Rockgarden supports the superset of CommonMark, GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown), and Obsidian markdown. No configuration needed — all syntax is handled gracefully.
CommonMark (Base Markdown)
Feature
Syntax
Status
Headings
# H1 through ###### H6
✅
Paragraphs
Plain text
✅
Line breaks
Two spaces or \ at end
✅
Emphasis
*italic* or _italic_
✅
Strong
**bold** or __bold__
✅
Blockquotes
> quote
✅
Lists (ordered)
1. item
✅
Lists (unordered)
- item or * item
✅
Code (inline)
`code`
✅
Code blocks
``` or indented
✅
Horizontal rule
--- or ***
✅
Links
[text](url)
✅
Images
✅
Autolinks
<http://url>
✅
HTML
Raw HTML passthrough
✅
GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown)
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Tables
| col | col |
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Strikethrough
~~text~~
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Task lists
- [ ] and - [x]
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Autolinks
Bare URLs
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Syntax highlighting
```python
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Footnotes
[^1] and [^1]: text
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Alerts
> [!NOTE]
Ready
Feature 05
Obsidian Markdown
Links & References
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Wiki-links
[[Page Name]]
✅
Feature 03
Wiki-links (aliased)
[[Page|Display]]
✅
Feature 03
Headings links
[[Page#Heading]]
⚠️
Partial support
Block references
[[Page#^block]]
❌
Future
Embeds
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Image embeds
![[image.png]]
✅
Feature 04
Image sizing
![[image.png|200]]
✅
Feature 04
Image alt text
![[image.png|alt text]]
✅
Feature 04
Audio embeds
![[audio.mp3]]
✅
Feature 04
Video embeds
![[video.mp4]]
✅
Feature 04
PDF embeds
![[doc.pdf]]
✅
Feature 04
Note transclusion
![[note]]
❌
Planned
Formatting
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Highlights
==text==
❌
Future
Comments
%% comment %%
❌
Should strip during build
HTML comments
<!-- comment -->
✅
Standard markdown
Callouts
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Basic callouts
> [!note]
Ready
Feature 05
Custom titles
> [!note] Title
Ready
Feature 05
Collapsible (open)
> [!note]+
Ready
Feature 05
Collapsible (closed)
> [!note]-
Ready
Feature 05
Math
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Inline math
$E = mc^2$
❌
Future
Block math
$$...$$
❌
Future
GFM math blocks
```math
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Diagrams
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Mermaid
```mermaid
✅
Via markdown-it-py
Tags
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
Inline tags
#tag
❌
Future (collections)
Nested tags
#parent/child
❌
Future (collections)
Frontmatter tags
tags: [tag1, tag2]
✅
Already parsed
Metadata
Feature
Syntax
Status
Notes
YAML frontmatter
--- block
✅
Fully parsed
Inline fields
key:: value
❌
Future (Dataview compat)
Syntax Priority
When features overlap (rare), rockgarden handles them in this order:
Obsidian-specific syntax is preprocessed first (wiki-links, embeds, callouts, comments)
GFM/CommonMark is parsed by markdown-it-py
HTML passthrough for anything not matched
This ensures:
Code blocks protect their contents from all processing
Obsidian syntax works even if it conflicts with markdown edge cases
Standard markdown always works
Future Syntax Additions
Planned for future phases:
Phase A (Zero-Config Release)
❌ Note transclusion: ![[note]]
Phase B (General SSG)
None markdown-specific
Phase C (Enhanced Features)
❌ Inline math: $...$ and block math $$...$$
❌ Highlights: ==text==
❌ Comment stripping: %% comment %%
❌ Block references: [[page#^block]]
❌ Inline fields: key:: value (Dataview compatibility)
Not Planned
Canvas files (.canvas) — binary format, not markdown
Dataview queries — requires runtime evaluation
Plugin-specific syntax — too varied to support generically
Testing Strategy
Each syntax feature should have test coverage for:
Basic usage (happy path)
Edge cases (nested, escaped, empty)
Inside code blocks (should NOT process)
Mixed with other syntax
Invalid syntax (graceful degradation)
See individual feature docs in plans/features/ for detailed specs.