Lists

Four markers, all at the start of a line:

* bulleted
# numbered
: indented
; definition term

Nesting

Repeat the markers — one character per level, and types can be mixed:

* fruit
** apples
** pears
# step one
#* a note under step one
# step two

Definition lists

A term and its definition can share a line, split at the first colon:

; parser : the thing that turns wikitext into HTML

Later colons stay in the definition text. A ; line without a colon renders just the term.

The rules that bite

• A blank line ends the list. Two bullets separated by a blank line are two separate lists (and the numbering of a # list restarts).
• Any line starting with *, #, : or ; is a list item — writing **emphasis** Markdown-style at the start of a line gives you a two-level bullet, not bold text. Use '''bold''' instead, or escape.
• Keep prefix families consistent while nesting (* under *, #* under #): jumping between unrelated prefixes at deep levels can produce oddly structured HTML.