Sign in

Zensical

@zensical.org
175 followers 2 following 61 posts

Adaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical creates scalable Open Source systems for technical writing that always keep you in the flow zensical.org

PostsRepliesMedia
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 ...
063
Zensical @zensical.org · 28/09/2026
Zensical 0.0.66 is out! 🎉 New support for mkdocs-autoapi and mkdocs-api-autonav – turn your Python modules and packages into API reference pages with automatic navigation. Plus fixes and UI improvements. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.66 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds compatibility with mkdocs-autoapi and mkdocs-api-autonav, making it easier to document Python projects. These plugins discover modules and packages, generate API reference...
000
Zensical @zensical.org · 24/09/2026
Zensical 0.0.65 is out 🎉 It includes a plugin replacement for the MkDocs RSS plugin, which means your blog can now ship RSS and JSON feeds! Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.65 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version expands MkDocs compatibility with a native replacement for the rss plugin and support for mkdocstrings backlinks. Zensical can now generate RSS 2.0 and JSON Feed 1.1 feeds for ...
030
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...
054
Zensical @zensical.org · 16/09/2026
On November 5, we'll ship Zensical 0.1.0, move Studio out of beta, and open Spark Community to individuals. Zensical remains free and Open Source, forever. Here's what changes – and what stays the same: 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.
010
Zensical @zensical.org · 11/09/2026
Zensical 0.0.61 adds anchor redirects, so incoming links and bookmarks keep working when headings change or content moves. Zensical Studio now suggests redirects for renamed headings and keeps mappings up-to-date for you. Enjoy your weekend! github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.61 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds more comprehensive support for documentation redirects in mkdocs.yml and zensical.toml. Zensical supports page and anchor redirects, resolves redirect chains, rejects cycl...
001
Zensical @zensical.org · 03/09/2026
Project configuration is source code, too. Zensical Studio now completes and validates mkdocs.yml and zensical.toml, shows previews for navigation items, and keeps paths synchronized when pages move. zensical.org/studio/
010
Zensical @zensical.org · 02/09/2026
Zensical 0.0.58 is out – our largest compatibility and workflow update yet + 6 MkDocs plugin replacements: - meta - redirects - minify - tags - literate-nav - awesome-nav Peak memory use is cut by 30–40%, with the biggest gains on larger projects. github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.58 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version marks a major evolution of Zensical's build architecture and completes the most essential MkDocs plugin replacements. Six new plugin replacements are now included: meta redire...
041
Zensical @zensical.org · 01/09/2026
New Zensical release tomorrow 🚀 We've been quietly making it faster and leaner – peak memory down by 40% depending on project size. More details in a few hours.
042
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/
031
Zensical @zensical.org · 24/08/2026
Zensical Studio's new Connections view helps you explore the current documentation's relations: 🔗 Incoming and outgoing links 🖼️ Images and other assets used by a page 💣 Invalid links and unresolved references zensical.org/studio/
110
Zensical @zensical.org · 17/08/2026
When you open Zensical Studio this morning, you’ll find that broken links now show hover previews and have a new "repair" code action. The video shows: → Preview repair candidates → Repair 1 broken link → Repair 60 broken links at once zensical.org/studio/
020
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...
022
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
022
Zensical @zensical.org · 07/08/2026
50,000 documents indexed in under 8 seconds. The latest Zensical Studio release improves indexing performance for large documentation workspaces. Recorded on a MacBook Pro (M2) from '22. zensical.org/studio/
100
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/
011
Zensical @zensical.org · 30/07/2026
Never break anchor links again. Zensical Studio 0.2.6 tracks every addressable Python Markdown element, including headings, attribute lists, and HTML IDs. Rename an anchor or edit and save it, and incoming links update automatically. zensical.org/studio/
041
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...
053
Zensical @zensical.org · 21/07/2026
1/2 Zensical Studio 0.2.0 provides a live Markdown preview for Zensical and MkDocs projects, powered by our Rust-based Python Markdown renderer. It updates as you type, supports navigation, and stays synchronized with your editor. zensical.org/studio/
150
Zensical @zensical.org · 06/07/2026
Material for MkDocs proved the value of Python Markdown for technical writing. With Zensical, we’re now integrating the layers around it: parser, editor tooling, build, and publishing. We’ll share more in tomorrow’s newsletter. zensical.org/about/newsle...
