diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+## Changes in 0.39.0
+  - Handle multi-line values for the `description` field of `flags` (see #623) and other fields
+
 ## Changes in 0.38.3
   - Accept a list for `category` (see #624)
 
diff --git a/hpack.cabal b/hpack.cabal
--- a/hpack.cabal
+++ b/hpack.cabal
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 -- see: https://github.com/sol/hpack
 
 name:           hpack
-version:        0.38.3
+version:        0.39.0
 synopsis:       A modern format for Haskell packages
 description:    See README at <https://github.com/sol/hpack#readme>
 category:       Development
diff --git a/resources/test/hpack.cabal b/resources/test/hpack.cabal
--- a/resources/test/hpack.cabal
+++ b/resources/test/hpack.cabal
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 -- see: https://github.com/sol/hpack
 
 name:           hpack
-version:        0.38.3
+version:        0.39.0
 synopsis:       A modern format for Haskell packages
 description:    See README at <https://github.com/sol/hpack#readme>
 category:       Development
diff --git a/src/Hpack/Render.hs b/src/Hpack/Render.hs
--- a/src/Hpack/Render.hs
+++ b/src/Hpack/Render.hs
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
 , renderFlag
 , renderSourceRepository
 , renderDirectories
-, formatDescription
 #endif
 ) where
 
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@
 import           Hpack.Util
 import           Hpack.Config
 import           Hpack.Render.Hints
-import           Hpack.Render.Dsl hiding (sortFieldsBy)
+import           Hpack.Render.Dsl hiding (RenderSettings(..), defaultRenderSettings, sortFieldsBy)
 import qualified Hpack.Render.Dsl as Dsl
 
 data RenderEnv = RenderEnv {
@@ -65,18 +64,24 @@
 renderPackage :: [String] -> Package -> String
 renderPackage oldCabalFile = renderPackageWith settings headerFieldsAlignment formattingHintsFieldOrder formattingHintsSectionsFieldOrder
   where
-    FormattingHints{..} = sniffFormattingHints oldCabalFile
+    hints@FormattingHints{..} = sniffFormattingHints oldCabalFile
     headerFieldsAlignment = fromMaybe 16 formattingHintsAlignment
-    settings = formattingHintsRenderSettings
+    settings = formattingHintsRenderSettings hints
 
 renderPackageWith :: RenderSettings -> Alignment -> [String] -> [(String, [String])] -> Package -> String
-renderPackageWith settings headerFieldsAlignment existingFieldOrder sectionsFieldOrder Package{..} = intercalate "\n" (unlines header : chunks)
+renderPackageWith RenderSettings{..} headerFieldsAlignment existingFieldOrder sectionsFieldOrder Package{..} = intercalate "\n" (unlines header : chunks)
   where
+    settings :: Dsl.RenderSettings
+    settings = Dsl.RenderSettings {
+      renderSettingsEmptyLinesAsDot = packageCabalVersion < makeCabalVersion [3]
+    , ..
+    }
+
     chunks :: [String]
     chunks = map unlines . filter (not . null) . map (render settings 0) $ sortStanzaFields sectionsFieldOrder stanzas
 
     header :: [String]
-    header = concatMap (render settings {renderSettingsFieldAlignment = headerFieldsAlignment} 0) packageFields
+    header = concatMap (render settings {Dsl.renderSettingsFieldAlignment = headerFieldsAlignment} 0) packageFields
 
     packageFields :: [Element]
     packageFields = addVerbatim packageVerbatim . sortFieldsBy existingFieldOrder $
@@ -117,7 +122,7 @@
         ("name", Just packageName)
       , ("version", Just packageVersion)
       , ("synopsis", packageSynopsis)
-      , ("description", (formatDescription packageCabalVersion headerFieldsAlignment <$> packageDescription))
+      , ("description", packageDescription)
       , formatList "category" packageCategory
       , ("stability", packageStability)
       , ("homepage", packageHomepage)
@@ -139,9 +144,7 @@
         formatValues values = guard (not $ null values) >> (Just $ intercalate separator values)
           where
             separator :: String
-            separator = ",\n" ++ replicate n ' '
-              where
-                Alignment n = max headerFieldsAlignment (Alignment $ length field + 2)
+            separator = ",\n"
 
