# MD006 - Consider starting bulleted lists at the beginning of the line
## Description
This rule verifies that top-level unordered list items (bullet points) start at the beginning of the line, without indentation.
Nested list items should be properly indented (typically with 2 or more spaces), but top-level items should not be indented at all.
This rule helps ensure consistent formatting of lists throughout a document, making them easier to read and maintain.
Using proper indentation helps clearly distinguish between top-level list items and their nested child items.
## Configuration
This rule has no configurable options. It always enforces that top-level list items start at the beginning of the line.
## Examples
### Valid
```markdown
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Nested item
* Another nested item
* Item 3
```
In this example, all top-level bullet points (`*`) start at the beginning of the line, and nested items are indented with 2 spaces.
```markdown
* Item 1
* Nested item
* Item 2
- Another item
- Nested item
- Final item
```
This example demonstrates consistent formatting with multiple list styles. Top-level bullets start at the beginning of the line regardless of whether `*` or `-` is used.
### Invalid
```markdown
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Nested item
* Item 3
```
This is invalid because all top-level list items are indented with 2 spaces. The fix would be to remove the indentation:
```markdown
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Nested item
* Item 3
```
### Fixed
The rule will automatically fix incorrectly indented top-level list items by removing the leading whitespace:
Before:
```markdown
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Nested item
* Item 3
```
After:
```markdown
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Nested item
* Item 3
```
## Special Cases
This rule only applies to unordered lists (those marked with `*`, `-`, or `+`). It doesn't apply to ordered lists (marked with numbers).
When multiple lists appear in the same document separated by other content, each list is evaluated independently:
```markdown
* First list item
* Second list item
Some text here
* Indented list 1
* Indented list 2
```
<!-- markdownlint-enable -->
The second list would trigger warnings because the items are indented.
## Related Rules
- [MD005 - List indentation](md005.md): Ensures consistent indentation for list items at the same level.
- [MD004 - Unordered list style](md004.md): Ensures consistent use of list marker style (asterisk, plus, or hyphen).
- [MD007 - Unordered list indentation](md007.md): Verifies that nested list items are indented by a certain number of spaces.