diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index d62581a..f2acb7b 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@coderoad/cli",
-  "version": "0.4.1",
+  "version": "0.4.2",
   "lockfileVersion": 1,
   "requires": true,
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c58f867..7d1f14d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@coderoad/cli",
-  "version": "0.4.1",
+  "version": "0.4.2",
   "description": "A CLI to build the configuration file for Coderoad Tutorials",
   "keywords": [
     "coderoad",
diff --git a/src/utils/parse.ts b/src/utils/parse.ts
index 0b6ec1f..c53bf73 100644
--- a/src/utils/parse.ts
+++ b/src/utils/parse.ts
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ export function parse(params: ParseParams): any {
         // add level step commits
         const { steps, ...configLevelProps } = configLevel;
         level = { ...configLevelProps, ...level };
+
         if (steps) {
           steps.forEach((step: T.Step, index: number) => {
             try {
@@ -151,12 +152,14 @@ export function parse(params: ParseParams): any {
               };
 
               const stepSetupKey = `${step.id}:T`;
+
+              if (!step?.setup) {
+                step.setup = {};
+              }
+              if (!step.setup.commits) {
+                step.setup.commits = [];
+              }
               if (params.commits[stepSetupKey]) {
-                if (!step.setup) {
-                  step.setup = {
-                    commits: [],
-                  };
-                }
                 step.setup.commits = params.commits[stepSetupKey];
               }
 
diff --git a/src/utils/validateMarkdown.ts b/src/utils/validateMarkdown.ts
index 9933c67..6703786 100644
--- a/src/utils/validateMarkdown.ts
+++ b/src/utils/validateMarkdown.ts
@@ -53,16 +53,17 @@ const codeBlockRegex = /```[a-z]*\n[\s\S]*?\n```/gm;
 
 export function validateMarkdown(md: string): boolean {
   // remove codeblocks which might contain any valid combinations
-  const text = md.replace(codeBlockRegex, "");
+  // trim white space
+  const text = md.replace(codeBlockRegex, "").trim();
 
   let valid = true;
 
   for (const v of validations) {
     if (!v.validate(text)) {
       valid = false;
-      // if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "test") {
-      console.warn(v.message);
-      // }
+      if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "test") {
+        console.warn(v.message);
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/markdown.test.ts b/tests/markdown.test.ts
index 0ab15bf..4606551 100644
--- a/tests/markdown.test.ts
+++ b/tests/markdown.test.ts
@@ -132,4 +132,26 @@ Should not be an issue
 First Step`;
     expect(validateMarkdown(md)).toBe(true);
   });
+  it("should ignore empty space at the top", () => {
+    const md = `
+
+# Title
+
+Description.`;
+    expect(validateMarkdown(md)).toBe(true);
+  });
+  it("should ignore empty space at the bottom", () => {
+    const md = `
+
+# Title
+
+Description.
+
+
+
+
+
+`;
+    expect(validateMarkdown(md)).toBe(true);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/tests/parse.test.ts b/tests/parse.test.ts
index a24bfc7..6139dbc 100644
--- a/tests/parse.test.ts
+++ b/tests/parse.test.ts
@@ -786,6 +786,55 @@ The first step
       };
       expect(result.levels).toEqual(expected.levels);
     });
+    it("should load no commits if none found for a step", () => {
+      const md = `# Title
+    
+Description.
+
+## 1. Title
+
+First line
+
+### 1.1
+
+The first step
+`;
+      const skeleton = {
+        levels: [
+          {
+            id: "1",
+            steps: [{ id: "1" }],
+          },
+        ],
+      };
+      const result = parse({
+        text: md,
+        skeleton,
+        commits: {},
+      });
+      const expected = {
+        summary: {
+          description: "Description.",
+        },
+        levels: [
+          {
+            id: "1",
+            summary: "First line",
+            content: "First line",
+            steps: [
+              {
+                id: "1.1",
+                content: "The first step",
+                setup: {
+                  commits: [],
+                },
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      };
+      expect(result.levels[0].steps[0]).toEqual(expected.levels[0].steps[0]);
+    });
   });
 
   describe("config", () => {