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Martin Donath

@squidfunk.com
444 followers 12 following 238 posts

Founder of @zensical.org, creator of Material for MkDocs

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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 7h
Zensical 0.0.67 is here ✨ MkDocs-compatible social cards lead this release, alongside exclude and llmstxt plugins. Enjoy! Release notes github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.67 · zensical/zensical
Summary Zensical now supports Material for MkDocs’ social plugin natively, generating social cards and Open Graph and Twitter metadata with bundled or custom layouts. This release also adds native ...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 29/09/2026
Working hard on the new Zensical Spark experience – just one more month until Spark Community launches on November 5! 🤫 One of the first members-only early-access features will be our new Rust-based Markdown parser. Builds are about to get fast. ⚡ zensical.org/spark/
zensical.org
Zensical
Adaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical builds scalable Open Source tools for technical writing – from static sites to connected content systems.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 25/09/2026
Full circle! 🔄 Python-Markdown – the very foundation MkDocs was built on – is now using Zensical for its own documentation 💛 python-markdown.github.io
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 25/09/2026
Big thanks to all individuals who have already reserved Studio Pro / Studio Pro + Spark Community! ❤️ Your contribution helps us make Zensical sustainable and stay independent, so we can keep building it in the open without having to compromise. 🚀 zensical.org/upcoming-cha...
zensical.org
Zensical
Adaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical builds scalable Open Source tools for technical writing – from static sites to connected content systems.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 24/09/2026
🤫 Fewer and fewer reasons to stay on MkDocs – switch to Zensical, an actively maintained stack.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 22/09/2026
🤫 If you'd like to support our work – and get a really nice editing experience for Zensical and MkDocs, plus early access to what we're building next – check out our early supporter offer for Studio Pro and Spark Community 🚀 zensical.org/upcoming-cha...
zensical.org
Zensical
Adaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical builds scalable Open Source tools for technical writing – from static sites to connected content systems.
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 22/09/2026
Many of you have been waiting for this one: Zensical 0.0.64 ships a drop-in replacement for the Material for MkDocs blog plugin – enjoy! github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.64 · zensical/zensical
Summary Many of you have been waiting for this one: Zensical now includes native blog support. As a direct port of the Material for MkDocs blog plugin, it preserves the familiar configuration, meta...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 21/09/2026
5x faster. 80% fewer tokens. Agents should edit intent, not chase references. In three paired runs, Studio also cut direct file edits by 90% while updating every affected link. We're bringing this to Zensical Studio in the coming weeks. zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 17/09/2026
Pretty happy with how yesterday went, and we're already back at it ☺️ Just released: 0.2.17 makes Connections easier to explore: – Expand all connections – Open targets directly or to the side – Reveal assets in your file explorer zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 16/09/2026
We've put a lot into this – really happy to finally share it with you ☺️
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 15/09/2026
We are extending critical maintenance for Material for MkDocs by six months, through May 5, 2027. This gives you more time to evaluate the migration path, test Zensical with your existing projects, and plan a controlled transition. github.com/squidfunk/mk...
github.com
⚠️ End of life extended to May 5, 2027 · Issue #8523 · squidfunk/mkdocs-material
Warning Material for MkDocs is in its final maintenance period. We have extended critical bug fixes and security updates through May 5, 2027, six months beyond the previously announced date. New fe...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 11/09/2026
After link validation, this is probably one of the most useful features we've added to Zensical Studio. Keeping incoming links intact as documentation evolves sounds simple, but involves many interesting edge cases. This was a lot of fun to build.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 07/09/2026
Great movie, even better soundtrack www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oee5...
youtube.com
"Obsession" by ROCK BURWELL from OBSESSION
YouTube video by Back Lot Music
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 03/09/2026
I really love where this is going: one unified model of your entire documentation project, from Markdown content to configuration.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 02/09/2026
That was a lot of work, but I’m very happy with where we landed. 6 MkDocs plugin replacements, a much more efficient build architecture, and a solid foundation for what comes next!
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 01/09/2026
We reduced memory use by 8x in 0.0.54. The next release cuts it another ~40%. More tomorrow.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 30/08/2026
Exactly two years after MkDocs 1.6.1 – the last release of the original MkDocs lineage – there's now an installable MkDocs 2.0 pre-release on PyPI. MkDocs 2.0 is being developed as a ground-up rewrite with a fundamentally different architecture. pypi.org/project/mkdo...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 28/08/2026
Some people wonder why we’re working on replacing Python Markdown in Zensical. This trace shows why: it occupies ~91% of the cold-build critical path, while the rest of the pipeline fans out across cores. Our Rust parser removes that bottleneck and unlocks parallelism.
