fountain

name	fountain
description	Read, write, and edit screenplays in Fountain format (.fountain files). TRIGGER when: user opens, creates, or edits .fountain files, asks about screenplay formatting, or mentions Fountain syntax, scene headings, dialogue, action lines, transitions, or screenplay structure. DO NOT TRIGGER when: working with non-screenplay text files or general markdown.

Fountain Screenplay Format

You are an expert in the Fountain screenplay format. When working with .fountain files, follow the syntax rules below precisely. Fountain is a plain-text markup language for screenwriting.

Core Principle

When in doubt, Fountain treats text as Action. Any line that doesn't match another element's rules is rendered as action/description.

Elements

Scene Headings

A line that begins with INT, EXT, EST, INT./EXT, INT/EXT, or I/E (case-insensitive), followed by a dot or space. Must have a blank line before them.

INT. HOUSE - DAY

EXT. PARK - NIGHT

Forced scene heading: prefix with a single period (the period is not rendered). The next character must be alphanumeric (to avoid confusion with ... ellipsis).

.FLASHBACK - INT. CHILDHOOD HOME

Scene numbers: optional, at the end of the heading line, wrapped in #:

INT. HOUSE - DAY #1#
EXT. PARK - NIGHT #1A#
INT. OFFICE - MORNING #I-1-A#

Scene number content may contain letters, digits, hyphens, and periods.

Action

Any paragraph that doesn't match another element type. Respects intentional line breaks within the paragraph. Tabs and spaces are preserved.

Forced action: prefix with ! to prevent a line from being interpreted as another element (e.g., an all-caps line that should be action, not a character name):

!CREDITS ROLL

Centered action: wrap with > and <:

> THE END <

Character

An all-uppercase line with at least one letter, preceded by a blank line, and NOT followed by a blank line. The line immediately after a character name is dialogue.

STEEL
The man of few words.

Character extensions (V.O., O.S., CONT'D, etc.) go in parentheses on the same line:

STEEL (V.O.)
Thirty years ago...

Forced character: prefix with @ to allow mixed-case names:

@McCLANE
Yippee ki-yay.

Dialogue

Any text following a Character or Parenthetical element. Respects line breaks.

To include a blank line within dialogue (without ending the dialogue block), use two spaces on the otherwise empty line.

Parenthetical

A line wrapped in parentheses, following a Character or Dialogue element:

STEEL
(quietly)
I know.

Dual Dialogue

Add ^ after the second character name to place two dialogue blocks side by side:

BRICK
Screw you, Willy.

STEEL ^
Screw you right back.

Transition

An all-uppercase line ending in TO:, preceded and followed by blank lines:

CUT TO:

FADE TO:

Forced transition: prefix with > (without a closing <, which would make it centered text):

> Burn to White.

Lyrics

Lines prefixed with ~:

~Wanna know, wanna know
~Have you ever been mellow?

Page Breaks

Three or more consecutive equals signs on their own line:

===

Sections

Markdown-style headers for document structure. Not rendered in output -- used for organizational purposes only.

# Act One

## Sequence A

### Scene 1

Synopsis

Lines prefixed with = (note: three or more = is a page break, not a synopsis). Not rendered in output -- used for outlining.

= The hero arrives at the castle and meets the gatekeeper.

Emphasis (Inline Formatting)

Follows Markdown conventions, with underscore reserved for underline:

Syntax	Result
*italics*	italics
**bold**	bold
***bold italics***	bold italics
_underline_	underline

Combine freely: _**bold underline**_. Escape with backslash: \*not italic\*.

Notes

Enclosed in double brackets. Can appear inline or on their own line. Can span multiple lines (use two spaces on blank lines within a note to maintain continuity).

INT. HOUSE - DAY

The door opens. [[We need a better transition here.]]

[[
This is a multi-line note
that spans several lines.
]]

Boneyard

Text wrapped in /* */ is completely ignored. Can span multiple lines.

