Write Markdown

Purpose

Write and revise Markdown in a clean, consistent style.

When to use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• Draft or edit Markdown documents
• Improve formatting for headings, lists, code blocks, tables, or links

Non-goals

• Do not impose a new house style without user or repository guidance.
• Do not copy bundled assets into a repository as templates.
• Do not run markdownlint-cli2 --fix unless the user explicitly asks to run markdownlint-cli2 --fix.

Bundled resources

Use bundled resources as read-only references.

• Use assets/.markdownlint.jsonc to review available rule names and options.
• Use assets/markdownlint-config-schema.json and assets/markdownlint-config-schema-strict.json to validate configuration structure and allowed values.
• Use scripts/markdownlint-cli2.sh to run optional verification when markdownlint-cli2 is available.

Do not copy these files into a repository unless the user explicitly requests it.

Default writing guidance

Follow repository conventions when they exist. Otherwise, apply these defaults.

Headings and sections

• Use a single top-level title.
• Do not skip heading levels.
• Surround headings with blank lines.

See references/headings-and-sections.md.

Lists and indentation

• Use a consistent list marker style.
• Keep indentation consistent for nested lists.
• Surround lists with blank lines when mixed with paragraphs.

See references/lists-and-indentation.md.

Code blocks and code spans

• Prefer fenced code blocks.
• Add a language tag when known.
• Surround fenced code blocks with blank lines.
• Keep inline code spans tight.

See references/code-blocks-and-code-spans.md.

Links and images

• Use descriptive link text.
• Avoid empty links.
• Provide alt text for images.
• Keep link style consistent.

See references/links-and-images.md.

Tables

• Keep table column counts consistent.
• Surround tables with blank lines.

See references/tables.md.

Whitespace and newlines

• Avoid trailing spaces and hard tabs.
• Avoid multiple consecutive blank lines.
• End files with a single newline.

See references/whitespace-and-newlines.md.

Other formatting

• Use blockquotes consistently.

  See references/blockquotes.md.

• Use emphasis and strong consistently.

  See references/emphasis-and-strong.md.

• Use horizontal rules consistently.

  See references/horizontal-rules.md.

• Use inline HTML only when necessary.

  See references/inline-html.md.

• Keep line length and shell transcripts readable.

  See references/line-length-and-shell-transcripts.md.

• Capitalize proper names consistently.

  See references/proper-names.md.

Optional verification

If markdownlint-cli2 is available, run it after writing or editing.

• Quote glob arguments for cross-platform compatibility.
• Prefer # negation patterns for directories such as node_modules.

Example command:

scripts/markdownlint-cli2.sh "**/*.md" "#node_modules"

See references/lint-verification.md.

Reporting verification results

When verification runs:

• Summarize which files failed.
• List rule ids that were reported.
• Suggest minimal edits.

If verification cannot run, provide a command the user can run locally.