# MD075 - Orphaned table rows / headerless tables
Aliases: `orphaned-table-rows`
## What this rule does
Detects pipe-formatted rows that won't render as part of a GFM table. It catches two cases:
1. **Orphaned rows** separated from a preceding table by accidental blank lines
2. **Headerless pipe content** that looks like a table but lacks the required header/delimiter structure
## Why this matters
- **Broken rendering**: Rows separated from a table by blank lines render as plain text, not as table cells
- **Missing structure**: Pipe-formatted rows without a header/delimiter never render as a table
- **Likely accidental**: These patterns almost always indicate a formatting mistake
## Examples
### Case 1: Orphaned rows (auto-fixable)
#### Incorrect
```markdown
| `consistent` | Default style |
```
The blank line causes `fenced` and `indented` rows to render as plain text.
#### Fixed
```markdown
| `consistent` | Default style |
| `fenced` | Fenced style |
| `indented` | Indented style |
```
### Case 2: Headerless pipe content (warn only)
#### Incorrect
```markdown
Some text.
More text.
```
These rows have no header or delimiter row, so they won't render as a table.
#### Correct
```markdown
Some text.
| value1 | description1 |
| value2 | description2 |
More text.
```
## Configuration
This rule has no configuration options.
## Automatic fixes
This rule can automatically fix **Case 1** (orphaned rows) by:
- removing the blank lines between the table and orphaned rows
- merging them into a single table
- normalizing spacing/alignment for the merged table block
**Case 2** (headerless pipe content) cannot be auto-fixed because the correct header text is unknown.
## Learn more
- [GitHub Flavored Markdown: Tables](https://github.github.com/gfm/#tables-extension-)
- [Markdown Guide: Tables](https://www.markdownguide.org/extended-syntax/#tables)
## Related rules
- [MD055 - Keep table formatting consistent](md055.md)
- [MD056 - Keep table column count consistent](md056.md)
- [MD058 - Add blank lines around tables](md058.md)