MD031 - blanks-around-fences

Description

This rule enforces blank lines around fenced code blocks. It triggers when code fences are not preceded or followed by blank lines. The first code fence in a document does not require a blank line above, and a code fence at the end of a document does not require a blank line below. Set list_items to false to disable this rule for code fences inside list items. This can be useful when creating tight lists containing code fences.

Rationale

Some parsers require a blank line before fenced code blocks when they follow a paragraph, or the fence may be treated as literal text. Consistent spacing around code blocks also improves readability.

Configuration

list_items

Whether to check code fences inside list items.

• Default: true

Examples

Invalid

Some text here.
```python
def hello():
    print("Hello!")
```
Some more text here.

Valid

Some text here.

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello!")
```

Some more text here.