Why do my Markdown steps restart or lose their nesting?

Keep numbered steps on consecutive lines with a number, period and space before each item. Markdown Previewer starts a fresh numbered list after a blank line or other block, ignores the written starting number and flattens indentation. For substeps or longer explanations, use clearly labelled sections or separate paragraphs instead of relying on nested lists.

Open Markdown Previewer

Start with consecutive numbered lines

If instructions restart at 1 or substeps appear beside their parent, check the manuscript structure first. Markdown Previewer supports flat lists through a small parser. It does not implement the full range of list layouts you may use elsewhere. A list can render successfully while losing the hierarchy you intended.

For a short procedure, enter three consecutive lines: 1. Open the settings, 2. Choose the destination, and 3. Save the change. Put each step on its own line, with a space after the period. Keep the lines adjacent while checking The proof. The parser recognizes digits followed by a period and whitespace; a line such as 1) Open the settings does not become a numbered item.

Remove blank lines when the numbering should continue

A blank line closes the current list. If you write 1. Open the settings, leave an empty line, then write 2. Choose the destination, the proof contains two separate numbered lists. Each begins at 1. Remove that empty line when both items belong to one sequence.

The numbers written in the manuscript identify numbered items, but the parser does not carry them into the rendered list as starting values. Two adjacent lines beginning 7. and 8. therefore display as steps 1 and 2. Changing the second source number cannot repair a restart caused by a blank line. Fix the boundary instead.

For a procedure split into phases, decide whether each phase can sensibly begin again at 1. A heading followed by its own short list makes that structure explicit. If a later phase must visibly begin at step 7, this preview has no starting-number control.

Replace indentation with an explicit structure

Leading whitespace is accepted before a list marker, but it does not create a nested level. For example, put - Prepare the release on one line and two spaces followed by - Check the version on the next. Both become items in the same flat bulleted list. More spaces do not turn the second item into a child.

Mixing marker types also does not establish a parent-child relationship. A numbered item followed by an indented bullet closes the numbered list and opens a separate bulleted list. A later numbered item opens another numbered list, starting at 1 again. This can explain both lost nesting and unexpected restarts in the same draft.

For a short substep, include it in its parent item: 1. Prepare the release: check the version and confirm the destination. For several substeps, use a heading such as Prepare the release followed by a flat list. Choose a structure that names the relationship in words rather than depending on indentation.

Keep explanations outside the numbered sequence deliberately

An ordinary text line also closes the list, even when you indent it to look like a continuation paragraph. If step 1 is followed by a separate explanatory line and then step 2, the explanation becomes a paragraph and the next numbered list begins again at 1. This parser does not attach continuation paragraphs to list items.

Keep a brief explanation on the same source line as its step. For longer instructions, give each step a heading such as Step 2: Choose the destination and write normal paragraphs beneath it. That keeps the step label visible without asking the list parser to maintain a sequence across multiple blocks.

After restructuring, compare the manuscript and proof for the order and grouping you intended. Download .md saves the accepted source text, including its original numbers and indentation; it does not rewrite the file to match the displayed numbering. Check the saved source in its eventual destination if you need a particular list layout there.

AI-assisted ForgeHub editorial. App capabilities were checked against its implementation; this guide is not an independent review.