.
<p><em>(<strong>foo</strong>)</em></p>
.

.
**Gomphocarpus (*Gomphocarpus physocarpus*, syn.
*Asclepias physocarpa*)**
.
<p><strong>Gomphocarpus (<em>Gomphocarpus physocarpus</em>, syn.
<em>Asclepias physocarpa</em>)</strong></p>
.

.
**foo "*bar*" foo**
.
<p><strong>foo &quot;<em>bar</em>&quot; foo</strong></p>
.

Intraword emphasis:

.
**foo**bar
.
<p><strong>foo</strong>bar</p>
.

Rule 8:

This is not strong emphasis, because the closing delimiter is
preceded by whitespace:

.
__foo bar __
.
<p>__foo bar __</p>
.

This is not strong emphasis, because the second `__` is
preceded by punctuation and followed by an alphanumeric:

.
__(__foo)
.
<p>__(__foo)</p>
.

The point of this restriction is more easily appreciated
with this example:

.
_(__foo__)_
.
<p><em>(<strong>foo</strong>)</em></p>
.

Intraword strong emphasis is forbidden with `__`:

.
__foo__bar
.
<p>__foo__bar</p>
.

.
__пристаням__стремятся
.
<p>__пристаням__стремятся</p>
.

.
__foo__bar__baz__
.
<p><strong>foo__bar__baz</strong></p>
.

Rule 9:

Any nonempty sequence of inline elements can be the contents of an
emphasized span.

.
*foo [bar](/url)*
.
<p><em>foo <a href="/url">bar</a></em></p>
.

.
*foo
bar*
.
<p><em>foo
bar</em></p>
.

In particular, emphasis and strong emphasis can be nested
inside emphasis:

.
_foo __bar__ baz_
.
<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</em></p>
.

.
_foo _bar_ baz_
.
<p><em>foo <em>bar</em> baz</em></p>
.

.
__foo_ bar_
.
<p><em><em>foo</em> bar</em></p>
.

.
*foo *bar**
.
<p><em>foo <em>bar</em></em></p>
.

.
*foo **bar** baz*
.
<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</em></p>
.

But note:

.
*foo**bar**baz*
.
<p><em>foo</em><em>bar</em><em>baz</em></p>
.

The difference is that in the preceding case, the internal delimiters
[can close emphasis], while in the cases with spaces, they cannot.

.
***foo** bar*
.
<p><em><strong>foo</strong> bar</em></p>
.

.
*foo **bar***
.
<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong></em></p>
.

Note, however, that in the following case we get no strong
emphasis, because the opening delimiter is closed by the first
`*` before `bar`:

.
*foo**bar***
.
<p><em>foo</em><em>bar</em>**</p>
.


Indefinite levels of nesting are possible:

.
*foo **bar *baz* bim** bop*
.
<p><em>foo <strong>bar <em>baz</em> bim</strong> bop</em></p>
.

.
*foo [*bar*](/url)*
.
<p><em>foo <a href="/url"><em>bar</em></a></em></p>
.

There can be no empty emphasis or strong emphasis:

.
** is not an empty emphasis
.
<p>** is not an empty emphasis</p>
.

.
**** is not an empty strong emphasis
.
<p>**** is not an empty strong emphasis</p>
.


Rule 10:

Any nonempty sequence of inline elements can be the contents of an
strongly emphasized span.

.