Sphinx: Resume list numbering after a note section

Question

Consider the following list in ReStructuredText:

Broken list example
-------------------

#. First do spam
#. Then do ``eggs``

  .. note::

    Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisistion

#. The list restarts after the note

When the list is compiled in Sphinx, the number after the note are reset to 1:

Any idea how to continue the numbered list after a note section?

Answer 1

The discontinuity of the list is caused by the note being a standalone element, not a child of the second numbered list element. To prevent the discontinuity of the list, start the note directive at the same indentation (in this case, 3 spaces) as the the text of the intended parent numbered list element. So instead of your sample reStructuredText, try this:

Fixed list example
------------------

#. First do spam
#. Then do ``eggs``

   .. note::

      Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisistion

#. Then do spam and ``eggs``.

This is one of those things about reStructuredText that's neither easy to spot, nor particularly well documented; see this question on nested lists for a closely-related problem.