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 25/08/2026
Zensical Studio now treats your nav configuration as part of the documentation workspace. Complete pages as you type, catch invalid entries immediately, and keep navigation paths correct when files move. Works with Zensical and MkDocs projects. zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 24/08/2026
We're building Zensical Studio to make the relationships between Markdown pages, reusable content, and assets much easier to understand ☺️
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 17/08/2026
Extremely useful and surprisingly satisfying to watch 60 broken links magically being repaired at once 🪄
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 14/08/2026
Zensical Studio already prevents broken links. Next week, it will help you repair the links that somebody else broke. 😎 zensical.org/studio/
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 13/08/2026
Zensical 0.0.54 is out! – 8-10x reduction in peak memory usage – Invalid autorefs now caught in validation – Better integration with mike (versioning) Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.54 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version reduces peak memory usage by 8–10x, making builds of large documentation projects substantially more efficient. It also improves reference validation by preventing false positi...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 12/08/2026
I've changed my mind on AI-generated bug reports. They got genuinely better and helpful. Open Source maintainers: do you share prompts with your users to help an LLM gather data and debug before filing an issue?
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 11/08/2026
We just delivered the Zensical Monthly, July 2026 edition to your inboxes – The tight authoring loop – featuring: Markdown Preview, Markdown Formatter, our new Directives Extension, and more. mail.zensical.org/monthly/2026... Subscribe to Zensical Monthly: zensical.org/about/newsle...
mail.zensical.org
The tight authoring loop
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 07/08/2026
If you work in a large documentation project, the latest Zensical Studio update should feel quite different. Startup, link intelligence, workspace symbols, and diagnostics have all received substantial performance work 🚀
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 31/07/2026
Autorefs are now workspace symbols in Zensical Studio! They support completion, diagnostics, navigation, incoming-reference counts, rename, and safe updates across the entire project. Zensical Studio is available for VS Code: zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 30/07/2026
We keep shipping – Zensical Studio 0.2.6 makes anchors first-class workspace symbols: navigate, validate, rename, and automatically update incoming links across your entire documentation project. Documentation, refactored like code.
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 30/07/2026
Zensical 0.0.52 is out! 🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷 Search now supports Chinese, Japanese, and Korean through locale-aware word segmentation. The release also includes a larger search modal, improved keyboard key styling, and 56 new icons. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.52 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds search support for CJK languages: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Search needs to segment text into individual words before it can index and match them. While many language...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 29/07/2026
Came across this beautiful Zensical mod ☺️ linguistik.hispanistica.com
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 29/07/2026
Codeberg now bans projects that mostly consist of AI-generated code. It's not yet clear where the line between AI-assisted and AI-generated projects will be drawn, and how it will be enforced. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8cY...
youtube.com
Codeberg, are you serious?!?
YouTube video by Theo - t3․gg
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 28/07/2026
👀 Sneak peek: A Markdown formatter that understands Python Markdown - natively: ✨ Format on save (or edit) ⚡ Extremely fast – written in Rust 🏗️ Integrated into Zensical Studio 👯‍♀️ Works with Zensical and MkDocs projects More about Zensical Studio: zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 23/07/2026
Edit a headline, save – 10 incoming links updated automatically. No need to remember updating them manually. That's Zensical Studio – @zensical.org. Zensical Studio is in public beta and available here: zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 21/07/2026
A much-requested feature is here: Zensical Studio 0.2.0 now provides a live, interactive Markdown preview. It also works with your existing MkDocs projects ☺️
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 19/07/2026
Python Markdown is too strict about link labels. We're working on fixing that in Zensical's new Rust-based Markdown implementation ☺️ No more [`module.symbol`][module.symbol] workarounds.
