---
description: 'Markdown guidelines and content creation standards for blog posts'
applyTo: '**/*.md'
---

# Markdown Content Rules

The following markdown content rules are enforced in the validators:

1. **Headings**: Use appropriate heading levels (H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content. Do not use an H1 heading, as this will be generated based on the title.
2. **Lists**: Use bullet points or numbered lists for lists. Ensure proper indentation and spacing.
3. **Code Blocks**: Use fenced code blocks for code snippets. Specify the language for syntax highlighting.
4. **Links**: Use proper markdown syntax for links. Ensure that links are valid and accessible.
5. **Images**: Use proper markdown syntax for images. Include alt text for accessibility.
6. **Tables**: Use markdown tables for tabular data. Ensure proper formatting and alignment.
7. **Line Length**: Limit line length to 400 characters for readability.
8. **Whitespace**: Use appropriate whitespace to separate sections and improve readability.
9. **Front Matter**: Include YAML front matter at the beginning of the file with required metadata fields.

## Formatting and Structure

Follow these guidelines for formatting and structuring your markdown content:

- **Headings**: Use `##` for H2 and `###` for H3. Ensure that headings are used in a hierarchical manner. Recommend restructuring if content includes H4, and more strongly recommend for H5.
- **Lists**: Use `-` for bullet points and `1.` for numbered lists. Indent nested lists with two spaces.
- **Code Blocks**: Use triple backticks (```) to create fenced code blocks. Specify the language after the opening backticks for syntax highlighting (e.g., `csharp`).
- **Links**: Use `[link text](URL)` for links. Ensure that the link text is descriptive and the URL is valid.
- **Images**: Use `![alt text](image URL)` for images. Include a brief description of the image in the alt text.
- **Tables**: Use `|` to create tables. Ensure that columns are properly aligned and headers are included.
- **Line Length**: Break lines at 80 characters to improve readability. Use soft line breaks for long paragraphs.
- **Whitespace**: Use blank lines to separate sections and improve readability. Avoid excessive whitespace.

## Validation Checklist

Ensure compliance with the following validation requirements:

### Front Matter

- [ ] `post_title`: The title of the post.
- [ ] `author1`: The primary author of the post.
- [ ] `post_slug`: The URL slug for the post.
- [ ] `microsoft_alias`: The Microsoft alias of the author.
- [ ] `featured_image`: The URL of the featured image.
- [ ] `categories`: The categories for the post. These categories must be from the list in /categories.txt.
- [ ] `tags`: The tags for the post.
- [ ] `ai_note`: Indicate if AI was used in the creation of the post.
- [ ] `summary`: A brief summary of the post. Recommend a summary based on the content when possible.
- [ ] `post_date`: The publication date of the post.

### Content and Formatting

- [ ] Content follows the markdown content rules specified above.
- [ ] Content is properly formatted and structured according to the guidelines.
- [ ] Validation tools have been run to check for compliance with the rules and guidelines.
