Marker reference

Read the context column as part of each rule. The same visible text can be interpreted differently inside a speech and outside it.

Marker or form	Context	Meaning	Details
--- fences	Exact first line and matching closing line	YAML metadata	Frontmatter
# text	Column one, outside speech	Scene without ## in the body; Act when ## is present	Acts and scenes
## text	Column one, outside speech	Scene; also selects the file’s act/scene heading mode	Acts and scenes
Uppercase name	Outside speech, after higher-priority rules	Character cue	Cue forms
@name	Recognizable cue outside speech	Forced Character cue	Cue forms
"name"	Recognizable cue outside speech	Quoted Character cue	Quoted literals
/	Between cue names, outside quotes	Shared cue separator	Cue forms
CUE: text	Outside speech; recognizable cue prefix, with a quoted-name caveat	Character followed by Dialogue on that line	Inline cues
!text	Column one	Forced Stage direction; retains speech context if active	Forced action
@Name or @"Name"	Inline text	Character reference; bare names run to whitespace	Character references
(text)	Whole trimmed line inside speech	Aside, with outer parentheses removed	Speech context
(text)	Whole trimmed line outside speech	Stage direction, with parentheses retained	Parenthetical action
[[ text ]]	Whole trimmed line outside speech	Author Note	Author notes
@@music N "title"	Stage direction content	Music start; mode resolved by following markers	Music and lyrics
@@out N or @@out	Stage direction content	Numbered or unnumbered music ending	Music endings
Start then matching pure out block	Adjacent parsed blocks	Hit; intervening blank lines are allowed	Hits
Uppercase text	Inside speech; contains letters	Lyrics	Lyrics
Leading U+0009 tabs	Lyric text	Lyric-section level prefix	Tab levels
~	Whole trimmed line inside speech	Empty continuation of the last speech type	Soft breaks
Blank line	Body	End speech context; no new block	File model
*text*, **text**, _text_	Inline text	Italic, bold, underline	Inline marks
\", \\	Quoted name or title	Quote and backslash escapes	Quoted literals
\*, \_, \\	Ordinary inline text	Literal emphasis character or backslash	Escapes

For recognition precedence and current reader/writer limits, start with File model and interpretation. For a complete file, use Complete example.