 sortStanzaFields :: [(String, [String])] -> [Element] -> [Element]
 sortStanzaFields sectionsFieldOrder = go
@@ -150,33 +153,6 @@
       [] -> []
       Stanza name fields : xs | Just fieldOrder <- lookup name sectionsFieldOrder -> Stanza name (sortFieldsBy fieldOrder fields) : go xs
       x : xs -> x : go xs
-
-formatDescription :: CabalVersion -> Alignment -> String -> String
-formatDescription cabalVersion (Alignment alignment) description = case map emptyLineToDot $ lines description of
-  x : xs -> intercalate "\n" (x : indent xs)
-  [] -> ""
-  where
-    n :: Int
-    n = max alignment (length ("description: " :: String))
-
-    indentation :: String
-    indentation = replicate n ' '
-
-    emptyLineToDot :: String -> String
-    emptyLineToDot xs
-      | isEmptyLine xs && cabalVersion < makeCabalVersion [3] = "."
-      | otherwise = xs
-
-    indent :: [String] -> [String]
-    indent = map indentLine
-
-    indentLine :: String -> String
-    indentLine xs
-      | isEmptyLine xs = ""
-      | otherwise = indentation ++ xs
-
-    isEmptyLine :: String -> Bool
-    isEmptyLine = all isSpace
 
 renderSourceRepository :: SourceRepository -> Element
 renderSourceRepository SourceRepository{..} = Stanza "source-repository head" [
diff --git a/src/Hpack/Render/Dsl.hs b/src/Hpack/Render/Dsl.hs
--- a/src/Hpack/Render/Dsl.hs
+++ b/src/Hpack/Render/Dsl.hs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE CPP #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE LambdaCase #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE RecordWildCards #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving #-}
 module Hpack.Render.Dsl (
@@ -19,13 +20,18 @@
 
 #ifdef TEST
 , Lines (..)
+, IndentOrAlign (..)
 , renderValue
 , addSortKey
 #endif
 ) where
 
 import           Imports
+import           Data.Char (isSpace)
 
+data Element = Stanza String [Element] | Group Element Element | Field String Value | Verbatim String
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
 data Value =
     Literal String
   | CommaSeparatedList [String]
@@ -33,10 +39,26 @@
   | WordList [String]
   deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data Element = Stanza String [Element] | Group Element Element | Field String Value | Verbatim String
+data Lines = SingleLine String | MultipleLines IndentOrAlign [String]
   deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data Lines = SingleLine String | MultipleLines [String]
+data IndentOrAlign =
+  Indent
+  -- ^
+  -- Indent lines, e.g.
+  --
+  -- description:
+  --   some
+  --   multiline
+  --   description
+  |
+  Align
+  -- ^
+  -- Align lines with field labels, e.g.
+  --
+  -- description: some
+  --              multiline
+  --              description
   deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 data CommaStyle = LeadingCommas | TrailingCommas
@@ -52,46 +74,72 @@
   renderSettingsIndentation :: Int
 , renderSettingsFieldAlignment :: Alignment
 , renderSettingsCommaStyle :: CommaStyle
+, renderSettingsEmptyLinesAsDot :: Bool
 } deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 defaultRenderSettings :: RenderSettings
-defaultRenderSettings = RenderSettings 2 0 LeadingCommas
+defaultRenderSettings = RenderSettings 2 0 LeadingCommas True
 
 render :: RenderSettings -> Nesting -> Element -> [String]
-render settings nesting (Stanza name elements) = indent settings nesting name : renderElements settings (succ nesting) elements
-render settings nesting (Group a b) = render settings nesting a ++ render settings nesting b
-render settings nesting (Field name value) = renderField settings nesting name value
-render settings nesting (Verbatim str) = map (indent settings nesting) (lines str)
+render settings nesting = \ case
+  Stanza name elements -> indent settings nesting name : renderElements settings (succ nesting) elements
+  Group a b -> render settings nesting a ++ render settings nesting b
+  Field name value -> map (indent settings nesting) $ renderField settings name value
+  Verbatim str -> map (indent settings nesting) (lines str)
 
 renderElements :: RenderSettings -> Nesting -> [Element] -> [String]
 renderElements settings nesting = concatMap (render settings nesting)
 