071
Zensical @zensical.org · 30/06/2026
Zensical Studio now resolves definitions across snippet! A link reference in one file can jump straight to the definition inside a snippet, even through nested includes. This is the kind of workspace-level Markdown intelligence we wanted from day one. 1/5 🧵
130
Reposted by Zensical
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/
141
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...
011
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...
062
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...
084
Zensical @zensical.org · 16/06/2026
Today, we're launching Zensical Studio, the missing productivity layer for Docs-as-Code. The idea is simple: Refactor documentation like code. Rename headings safely. Catch [broken links] instantly. Works with Zensical and MkDocs projects. zensical.org/studio/
Refactor docs like code.
051
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...
041
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...
022
Zensical @zensical.org · 06/05/2026
Zensical Monthly 04/2026 AI agents don't stop when your docs have a gap. They guess – confidently, fluently, and wrongly. This month's Zensical Monthly is about what that means for technical writers, and what we're building about it. Web version: mail.zensical.org/monthly/2026...
011
Zensical @zensical.org · 04/05/2026
Zensical 0.0.40 is out with macro support. You can now use macros inside Markdown files and even docstrings – a much-requested feature that was never possible with mkdocs-macros. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.40 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds support for macros, covering the functionality of the mkdocs-macros-plugin. Macros allow you to define custom variables and functions that can be used in your Markdown fil...
052
Zensical @zensical.org · 01/05/2026
Zensical 0.0.39 is out – a bugfix release smoothing out edges on link validation and the new lightbox integration. github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.39 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version fixes several bugs related to link validation and lightbox configuration. Changelog Bug fixes fe42fc4 compat – shim for MkDocs validation syntax overrides Zensical's (#607) ac...
021
Zensical @zensical.org · 30/04/2026
Zensical 0.0.38 is out! 🎉 Link and footnote validation + strict mode are here – now catches broken links, unresolved references, and shadowed definitions at build time. You'll probably catch and fix a few issues when upgrading. We did too! 🫣 github.com/zensical/zen...
030
Zensical @zensical.org · 27/04/2026
Zensical 0.0.37 adds support for installable themes – you can now package your existing customizations into a theme that can be installed via pip exactly as with MkDocs. Read the release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.37 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds support for installable themes. You can now bundle your theme overrides and package them into a custom theme which can be installed via pip. As of now, we closely mirror t...
055
Zensical @zensical.org · 23/04/2026
Zensical 0.0.35 just arrived. What we shipped: - 🌄 Image zoom + galleries with GLightbox – 🏗️ Rich formatting in the table of contents – 🔗 Resolution of relative links in raw HTML Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.35 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version adds native support for GLightbox, a JavaScript lightbox library to add zoom and gallery features to images. Images can be automatically annotated with the new glightbox Markdo...
061
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 16/04/2026
Open Source software wins in the age of AI – not despite it, but because of it. Extensibility, transparency, and community ownership matter more than ever. It's at the core of everything we're building with @zensical.org.
youtube.com
A letter to tech CEOs
YouTube video by Theo - t3․gg
121
Zensical @zensical.org · 13/04/2026
All issues of Zensical Monthly are now public. Catch up on anything you missed, or share an issue with your team: zensical.org/about/newsle...
000
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 07/04/2026
ZRX 0.0.17 is out – the foundation of Zensical. This one's a big deal – the module system is here, and with it a ground-up rewrite of the scheduler and stream crates. Three months of work. Phase 2 done. Phase 3 starts now. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zrx...
github.com
Release 0.0.17 · zensical/zrx
Summary This version ships the initial version of the module system and includes a ground up rewrite of zrx-scheduler and zrx-stream to support it. Together with the fundamental changes made to zrx...
132
Zensical @zensical.org · 28/03/2026
Zensical 0.0.30 adds a new floating table of contents menu on mobile/tablet, and ships support for our fork of "mike" – a tool that enables you to deploy multiple versions of your documentation to GH Pages. Checkout the 0.0.30 release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...
