diff --git a/app/globals.css b/app/globals.css
index 015d5db..b4ebb18 100644
--- a/app/globals.css
+++ b/app/globals.css
@@ -628,7 +628,6 @@ header select option {
 .message.assistant .role { color: var(--green); }
 
 .content {
-  white-space: pre-wrap;
   word-break: break-word;
   min-width: 0;
 }
@@ -919,13 +918,25 @@ header select option {
 }
 
 /* ── markdown content ── */
-.content p          { margin: 0 0 0.75em; }
+.content p,
+.content li,
+.content blockquote,
+.content h1,
+.content h2,
+.content h3,
+.content h4,
+.content h5,
+.content h6 {
+  white-space: pre-wrap;
+}
+
+.content p          { margin: 0 0 0.55em; }
 .content p:last-child { margin-bottom: 0; }
 
 .content h1, .content h2, .content h3,
 .content h4, .content h5, .content h6 {
   color: var(--green);
-  margin: 1em 0 0.4em;
+  margin: 0.8em 0 0.3em;
   font-weight: bold;
   line-height: 1.3;
 }
@@ -933,14 +944,15 @@ header select option {
 .content h2 { font-size: 1.15em; }
 .content h3 { font-size: 1.05em; }
 
-.content ul { margin: 0.5em 0 0.75em 0; padding-left: 1.5em; }
-.content ol { margin: 0.5em 0 0.75em 0; padding-left: 2.5em; }
-.content li { margin-bottom: 0.2em; }
+.content ul { margin: 0.3em 0 0.5em 0; padding-left: 1.5em; }
+.content ol { margin: 0.3em 0 0.5em 0; padding-left: 2.5em; }
+.content li { margin-bottom: 0.1em; }
+.content li > p { margin: 0; }
 
 .content blockquote {
   border-left: 2px solid var(--dim);
   padding-left: 12px;
-  margin: 0.5em 0;
+  margin: 0.35em 0;
   color: var(--dim);
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/unit.test.ts b/tests/unit.test.ts
index 13c88bd..6a3592d 100644
--- a/tests/unit.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit.test.ts
@@ -1033,6 +1033,21 @@ test('mobile header actions move onto their own wrapped row before they overflow
   );
 });
 
+test('markdown content spacing stays tight around paragraphs and lists', () => {
+  const cssSource = readFileSync(join(import.meta.dirname, '../app/globals.css'), 'utf8');
+  assert.ok(
+    cssSource.includes('.content {\n  word-break: break-word;') &&
+      !cssSource.includes('.content {\n  white-space: pre-wrap;'),
+    'the outer markdown content wrapper should not preserve raw whitespace between block elements',
+  );
+  assert.ok(
+    cssSource.includes('.content li > p { margin: 0; }') &&
+      cssSource.includes('.content ul { margin: 0.3em 0 0.5em 0; padding-left: 1.5em; }') &&
+      cssSource.includes('.content ol { margin: 0.3em 0 0.5em 0; padding-left: 2.5em; }'),
+    'lists should use tighter margins and remove paragraph spacing inside list items',
+  );
+});
+
 // ── settings validation ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 test('validateSettingsRequest: validates and defaults girlMode and font', () => {