-renderField :: RenderSettings -> Nesting -> String -> Value -> [String]
-renderField settings@RenderSettings{..} nesting name value = case renderValue settings value of
+renderField :: RenderSettings -> String -> Value -> [String]
+renderField settings@RenderSettings{..} name = renderValue settings >>> \ case
   SingleLine "" -> []
-  SingleLine x -> [indent settings nesting (name ++ ": " ++ padding ++ x)]
-  MultipleLines [] -> []
-  MultipleLines xs -> (indent settings nesting name ++ ":") : map (indent settings $ succ nesting) xs
+  SingleLine value -> [fieldName ++ value]
+  MultipleLines _ [] -> []
+  MultipleLines Indent values -> (name ++ ":") : map (indent settings 1) values
+  MultipleLines Align (value : values) -> (fieldName ++ value) : map align values
   where
     Alignment fieldAlignment = renderSettingsFieldAlignment
-    padding = replicate (fieldAlignment - length name - 2) ' '
 
+    fieldName :: String
+    fieldName = name ++ ": " ++ fieldNamePadding
+
+    fieldNamePadding :: String
+    fieldNamePadding = replicate (fieldAlignment - length name - 2) ' '
+
+    align :: String -> String
+    align = \ case
+      "" -> ""
+      value -> padding ++ value
+
+    padding :: String
+    padding = replicate (length fieldName) ' '
+
 renderValue :: RenderSettings -> Value -> Lines
-renderValue RenderSettings{..} v = case v of
-  Literal s -> SingleLine s
+renderValue RenderSettings{..} = \ case
+  Literal string -> case lines string of
+    [value] -> SingleLine value
+    values -> MultipleLines Align $ map emptyLineToDot values
   WordList ws -> SingleLine $ unwords ws
   LineSeparatedList xs -> renderLineSeparatedList renderSettingsCommaStyle xs
   CommaSeparatedList xs -> renderCommaSeparatedList renderSettingsCommaStyle xs
+  where
+    emptyLineToDot :: String -> String
+    emptyLineToDot xs
+      | isEmptyLine xs && renderSettingsEmptyLinesAsDot = "."
+      | otherwise = xs
 
+    isEmptyLine :: String -> Bool
+    isEmptyLine = all isSpace
+
 renderLineSeparatedList :: CommaStyle -> [String] -> Lines
-renderLineSeparatedList style = MultipleLines . map (padding ++)
+renderLineSeparatedList style = MultipleLines Indent . map (padding ++)
   where
     padding = case style of
       LeadingCommas -> "  "
       TrailingCommas -> ""
 
 renderCommaSeparatedList :: CommaStyle -> [String] -> Lines
-renderCommaSeparatedList style = MultipleLines . case style of
+renderCommaSeparatedList style = MultipleLines Indent . case style of
   LeadingCommas -> map renderLeadingComma . zip (True : repeat False)
   TrailingCommas -> map renderTrailingComma . reverse . zip (True : repeat False) . reverse
   where
@@ -109,7 +157,9 @@
   fromString = Literal
 
 indent :: RenderSettings -> Nesting -> String -> String
-indent RenderSettings{..} (Nesting nesting) s = replicate (nesting * renderSettingsIndentation) ' ' ++ s
+indent RenderSettings{..} (Nesting nesting) = \ case
+  "" -> ""
+  s -> replicate (nesting * renderSettingsIndentation) ' ' ++ s
 
