I have a GitHub repo with just a README file. When I wrote the following content locally:
Fun facts:
- There are roughly six methods to accomplish tasks in MyProject.
- You can actually create loops in six distinct ways.
- Six navigation commands and six input/output operations exist.
- 777. lol.
Pay attention to that final line. However, GitHub’s rendered version shows something completely different instead of displaying 777. It appears as DCCLXXVII, which is the Roman numeral equivalent of 777.
This behavior really surprised me. Both my local README file and the raw version on GitHub clearly contain 777 in regular digits. But when GitHub renders the Markdown, it automatically transforms it to Roman numerals.
Why does GitHub do this conversion? Is this some kind of hidden feature or just a weird bug? Also, the formatting of my bullet points looks strange in the rendered output.
This happens because Markdown thinks 777. is starting an ordered list. GitHub’s renderer sees any number + period and assumes you want a list item, which gets messy when you mix it with dashes. Stick to one format - either all bullets or all numbers. If you need to keep ‘777.’ as regular text, just escape the period: 777\. That’ll stop Markdown from treating it like a list.
This issue is common among those learning GitHub Markdown. When you use 777. at the end of your bullet points, Markdown interprets this as an ordered list, leading to the conversion into Roman numerals. To resolve this confusion, you can escape the period with a backslash: 777\.. I have encountered this scenario frequently, and this method effectively prevents Markdown from misinterpreting your text formatting.
markdown parsers can be tricky! when you mix bullets and numbers, it can confuse the renderer and see 777. as a list item, converting it to roman numerals. just escape the period with a backslash: 777\. and you’ll be set!
The Roman numeral conversion isn’t happening - you’re just seeing GitHub’s Markdown parser interpret 777. as an ordered list item. Since you’ve mixed it with bullet points above, the renderer gets confused about numbering and tries to continue some logical sequence from your mixed formatting. I’ve hit this same issue when accidentally mixing bullets with numbered items in one block. Fix it by either keeping consistent formatting throughout or escaping the period with a backslash like 777\. so it won’t trigger list parsing.
GitHub’s not doing Roman numeral conversion - this is just Markdown being weird with mixed lists. When you put 777. after bullet points, Markdown thinks it’s part of an ordered list and renumbers it. The DCCLXXVII you’re seeing is GitHub’s parser trying to handle the mixed formatting. I’ve hit this same issue when mixing bullet points and numbered lists in the same block. Easy fix: either escape the period with 777\. or add a line break between your content so the parser doesn’t group everything together.