062
Zensical @zensical.org · 26/03/2026
🎙️ We were on @talkpython.fm! Episode #542 is live – Martin Donath (@squidfunk.com) joined @mkennedy.codes to talk about the origin story of Zensical, how it differs from MkDocs, and what drove us to build it. If you're curious about the "why", this is a good listen: talkpython.fm/episodes/sho...
talkpython.fm
Zensical - a modern static site generator
If you've built documentation in the Python ecosystem, chances are you've used Martin Donath's work. His Material for MKDocs powers docs for FastAPI, uv, AWS, OpenAI, and tens of thousands of other pr...
033
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 23/03/2026
Just finished the impl of a central module system concept: Specificity. If multiple selectors match a resource, ordering becomes important. This allows for super fine-grained module interdependencies 😎 Released as part of ZRX 0.0.15 github.com/zensical/zrx...
141
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 12/03/2026
In the light of the latest MkDocs developments, we've updated our plugin section to outline how we plan to reach feature parity as quickly as possible, and how MkDocs plugins relate to @zensical.org modules. zensical.org/compatibilit...
052
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 10/03/2026
We've just released Zensical 0.0.25, which includes several improvements for authoring and user experience, as well as accessibility. We're also making good progress on the module system, so shouldn't be long ☺️ github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.25 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version updates the user interface to v0.0.9, which improves on accessibility and fixes some minor rendering issues. Additionally, it fixes some bugs related to configuration parsing a...
052
Reposted by Zensical
Nigel James @nigeljam.es · 20/02/2026
I was running up some doco on MKDocs earlier this week and then found @zensical.org this morning. It took about 4 minutes to change over and it looks fantastic out of the box. Confluence -> confluence-markdown-exporter -> zensical Perfect.
011
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 10/02/2026
I will be on @talkpython.fm next week, talking about @zensical.org ☺️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Bv...
youtube.com
Zensical - a modern static site generator - Talk Python live stream
YouTube video by Talk Python
011
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 04/02/2026
We just delivered Zensical Monthly, January 2026 edition straight to your inbox with the latest and greatest updates to keep you informed on what's happening behind the scenes ☺️ We send 1 newsletter at the beginning of every month: zensical.org/about/newsle...
041
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 29/01/2026
Had our first open video call today! We demoed an early design draft of @zensical.org's module system – the optimize plugin from Material for MkDocs (400 LOC) reduced to ~20 lines with ZRX modules. The runtime handles parallelization, caching & orchestration automatically.
161
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 25/01/2026
Adoption of @zensical.org is growing fast, as we're already close to 100k monthly downloads! We're working hard on reaching feature parity within the coming months, so all Material for MkDocs users can switch to a maintained, modern docs stack 🚀 pypistats.org/packages/zen...
252
Zensical @zensical.org · 24/01/2026
Zensical 0.0.19 ships generation of objects.inv for mkdocstrings-powered documentation sites! github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.19 · zensical/zensical
This version adds support for the generation of objects.inv for your mkdocstrings-powered documentation site, allowing external tools to discover and link to your API documentation. No changes to y...
031
Reposted by Zensical
Martin Donath @squidfunk.com · 21/01/2026
Making great progress on ZRX, the foundation for the module system that we're cooking up for @zensical.org – it'll offer several degrees of freedom, and allow for type-safe composition (= plugin interop) – something that MkDocs (now dead) never delivered. github.com/zensical/zrx...
github.com
Release 0.0.10 · zensical/zrx
Summary This version includes a large refactoring of Iterator impls across various Store decorators, enhancing code clarity and maintainability. Additionally, almost all impl Iterator return-positi...
022
Zensical @zensical.org · 19/01/2026
Zensical 0.0.17 brings support for automatic and manual API cross-references! Symbol names in your auto-generated API documentation will now link to the relevant section in your documentation. github.com/zensical/zen...
github.com
Release 0.0.17 · zensical/zensical
Summary This version brings support for automatic and manual API cross-references. Symbol names on pages that include auto-generated API documentation now automatically link to the relevant section...
032