dl-list-markdown

📘 日本語版はこちら → README-ja.md

A monorepo for colon-based definition list support across Markdown tooling.

This project provides:

• A markdown-it plugin for parsing and rendering definition lists
• A VS Code extension that enables definition lists in Markdown Preview

The syntax is inspired by Pandoc-style definition lists and focuses on clarity, minimalism, and compatibility.

Definition list syntax

: Term
    : Definition

Renders as:

<dl>
  <dt>Term</dt>
  <dd>Definition</dd>
</dl>

Packages

markdown-it-dl-list

A markdown-it plugin that adds support for colon-based definition lists using <dl>, <dt>, and <dd>.

• Designed for use in markdown-it pipelines
• Supports multiple definitions, dt-only entries, multiline terms, and nesting
• Intended for libraries, static site generators, and preview engines

📦 npm: markdown-it-dl-list 📄 Docs: packages/markdown-it-dl-list/README.md

vscode-dl-list-preview

A VS Code extension that enables colon-based definition lists in the built-in Markdown Preview.

• Injects the markdown-it plugin into VS Code’s preview pipeline
• Preview-only (does not modify editor behavior)
• Lightweight and configuration-driven

🧩 VS Code Extension: DL List Preview (colon-based) 📄 Docs: packages/vscode-dl-list-preview/README.md

Repository structure

dl-list-markdown/
├─ packages/
│  ├─ markdown-it-dl-list/
│  └─ vscode-dl-list-preview/
├─ README.md
├─ README-ja.md
└─ pnpm-workspace.yaml

Development

This repository uses pnpm workspaces.

Install dependencies

pnpm install

Build all packages

pnpm build

Build individual packages

pnpm --filter markdown-it-dl-list build
pnpm --filter vscode-dl-list-preview build

Design goals

• Simple, readable syntax
• Clear separation between parsing and rendering
• Minimal interference with existing Markdown behavior
• Tooling-agnostic core logic

This project intentionally avoids supporting every existing definition list dialect, favoring a small and predictable feature set.

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© 2026 Yohei Kanamura Released under the MIT License.