zetl

Wikilinks

Wikilinks are inline references between pages using [[double bracket]] syntax. They are the primary connective tissue in a zetl vault, forming the edges of the Link Graph.

(given wikilink-syntax-documented)

Syntax

FormExampleDescription
Basic[[Cache]]Link to a page
Aliased[[Cache|caching layer]]Display text differs from target
Heading[[Cache#Design tension]]Link to a specific heading
Block[[Cache^summary]]Link to a block ID
Embed![[Cache]]Embed the target page inline
Self-heading[[#Syntax]]Link to heading in same page

Formal grammar

wikilink     = "[[" target ("#" fragment)? ("|" alias)? "]]"
embed        = "![[" target "]]"
target       = page-name
fragment     = heading | "^" block-id
heading      = text
block-id     = alphanumeric-with-hyphens
alias        = text
page-name    = text (may include "/" for path-qualified links)

Parsing rules

The architecture/Scanner extracts wikilinks from every Markdown file. Wikilinks inside the following zones are ignored:

  • Fenced code blocks (```)
  • Inline code (`)
  • HTML comments (<!-- -->)
  • YAML frontmatter (--- fences)

Resolution

Page names are matched case-insensitively. [[cache]] resolves to Cache.md. When ambiguity exists (e.g., concepts/SimHash.md and architecture/SimHash.md), use path-qualified links: [[concepts/SimHash]] or [[architecture/SimHash]].

Cross-referencing with logic

When reasoning is enabled, --with-conclusions annotates link results with the concepts/Spindle Lisp conclusions each linked page contributes. This bridges the Link Graph and the Reasoning Engine.

Compatibility

zetl supports the wikilink conventions used by Obsidian, Logseq, Foam, and Dendron. See Compatibility and Local-first Design.

See also: Link Graph, architecture/Scanner, Links Command

Backlinks