DL List Preview (colon-based)

Adds colon-based definition list support to VS Code’s built-in Markdown Preview.

This extension enables <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> rendering using a simple, Pandoc-inspired colon syntax.

Features

• Colon-based definition list syntax
• Renders <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> in Markdown Preview
• Supports:
  • Multiple definitions per term
  • Term-only entries (dt-only)
  • Multiline terms
  • Nested definition lists
• Integrates with VS Code’s built-in Markdown Preview
• No commands, no editor modifications — preview only

Syntax

Basic definition list

: Term
    : Definition

Preview output:

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

Multiple definitions

: Term
    : First definition
    : Second definition

Term-only (dt-only)

A term without definitions is allowed only when followed by a blank line or EOF.

: Term only

Next paragraph.

Multiline terms

Indented lines following a term are treated as part of the same term.

: This is a
  multiline term
    : Definition

Nested definition lists

: Outer term
    : : Inner term
          : Inner definition
    : Next definition

Configuration

This extension provides the following setting:

dlListPreview.ddIndent

Indentation (number of spaces) required for definition (dd) lines.

• Type: number
• Default: 4
• Minimum: 1
• Maximum: 12

Example:

{
  "dlListPreview.ddIndent": 2
}

How it works

This extension injects a custom markdown-it plugin into VS Code’s Markdown Preview pipeline.

It does not:

• Modify Markdown source files
• Add editor commands
• Affect non-Markdown files

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85.0 or later
• Markdown Preview (built-in)

No additional dependencies are required.

Known limitations

• This extension affects preview rendering only
• Exported HTML (e.g. via other tools) depends on their Markdown engine
• Syntax support is intentionally conservative and focused

License

MIT