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 17/07/2026
Material for MkDocs 9.7.7 is out. It fixes a DOM-based XSS issue in the optional search.suggest feature, which was responsibly disclosed to us. Please update. Material for MkDocs will continue receiving security updates through November 5, 2026. github.com/squidfunk/mk...
github.com
Release mkdocs-material-9.7.7 · squidfunk/mkdocs-material
Warning Material for MkDocs is approaching end of life Material for MkDocs is scheduled to reach end of life on November 5, 2026. Until then, maintenance is limited to critical bug fixes and securi...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 13/07/2026
4 weeks after launching Zensical Studio, Markdown Preview is one of the most requested features – soon, you won't even need to leave the editor to get a truthful preview of your docs. Supports dark mode 🌗 If you haven't, check out Studio: zensical.org/studio/
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 08/07/2026
If you missed it: Python Markdown has documented all of its extensions as being in maintenance mode. Good timing: we just rewrote Python Markdown in Rust, and it already powers Zensical Studio. It’s 10-20x faster and will be Open Sourced later this year. github.com/Python-Markd...
github.com
Document all extensions are in maintenance mode by waylan · Pull Request #1613 · Python-Markdown/markdown
This has been the de facto policy for some time. We are now officially documenting it. Relates to #1612. Some recommendations for alternative extensions have been included. If anyone would like to ...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 06/07/2026
Zensical Studio is out, and the bigger picture is coming together. We're building the next-generation Docs-as-Code stack, end to end, and we're right on track. More in tomorrow's newsletter. zensical.org/about/newsle...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 02/07/2026
Now that Zensical Studio is out and humming, I'm picking up work on ZRX again, the heart of Zensical. Working hard on closing the remaining gap to MkDocs, so most projects can move to Zensical in the coming weeks/months ☺️ github.com/zensical/zrx...
github.com
Release 0.0.25 · zensical/zrx
Summary This version adds Sequence as the ordered relation layer on top of Expression, which is what makes route matching work for keyed relations like page -> tags. With Sequence, those relations ...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 30/06/2026
Just shipped a massive new update for @zensical.org Studio! We’re pushing hard on docs-as-code: workspace intelligence for Markdown, transitive snippet awareness, anchor/link refactors, and much better navigation. Still early, but this is the direction. zensical.org/studio/
zensical.org
Zensical
Adaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical creates scalable Open Source systems for technical writing that always keep you in the flow
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 25/06/2026
Sneak peek: Python Markdown snippets as first-class symbols in Zensical Studio. Rename a snippet – every inclusion site updates. Type-safe content reuse, finally. 🎯 ➡️ zensical.org/studio/
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 23/06/2026
Zensical Studio 0.1.2 adds syntax support for snippets, icons/emojis, smart symbols, keyboard keys, inline math, and lists, and improves nested highlighting, e.g., in link titles. It's now higher-fidelity than VS Code's Markdown extension. Release notes: github.com/zensical/stu...
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 21/06/2026
Zensical v0.0.46 is out: search results now include excerpts, the UI was updated, and we also shipped several bug fixes. We now disabled some legacy reference checks by default while we move toward Zensical Studio's new Markdown parser. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 19/06/2026
Zensical Studio v0.1.1 just dropped, and it brings a wide range of improvements for highlighting! Update your VS Code extension, or enable auto-update to immediately benefit from future improvements. github.com/zensical/stu...
github.com
Release 0.1.1 · zensical/studio
Summary This version significantly improves Python Markdown highlighting in Visual Studio Code. It adds support for emphasis, strong emphasis, and mixed emphasis nesting, while fixing a broad range...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 19/06/2026
Writing tests for our new Python Markdown TextMate grammar that we shipped as part of Zensical Studio - so much fun 😎 github.com/zensical/stu...
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 16/06/2026
Very proud of the team today: we’re launching Zensical Studio. 👏 A lot of work went into making this fast, precise, and useful in real documentation projects. If you write docs with @zensical.org or MkDocs, we'd love your feedback!
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Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 06/06/2026
Writing Rust in Zed – boy, can it get any better than that?
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 04/06/2026
Zensical 0.0.44 brings further improvements to link validation. You might have noticed we've been quieter than usual – we've been heads down on a major milestone for Zensical. We'll share everything in Zensical Monthly, our newsletter, on June 10! github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.44 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version fixes several bugs related to link validation and macros, and ensures that dotfiles are not removed from the site directory during generation. Changelog Bug fixes eb72115 comp...
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Reposted by Martin Donath
Zensical @zensical.org · 15/05/2026
Zensical 0.0.42 improves stability and accuracy of link validation, and fixes some bugs related to file watching, abbreviations in the table of contents, and GLightbox. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.42 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version includes a number of bug fixes and refactorings to improve the stability and accuracy of link validation, and fixes a reload loop when the custom_dir, which is auto-watched, is...
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