 sortFieldsBy :: [String] -> [Element] -> [Element]
 sortFieldsBy existingFieldOrder =
diff --git a/src/Hpack/Render/Hints.hs b/src/Hpack/Render/Hints.hs
--- a/src/Hpack/Render/Hints.hs
+++ b/src/Hpack/Render/Hints.hs
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE CPP #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE ViewPatterns #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE RecordWildCards #-}
 module Hpack.Render.Hints (
   FormattingHints (..)
 , sniffFormattingHints
+, RenderSettings (..)
+, defaultRenderSettings
+, formattingHintsRenderSettings
 #ifdef TEST
-, sniffRenderSettings
 , extractFieldOrder
 , extractSectionsFieldOrder
 , sanitize
@@ -21,14 +24,16 @@
 import           Data.Char
 import           Data.Maybe
 
-import           Hpack.Render.Dsl
+import           Hpack.Render.Dsl (Alignment(..), CommaStyle(..))
+import qualified Hpack.Render.Dsl as Dsl
 import           Hpack.Util
 
 data FormattingHints = FormattingHints {
   formattingHintsFieldOrder :: [String]
 , formattingHintsSectionsFieldOrder :: [(String, [String])]
 , formattingHintsAlignment :: Maybe Alignment
-, formattingHintsRenderSettings :: RenderSettings
+, formattingHintsIndentation :: Maybe Int
+, formattingHintsCommaStyle :: Maybe CommaStyle
 } deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 sniffFormattingHints :: [String] -> FormattingHints
@@ -36,7 +41,8 @@
   formattingHintsFieldOrder = extractFieldOrder input
 , formattingHintsSectionsFieldOrder = extractSectionsFieldOrder input
 , formattingHintsAlignment = sniffAlignment input
-, formattingHintsRenderSettings = sniffRenderSettings input
+, formattingHintsIndentation = sniffIndentation input
+, formattingHintsCommaStyle = sniffCommaStyle input
 }
 
 sanitize :: [String] -> [String]
@@ -124,11 +130,20 @@
   where
     startsWithComma = isPrefixOf "," . dropWhile isSpace
 
-sniffRenderSettings :: [String] -> RenderSettings
-sniffRenderSettings input = RenderSettings indentation fieldAlignment commaStyle
-  where
-    indentation = max def $ fromMaybe def (sniffIndentation input)
-      where def = renderSettingsIndentation defaultRenderSettings
+data RenderSettings = RenderSettings {
+  renderSettingsIndentation :: Int
+, renderSettingsFieldAlignment :: Alignment
+, renderSettingsCommaStyle :: CommaStyle
+} deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-    fieldAlignment = renderSettingsFieldAlignment defaultRenderSettings
-    commaStyle = fromMaybe (renderSettingsCommaStyle defaultRenderSettings) (sniffCommaStyle input)
+defaultRenderSettings :: RenderSettings
+defaultRenderSettings = let Dsl.RenderSettings{..} = Dsl.defaultRenderSettings in RenderSettings{..}
+
+formattingHintsRenderSettings :: FormattingHints -> RenderSettings
+formattingHintsRenderSettings FormattingHints{..} = defaultRenderSettings {
+  renderSettingsIndentation = indentation
+, renderSettingsCommaStyle = commaStyle
+} where
+    indentation = max def $ fromMaybe def formattingHintsIndentation
+      where def = renderSettingsIndentation defaultRenderSettings
+    commaStyle = fromMaybe (renderSettingsCommaStyle defaultRenderSettings) formattingHintsCommaStyle
diff --git a/test/EndToEndSpec.hs b/test/EndToEndSpec.hs
--- a/test/EndToEndSpec.hs
+++ b/test/EndToEndSpec.hs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 
 import qualified Hpack.Render as Hpack
 import           Hpack.Config (packageConfig, readPackageConfig, DecodeOptions(..), defaultDecodeOptions, DecodeResult(..))
-import           Hpack.Render.Hints (FormattingHints(..), sniffFormattingHints)
+import           Hpack.Render.Hints (FormattingHints(..), sniffFormattingHints, formattingHintsRenderSettings)
 
 import qualified Paths_hpack as Hpack (version)
 
