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Add a prefix to list items

Paste a list and get every line back with a prefix on the front. Four modes: Plain (any fixed text), Numbered (`1. `, `2. `, …), Lettered (`A. `, `B. `, …), or Task (`- [ ] ` Markdown task list style).

Input
Ready
Output
Live
swap_horiz Need the reverse? Remove Prefixes arrow_forward Add Suffix

Four prefix styles for different uses

Plain style prepends the text you type in the Prefix field verbatim. Default is `- ` (dash-space) for a quick Markdown-style bullet, but it can be any text: a category label (`TODO: `), a speaker tag (`Alice: `), or wrapping punctuation (`• `, `→ `).

Numbered style auto-increments a counter with `N. ` format. Start-at controls where counting begins. Lettered style uses Excel column-letter labels - `A, B, …, Z, AA, AB`. Both ignore the Prefix field.

Task style produces a Markdown task-list item: `- [ ] task text`. Every renderer that supports GitHub-flavoured Markdown tables these as interactive checkboxes.

How to use add a prefix to list items

  1. 1Paste your list into the input panel
  2. 2Pick Style: Plain (default), Numbered, Lettered, or Task
  3. 3For Plain, type the text in the Prefix field
  4. 4For Numbered / Lettered, Start at controls where counting begins
  5. 5Task style ignores Prefix and Start at - it always emits `- [ ] ` per line

Keyboard shortcuts

Drive ListShift without touching the mouse.

Shortcut Action
Ctrl ZUndo last input change
Ctrl Shift ZRedo
Ctrl Shift EnterToggle fullscreen focus on the editor
EscExit fullscreen
Ctrl KOpen the command palette to jump to any tool
Ctrl SSave current pipeline draft Plus
Ctrl PRun a saved pipeline Plus

What this tool actually does

Four styles, two shaping fields.

Plain style - any fixed-text prefix

Whatever you type in the Prefix field goes on the front of every line. Default `- ` gives a Markdown bullet; use `TODO: `, `> `, `• `, emoji, anything.

Numbered style with custom start

`1. `, `2. `, `3. ` sequentially. Start at changes the first number. Prefix field is ignored.

Lettered style with Excel columns

`A. `, `B. `, …, `Z. `, `AA. `, `AB. ` - the same convention as Excel column labels. Start at 1 gives A; at 2 gives B; at 27 gives AA.

Task style - Markdown checkbox

Every line gets `- [ ] ` prepended. GitHub, GitLab, Obsidian, and most Markdown renderers turn this into an interactive checkbox.

One prefix per line (all items)

Unlike Add counters, this tool prefixes every line including blanks (they get `- [ ] ` or `1. ` as if they were items). Skip empties first with Remove empty if that is not what you want.

Worked example

Default Plain style with prefix `- `.

Input
Write docs
Review PR
Deploy
Output
- Write docs
- Review PR
- Deploy

Settings reference

How each style shapes the output using the sample above.

Setting What it does Effect on the sample
Style: Plain, Prefix: `- ` (default) Prepends the text in the Prefix field verbatim `- Write docs` / `- Review PR` / `- Deploy`
Style: Plain, Prefix: `TODO: ` Any text works as the prefix `TODO: Write docs` / `TODO: Review PR` / ...
Style: Numbered, Start at: 1 Auto-incrementing `N. ` counter `1. Write docs` / `2. Review PR` / `3. Deploy`
Style: Lettered, Start at: 1 Excel column-letter labels `A. Write docs` / `B. Review PR` / `C. Deploy`
Style: Task Markdown task-list checkbox `- [ ] Write docs` / `- [ ] Review PR` / `- [ ] Deploy`

FAQ

What is the difference between Add a prefix and Add counters?
Add a prefix offers four styles including fixed-text plain prefix, Markdown task checkboxes, and Excel-style letter labels. Add counters focuses on numeric/Roman/letter counters with zero-padding and reverse-order options. Pick by which feature set fits.
Do blank lines get a prefix too?
Yes - every line gets one, including blanks, and Numbered / Lettered styles increment per line (blanks consume a number). So `Apple / (blank) / Orange` becomes `1. Apple / 2. (just "2. ") / 3. Orange`. If you want blanks skipped and the counter kept contiguous, use Add counters instead, or run Remove empty first.
Can I add lowercase letters (`a., b., c.`)?
Not directly - Lettered style is uppercase only. Run the output through lowercase to convert.
How do I remove these prefixes later?
Use Remove counters for numeric / lettered prefixes. For custom Plain-style prefixes, use Remove prefix or Replace with an empty replacement.
Does Task style really produce working checkboxes?
The output is the Markdown syntax for a task-list item. Whether it renders as an interactive checkbox depends on the viewer - GitHub, GitLab, Obsidian, and most modern Markdown renderers do; plain Markdown-to-HTML converters usually do not.

Also known as

prepend to list items list item prefix prefix list tool add text before list prefix for list items list prefixing prepend text list list prefix online

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