md031.md

MD031 - Fenced code blocks should be surrounded by blank lines

Tags: blank_lines, code

Aliases: blanks-around-fences

Parameters:

• list_items: Include list items (boolean, default true)

Fixable: Some violations can be fixed by tooling

This rule is triggered when fenced code blocks are either not preceded or not followed by a blank line:

Some text
```
Code block
```

```
Another code block
```
Some more text

To fix this, ensure that all fenced code blocks have a blank line both before and after (except where the block is at the beginning or end of the document):

Some text

```
Code block
```

```
Another code block
```

Some more text

Set the list_items parameter to false to disable this rule for list items. Disabling this behavior for lists can be useful if it is necessary to create a tight list containing a code fence.

Rationale: Aside from aesthetic reasons, some parsers, including kramdown, will not parse fenced code blocks that don't have blank lines before and after them.