@@ -378,6 +378,26 @@
             location: https://github.com/hspec/hspec
           |]
 
+    describe "flags" $ do
+      it "accepts multi-line flag descriptions" $ do
+        [i|
+        flags:
+          some-flag:
+            description: |
+              some
+              flag
+              description
+            manual: True
+            default: False
+        |] `shouldRenderTo` package [i|
+        flag some-flag
+          description: some
+                       flag
+                       description
+          manual: True
+          default: False
+        |]
+
     describe "defaults" $ do
       it "accepts global defaults" $ do
         writeFile "defaults/sol/hpack-template/2017/defaults.yaml" [i|
@@ -2113,9 +2133,9 @@
   return $ case mPackage of
     Right (DecodeResult pkg cabalVersion _ warnings) ->
       let
-        FormattingHints{..} = sniffFormattingHints (lines old)
+        hints@FormattingHints{..} = sniffFormattingHints (lines old)
         alignment = fromMaybe 0 formattingHintsAlignment
-        settings = formattingHintsRenderSettings
+        settings = formattingHintsRenderSettings hints
         output = cabalVersion ++ Hpack.renderPackageWith settings alignment formattingHintsFieldOrder formattingHintsSectionsFieldOrder pkg
       in
         Right (warnings, output)
diff --git a/test/Hpack/Render/DslSpec.hs b/test/Hpack/Render/DslSpec.hs
--- a/test/Hpack/Render/DslSpec.hs
+++ b/test/Hpack/Render/DslSpec.hs
@@ -55,7 +55,79 @@
           ]
 
     context "when rendering a Field" $ do
-      context "when rendering a MultipleLines value" $ do
+      context "with a Literal value" $ do
+        let
+          description :: [String] -> Element
+          description = Field "description" . Literal . unlines
+
+          values :: [String]
+          values = [
+              "foo"
+            , "bar"
+            , "baz"
+            ]
+
+        it "renders field" $ do
+          render_ (Field "description" "foo") `shouldBe` ["description: foo"]
+
+        it "formats multi-line values" $ do
+          render_ (description values) `shouldBe` [
+              "description: foo"
+            , "             bar"
+            , "             baz"
+            ]
+
+        it "formats empty lines" $ do
+          let
+            field = description [
+                "foo"
+              , "   "
+              , "baz"
+              ]
+          render_ field `shouldBe` [
+              "description: foo"
+            , "             ."
+            , "             baz"
+            ]
+
+        it "correctly handles empty lines at the beginning" $ do
+          render_ (description $ "" : values) `shouldBe` [
+              "description: ."
+            , "             foo"
+            , "             bar"
+            , "             baz"
+            ]
+
+        it "takes alignment into account" $ do
+          let
+            settings :: RenderSettings
+            settings = defaultRenderSettings { renderSettingsFieldAlignment = 15 }
+
+          render settings 0 (description values) `shouldBe` [
+              "description:   foo"
+            , "               bar"
+            , "               baz"
+            ]
+
+        context "when cabal-version is >= 3" $ do
+          let
+            settings :: RenderSettings
+            settings = defaultRenderSettings { renderSettingsEmptyLinesAsDot = False }
+
+          it "preserves empty lines" $ do
+            let
+              field = description [
+                  "foo"
+                , ""
+                , "baz"
+                ]
+            render settings 0 field `shouldBe` [
+                "description: foo"
+              , ""
+              , "             baz"
+              ]
+
+      context "with MultipleLines" $ do
         it "takes nesting into account" $ do
           let field = Field "foo" (CommaSeparatedList ["bar", "baz"])
           render defaultRenderSettings 1 field `shouldBe` [
@@ -92,14 +164,14 @@
       renderValue defaultRenderSettings (WordList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` SingleLine "foo bar baz"
 
     it "renders CommaSeparatedList" $ do
-      renderValue defaultRenderSettings (CommaSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines [
+      renderValue defaultRenderSettings (CommaSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines Indent [
           "  foo"
         , ", bar"
         , ", baz"
         ]
 
