Zensical

zensical.orgZensicalAdaptive systems for evolving ideas – Zensical builds scalable Open Source tools for technical writing – from static sites to connected content systems.

16 Sept

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...

github.comRelease 0.0.72 · zensical/zensicalSummary This version brings Zensical's behavior closely in line with MkDocs, with support for the privacy plugin and fixes to Markdown rendering, link handling, and project layouts. Fenced code blo...

Zensical 0.0.72 brings behavior very close to Material for MkDocs: privacy plugin, fenced code blocks by default, and fixes for links and Markdown extension ordering among many others. Release notes: github.com/zensical/zen...

github.comRelease 0.0.68 · zensical/zensicalSummary This version adds native replacements for the audio and video MkDocs plugins and improves compatibility with the macros plugin. The user interface is updated to v0.0.35, bringing instant na...

Zensical 0.0.68 is out, adding support for audio and video. github.com/zensical/zen...

github.comRelease 0.0.67 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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 ...

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.comRelease 0.0.66 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

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.comRelease 0.0.65 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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 ...

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.comRelease 0.0.64 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

22 Sept

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.comRelease 0.0.61 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

11 Sept

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...

3 Sept

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/

github.comRelease 0.0.58 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

2 Sept

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...

1 Sept

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.

25 Aug

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/

24 Aug

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/

24 Aug

Connections also follows reusable content. See which snippets and fragments a page includes, where that content is used elsewhere, and the exact inclusion site behind every relationship.

17 Aug

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/

github.comRelease 0.0.54 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

13 Aug

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...

mail.zensical.orgThe tight authoring loop

11 Aug

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...

7 Aug

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/

7 Aug

During startup, Zensical Studio: 👀 Discovers documents in configured project roots 📂 Indexes Markdown structure and extensions 🧭 Resolves links and anchors across the workspace 🏗️ Builds symbols for workspace navigation 🩹 Computes diagnostics for broken or unused references

31 July

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/

30 July

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/

github.comRelease 0.0.52 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

30 July

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...

21 July

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/

21 July

2/2 Supported today: - Click relative links to open Markdown files in the editor. - Jump to headings across documents. - Keep the editor and preview aligned. - Interact with tabs and collapsible details. - Distinguish external links at a glance.

6 July

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...

30 June

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 🧵

4/5 The same is true for content tabs. Tabbed #anchors now behave like symbols. Zensical Studio computes the same anchor IDs as Python Markdown and updates incoming links when a tab title changes.

30 June

5/5 This release is a huge quality-of-life step. Links, anchors, snippets, tabs, footnotes, abbreviations, and file moves now behave much more like code intelligence instead of plain text tooling. That’s the direction we’re heading: treat docs-as-code.

2/5 Snippet sections are now first-class. Studio resolves section selectors, links them, completes them, and shows references to where a reusable section is included. Small feature on paper, huge quality-of-life improvement for complex docs projects relying on content reuse.

30 June

3/5 Heading anchors now update __on save__. No explicit rename necessary - just edit the heading, and all incoming #anchor links are automagically updated. Zensical Studio has a model of your documentation project and keeps all internal links in-sync.

Zensical reposted

25 June

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/

23 June

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...

21 June

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...

github.comRelease 0.1.1 · zensical/studioSummary 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...

19 June

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...

16 June

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/

github.comRelease 0.0.44 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

4 June

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.comRelease 0.0.42 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

15 May

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...

6 May

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...

github.comRelease 0.0.40 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

4 May

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.comRelease 0.0.39 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

1 May

Zensical 0.0.39 is out – a bugfix release smoothing out edges on link validation and the new lightbox integration. github.com/zensical/zen...

30 Apr

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...

github.comRelease 0.0.37 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

27 Apr

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.comRelease 0.0.35 · zensical/zensicalSummary 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...

23 Apr

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...

Zensical reposted

youtube.comA letter to tech CEOsYouTube video by Theo - t3․gg

16 Apr

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.

13 Apr

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...

Zensical reposted

github.comRelease 0.0.17 · zensical/zrxSummary 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...

7 Apr

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...

28 Mar

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...

talkpython.fmZensical - a modern static site generatorIf 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...

26 Mar

🎙️ 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...

Zensical reposted

23 Mar

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...

Zensical reposted