# MD010 - Use spaces instead of tabs

Aliases: `no-hard-tabs`

## What this rule does

Replaces tab characters with spaces to ensure consistent indentation across all editors and platforms.

## Why this matters

- **Consistency**: Tabs display differently in different editors (2, 4, or 8 spaces wide)
- **Team collaboration**: Mixed tabs and spaces create confusing indentation and merge conflicts
- **Tool compatibility**: Many Markdown tools and platforms expect spaces for proper formatting
- **Readability**: Consistent spacing makes documents easier to read and maintain

## Examples

### ✅ Correct

```markdown
* Shopping list
    * Fruits
        * Apples
        * Bananas
    * Vegetables
        * Carrots
        * Broccoli

    Remember to check for freshness!
```

### ❌ Incorrect

> `→` represents a hard tab character.

```markdown
* Shopping list
→* Fruits
→→* Apples
→→* Bananas
→* Vegetables
→→* Carrots
→→* Broccoli

→Remember to check for freshness!
```

### 🔧 Fixed

```markdown
* Shopping list
    * Fruits
        * Apples
        * Bananas
    * Vegetables
        * Carrots
        * Broccoli

    Remember to check for freshness!
```

## Configuration

```toml
[MD010]
spaces-per-tab = 4  # Number of spaces to replace each tab with (default: 4)
```

### Configuration options explained

- `spaces-per-tab`: How many spaces to use when replacing each tab character

## Automatic fixes

This rule automatically replaces each tab character with the configured number of spaces (default: 4). This ensures your document looks the same in every editor.

## Learn more

- [CommonMark specification](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#tabs) - Technical details about tab handling

## Related rules

- [MD009](md009.md) - Remove trailing spaces
- [MD007](md007.md) - Keep list indentation consistent
- [MD005](md005.md) - Keep list indentation consistent