     it "renders LineSeparatedList" $ do
-      renderValue defaultRenderSettings (LineSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines [
+      renderValue defaultRenderSettings (LineSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines Indent [
           "  foo"
         , "  bar"
         , "  baz"
@@ -109,14 +181,14 @@
       let settings = defaultRenderSettings{renderSettingsCommaStyle = TrailingCommas}
 
       it "renders CommaSeparatedList with trailing commas" $ do
-        renderValue settings (CommaSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines [
+        renderValue settings (CommaSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines Indent [
             "foo,"
           , "bar,"
           , "baz"
           ]
 
       it "renders LineSeparatedList without padding" $ do
-        renderValue settings (LineSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines [
+        renderValue settings (LineSeparatedList ["foo", "bar", "baz"]) `shouldBe` MultipleLines Indent [
             "foo"
           , "bar"
           , "baz"
diff --git a/test/Hpack/Render/HintsSpec.hs b/test/Hpack/Render/HintsSpec.hs
--- a/test/Hpack/Render/HintsSpec.hs
+++ b/test/Hpack/Render/HintsSpec.hs
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 import           Test.Hspec
 
 import           Hpack.Render.Hints
-import           Hpack.Render.Dsl
+import           Hpack.Render.Dsl (CommaStyle(..))
 
 spec :: Spec
 spec = do
-  describe "sniffRenderSettings" $ do
+  describe "formattingHintsRenderSettings" $ do
     context "when sniffed indentation is < default" $ do
       it "uses default instead" $ do
         let input = [
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@
               , "exposed-modules:"
               , "    Foo"
               ]
-        sniffIndentation input `shouldBe` Just 0
-        renderSettingsIndentation (sniffRenderSettings input) `shouldBe` 2
+            hints = sniffFormattingHints input
+        formattingHintsIndentation hints `shouldBe` Just 0
+        renderSettingsIndentation (formattingHintsRenderSettings hints) `shouldBe` 2
 
   describe "extractFieldOrder" $ do
     it "extracts field order hints" $ do
diff --git a/test/Hpack/RenderSpec.hs b/test/Hpack/RenderSpec.hs
--- a/test/Hpack/RenderSpec.hs
+++ b/test/Hpack/RenderSpec.hs
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
 import           Hpack.Syntax.DependencyVersion
 import           Hpack.ConfigSpec hiding (spec)
 import           Hpack.Config hiding (package)
-import           Hpack.Render.Dsl
+import           Hpack.Render.Dsl hiding (RenderSettings, defaultRenderSettings, render)
+import qualified Hpack.Render.Dsl as Dsl
 import           Hpack.Render
 
 library :: Library
@@ -26,8 +27,8 @@
 cabalVersion :: CabalVersion
 cabalVersion = makeCabalVersion [1,12]
 
-cabal30 :: CabalVersion
-cabal30 = makeCabalVersion [3,0,0]
+render :: Element -> [FilePath]
+render = Dsl.render Dsl.defaultRenderSettings 0
 
 spec :: Spec
 spec = do
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@
 
     it "renders conditionals" $ do
       let conditional = Conditional "os(windows)" (section Empty) {sectionDependencies = deps ["Win32"]} Nothing
-      render defaultRenderSettings 0 (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
+      render (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
           "if os(windows)"
         , "  build-depends:"
         , "      Win32"
@@ -240,7 +241,7 @@
 
