kyh inteligir Formulas And Variables
A pill holds a computed or reusable value inline. Two fields are enough for a one-off calculation; a name and an id make it something other pills can point at.
The Grammar
{{source|display}}
{{source|display|key=value;key=value}}
source runs to the first |, display to the second, and optional
semicolon-separated metadata follows. There is no escape form: a pipe cannot
appear inside source or display.
display is what the reader sees. Keep it consistent with source — the app
recomputes executable pills, but a stale display you wrote by hand is a lie
until something recomputes it.
| Kind | Written as |
|---|---|
| One-off calculation | {{2+2|4}} |
| Named value | {{16|16|id=<uuid>;name=base_size}} |
| Symbolic label | {{timeline|6 weeks|id=<uuid>}} |
What Executes
Arithmetic only: + - * / ( ), decimals, $, thousands commas, %, and
k/m/b magnitude suffixes in either case. No functions, no exponentiation.
Anything else is symbolic — it displays and can be referenced, but nothing
recomputes it.
Results carry thousands separators and at most two decimals. $ and % shape
the parse; they do not decorate the result.
Identity And References
A pill's identity is (note id, pill id). Names live in name=, and a name is
only meaningful next to an id.
A bound reference points at an exact pill:
@(name#note-id#pill-id)
{{16|16|id=3f2a9d10-6c1e-4b7a-8e52-0aa1b2c3d4e5;name=base_size}}
{{@(base_size#1c9a5b76-4e2d-4f4b-9a63-7e1f2b8c0d44#3f2a9d10-6c1e-4b7a-8e52-0aa1b2c3d4e5)*2|32|id=9b8c7d6e-5f4a-4321-a098-76543210fedc;name=double_size}}
That is the whole point of named pills: define an anchor once, derive from it, and changing the anchor moves everything downstream.
Only write a bound reference when you have both real ids — from the note's
frontmatter id: and the target pill's id=. An invented id resolves to
nothing and the pill goes stale. When you lack them, write a plain value.
Duplicating a pill inside one note keeps the id, and the copies stay linked. An independent value needs a fresh uuid.
Metadata
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
id |
This pill's identity within its note |
name |
The name other pills reference |
stale=1 |
The last recompute could not resolve a reference; the display is the last known value |
stale is the app's to set and clear. Never add it by hand, and never strip it
from a pill you are not rebuilding — it is the app telling the reader the number
may be out of date.
Unknown keys are preserved. Legacy format= is dropped on rewrite.
In Tables
A pill can sit in a table cell, and its internal pipes stay pill syntax rather
than becoming column separators. Write the pill's own pipes escaped as \|
inside a cell so the row parses:
| Monthly | {{1000\|1,000}} |
Before You Finish
- Every new independent pill has a fresh uuid.
- Bound references use real note and pill ids, never examples from this page.
stalewas left exactly as found.- Literal syntax examples are inside backticks, so they stay text.