mdsmith kinds

June 8, 2026 · View on GitHub

See File Kinds for the concept. Each subcommand resolves the layered config (defaults → convention → kind → overrides) for one file path or kind name and prints the merged result.

mdsmith kinds <subcommand> [args]

Each subcommand accepts --json for stable structured output.

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
`list`	Print declared kinds with their merged bodies
`show <name>`	Print one kind's merged body
`path <name>`	Print resolved schema path of `required-structure`
`resolve <file>`	Resolved kind list and per-leaf provenance summary
`why <file> <rule>`	Full per-rule merge chain, including no-op layers

JSON schemas

kinds list → {"kinds": [<body>...]}; show <name> → one body. Body: {"name", "rules", "categories"} where rules[<name>] follows the YAML rule-cfg union (false, true, or a settings map).

kinds resolve <file> returns {file, kinds, categories, rules}. Each rule entry is {final, leaves} with one leaf per enabled and settings.<key>.

kinds why <file> <rule> adds two arrays. layers[] lists every applicable layer in chain order; no-op layers carry "set": false and omit value. leaves[].chain records the layers that set each leaf, in chain order:

{"file": "plan/9_big.md", "rule": "max-file-length",
 "final": {"max": 900},
 "layers": [
   {"source": "default", "set": true, "value": {"max": 300}},
   {"source": "kinds.plan", "set": true, "value": {"max": 500}},
   {"source": "overrides[0]", "set": true, "value": {"max": 900}}],
 "leaves": [{"path": "settings.max", "value": 900,
   "source": "overrides[0]", "chain": [
     {"source": "default", "value": 300},
     {"source": "kinds.plan", "value": 500},
     {"source": "overrides[0]", "value": 900}]}]}

Source labels: default, front-matter override, front-matter, kind-assignment[<i>], kinds.<name>, or overrides[<i>].

Examples

mdsmith kinds list
mdsmith kinds show plan
mdsmith kinds path plan
mdsmith kinds resolve plan/9_big.md
mdsmith kinds why plan/9_big.md max-file-length --json

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Output produced
2	Unknown kind, unresolved schema, error