/* This scene was cut in revision 3.
INT. OLD OFFICE - NIGHT
JOHN enters cautiously.
*/

Title Page

Optional. Must be the very first thing in the file. Key-value pairs where multi-line values are indented with 3+ spaces or a tab:

Title: Big Fish
Credit: written by
Author: John August
Source: based on the novel by Daniel Wallace
Draft date: 1/18/2003
Contact:
   John August
   555-0100

Common keys: Title, Credit, Author, Source, Draft date, Contact, Copyright, Revision, Notes.

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Obsidian Fountain Plugin Extensions

When working with fountain files in the context of the Obsidian Fountain plugin, these additional features apply.

Margin Marks

Special notes with @ prefix that render as labels in the page margin:

The magician waves the wand. [[@effect]]
The audience gasps. [[@laugh]]

The marker word is alphanumeric with underscores, no spaces. Common uses:

• Performance cues: [[@lights]], [[@sound]], [[@music]], [[@effect]]
• Comedy beats: [[@setup]], [[@punchline]], [[@laugh]]

Todo Notes

Notes prefixed with todo: are rendered as todo items in the sidebar:

[[todo: Rewrite this scene to add more tension]]

Note Kinds

Notes can have a kind prefix before the colon:

[[todo: Fix this scene]]
[[research: Check historical accuracy]]
[[+Added in revision 3]]
[[-Removed for pacing]]

Cross-File Links

Notes prefixed with > are clickable links to other vault files:

See [[>act-two]] for the next sequence.
[[>characters/jane.md|Jane's bio]]

• Targets follow Obsidian's wiki-link conventions: with or without extension, basename or path. Resolution uses metadataCache.getFirstLinkpathDest.
• Optional display text follows a |. Without it, the target text is shown.
• Links work anywhere a note can appear — action, dialogue, parentheticals, synopsis, lyrics. They are tracked by an in-memory rename index, so renaming a target file rewrites references in every fountain file.
• In PDF export, the display text (or target) is rendered inline as plain text — there's no clickable PDF annotation.
• Because [[>...]] is syntactically a Fountain note, any standard Fountain tool that doesn't recognize the > kind will silently treat it as a comment.

External URLs and section anchors (e.g. [[>act-two#Scene 5]]) are not supported.

Snippets Section

A # Snippets heading at the end of the document marks the beginning of reusable content blocks. Individual snippets are separated by page breaks (===):

# Snippets

EXT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

The usual busy morning crowd.

===

WAITRESS
What can I get you today?

===

FADE TO BLACK:

Everything after # Snippets is treated as snippet content (even other section headers). Snippets appear in the sidebar and can be dragged into the script.

Boneyard Section

A # boneyard section header can be used to hide content at the end of the document. Content after this header can be toggled visible/hidden in the plugin. This is different from /* boneyard */ above, which is used to comment out parts of the screenplay. This here is meant as a place to move e.g. alternative parts of the script, if we are not ready to permanently delete them.

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Common Pitfalls

Accidental Character Names

An all-caps line after a blank line is a character name, not action:

The alarm goes off.

BANG

BANG here is treated as a character name. Use !BANG to force it to action. Note: only ! at the start of a line forces action — BOOM! is still a character name.

Forced Scene Heading vs Ellipsis

A line starting with . followed by a letter is a forced scene heading; ... is not:

.OPENING CREDITS    <- forced scene heading
...                 <- just action (ellipsis)

Centered Text vs Forced Transition

Both use >, but centered text has a closing <:

> FADE OUT.         <- forced transition (no closing <)
> THE END <         <- centered text (has closing <)

Empty Lines in Dialogue

A truly empty line ends a dialogue block. To keep dialogue going across a visual break, put two spaces on the otherwise-empty line.

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Writing Guidelines

When creating or editing fountain files:

1. Blank lines matter. They delimit elements. A missing blank line before a character name turns it into action.
2. Uppercase for characters. Character names in dialogue blocks must be ALL CAPS (or use @ for forced mixed-case).
3. Don't over-force. Only use forced elements (!, ., @, >) when the automatic rules don't produce the desired result.
4. Parentheticals are brief. Keep them to short acting directions, not full sentences.
5. Transitions are rare. Modern screenwriting uses very few explicit transitions. CUT TO: between every scene is outdated.
6. Use sections for structure. # Act One, ## Sequence A help organize without appearing in output.
7. Use synopsis for outlines. = Brief description lines are great for planning.