     it "renders conditionals with else-branch" $ do
       let conditional = Conditional "os(windows)" (section Empty) {sectionDependencies = deps ["Win32"]} (Just $ (section Empty) {sectionDependencies = deps ["unix"]})
-      render defaultRenderSettings 0 (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
+      render (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
           "if os(windows)"
         , "  build-depends:"
         , "      Win32"
@@ -252,7 +253,7 @@
     it "renders nested conditionals" $ do
       let conditional = Conditional "arch(i386)" (section Empty) {sectionGhcOptions = ["-threaded"], sectionConditionals = [innerConditional]} Nothing
           innerConditional = Conditional "os(windows)" (section Empty) {sectionDependencies = deps ["Win32"]} Nothing
-      render defaultRenderSettings 0 (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
+      render (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
           "if arch(i386)"
         , "  ghc-options: -threaded"
         , "  if os(windows)"
@@ -263,7 +264,7 @@
     it "conditionalises both build-depends and mixins" $ do
       let conditional = Conditional "os(windows)" (section Empty) {sectionDependencies = [("Win32", depInfo)]} Nothing
           depInfo = defaultInfo { dependencyInfoMixins = ["hiding (Blah)"] }
-      render defaultRenderSettings 0 (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
+      render (run $ renderConditional renderEmptySection conditional) `shouldBe` [
           "if os(windows)"
         , "  build-depends:"
         , "      Win32"
@@ -274,77 +275,17 @@
   describe "renderFlag" $ do
     it "renders flags" $ do
       let flag = (Flag "foo" (Just "some flag") True False)
-      render defaultRenderSettings 0 (renderFlag flag) `shouldBe` [
+      render (renderFlag flag) `shouldBe` [
           "flag foo"
         , "  description: some flag"
         , "  manual: True"
         , "  default: False"
         ]
 
-  describe "formatDescription" $ do
-    it "formats description" $ do
-      let description = unlines [
-              "foo"
-            , "bar"
-            ]
-      "description: " ++ formatDescription cabalVersion 0 description `shouldBe` intercalate "\n" [
-          "description: foo"
-        , "             bar"
-        ]
-
-    it "takes specified alignment into account" $ do
-      let description = unlines [
-              "foo"
-            , "bar"
-            , "baz"
-            ]
-      "description:   " ++ formatDescription cabalVersion 15 description `shouldBe` intercalate "\n" [
-          "description:   foo"
-        , "               bar"
-        , "               baz"
-        ]
-
-    it "formats empty lines" $ do
-      let description = unlines [
-              "foo"
-            , "   "
-            , "bar"
-            ]
-      "description: " ++ formatDescription cabalVersion 0 description `shouldBe` intercalate "\n" [
-          "description: foo"
-        , "             ."
-        , "             bar"
-        ]
-
-    it "correctly handles empty lines at the beginning" $ do
-      let description = unlines [
-              ""
-            , "foo"
-            , "bar"
-            ]
-      "description: " ++ formatDescription cabalVersion 0 description `shouldBe` intercalate "\n" [
-          "description: ."
-        , "             foo"
-        , "             bar"
-        ]
-
-    context "when cabal-version is >= 3" $ do
-      it "preserves empty lines" $ do
-        let description = unlines [
-                "foo"
-              , ""
-              , "bar"
-              ]
-        "description: " ++ formatDescription cabal30 0 description `shouldBe` intercalate "\n" [
-            "description: foo"
-          , ""
-          , "             bar"
-          ]
-
   describe "renderSourceRepository" $ do
     it "renders source-repository without subdir correctly" $ do
       let repository = SourceRepository "https://github.com/hspec/hspec" Nothing
-      (render defaultRenderSettings 0 $ renderSourceRepository repository)
+      (render $ renderSourceRepository repository)
         `shouldBe` [
             "source-repository head"
           , "  type: git"
@@ -353,7 +294,7 @@
 
     it "renders source-repository with subdir" $ do
       let repository = SourceRepository "https://github.com/hspec/hspec" (Just "hspec-core")
-      (render defaultRenderSettings 0 $ renderSourceRepository repository)
+      (render $ renderSourceRepository repository)
         `shouldBe` [
             "source-repository head"
           , "  type: git"
@@ -363,7 +304,7 @@
 
   describe "renderDirectories" $ do
     it "replaces . with ./. (for compatibility with cabal syntax)" $ do
-      (render defaultRenderSettings 0 $ renderDirectories "name" ["."])
+      (render $ renderDirectories "name" ["."])
         `shouldBe` [
             "name:"
           , "    ./"