tomevault-io Micron Markup Language
Micron is a compact, terminal-friendly markup language used by NomadNet for rendering formatted text in terminals. It uses backtick-prefixed commands for formatting, colors, links, and interactive elements.
Quick Reference Table
| Category | Tags | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Formatting | `! |
Toggle bold |
`* |
Toggle italic | |
`_ |
Toggle underline | |
`` |
Reset all formatting to default | |
| Alignment | `c |
Center text (line start) |
`l |
Left-align text (line start) | |
`r |
Right-align text (line start) | |
`a |
Return to default alignment | |
| Colors | `FXXX |
Set foreground color (3-digit hex) |
`f |
Reset foreground to default | |
`BXXX |
Set background color (3-digit hex) | |
`b |
Reset background to default | |
`gXX |
Grayscale color (00-99) | |
| Sections | > |
Top-level heading |
>> |
Sub-heading (level 2) | |
>>> |
Sub-sub-heading (level 3+) | |
< |
Reset section depth to 0 | |
| Dividers | - |
Horizontal divider |
-X |
Divider with character X | |
| Links | `[dest] |
Simple link |
`[label`dest] |
Labeled link | |
`[label`path`fields] |
Request link with field submission | |
| Fields | `<name`value> |
Text input field |
`<width|name`value> |
Sized input field | |
`<!|name`value> |
Masked (password) input | |
`<?|name|value`> |
Checkbox | |
`<^|name|value`> |
Radio button | |
| Controls | # (line start) |
Comment (not displayed) |
`= |
Toggle literal mode (code blocks) | |
\ |
Escape next character | |
| Page Headers | #!c=X |
Cache time in seconds (0 = no cache) |
#!fg=XXX |
Default page foreground color | |
#!bg=XXX |
Default page background color |
Core Concepts
Formatting Tags
Formatting tags toggle on/off. Apply the same tag again to turn off formatting:
`!Bold text`! and `*italic text`* with `_underlines`_
Combine formatting by stacking tags:
`!`*`_Bold italic underlined`_`*`!
Reset all formatting with double backtick ( ``).
Color System
3-digit hex colors expand to 6-digit: F0af becomes #00aaff
`F00f Blue text `f back to default
`Bf00 Red background `b back to default
Grayscale uses gXX where XX is 00 (black) to 99 (white):
`g50 Medium gray text`f
Section Headings
Section depth increases with each > and creates indentation:
>Main Heading
Text indented under main heading
>>Sub-heading
More indented text
<
Back to no indentation
Links
Link format: `[label`destination] or just `[destination]
`[Home`:/page/index.mu]
`[Visit Node`a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8:/page/about.mu]
Form Fields
Basic text field:
Username: `B444`<username`>`b
Sized and masked fields:
Password: `B444`<!16|password`>`b
Checkboxes and radio buttons:
`<?|agree|yes`> I agree to terms
`<^|color|red`> Red
`<^|color|blue`> Blue
Request Links (Form Submission)
Submit all fields:
`[Submit`:/page/handler.mu`*]
Submit specific fields:
`[Login`:/page/auth.mu`username|password]
Include preset variables:
`[Search`:/page/search.mu`query|action=search|limit=10]
Parser Implementation Notes
When implementing a Micron parser:
- State machine approach: Track formatting state (bold, italic, underline), colors, alignment, section depth, and literal mode
- Line-based processing: Some tags only work at line start (
>,<,-,#, alignment) - Inline processing: Most formatting and colors work anywhere in text
- Literal mode: When
`=toggles literal mode on, pass through all text unchanged until`=again - Section indentation: Typically 2 spaces per depth level
Additional Resources
Reference Files
For comprehensive documentation, consult:
references/syntax-spec.md- Complete Micron specification from NomadNetworkreferences/parser-implementations.md- Cross-reference of Python and JavaScript parser implementationsreferences/examples.md- Practical Micron code examples for common patterns
Key Source Files
Reference implementations for parser development:
- Python:
NomadNet/nomadnet/ui/textui/MicronParser.py(887 lines) - JavaScript (meshchat):
reticulum-meshchat/src/frontend/js/MicronParser.js(714 lines) - JavaScript (rBrowser):
rBrowser/script/micron-parser_original.js(905 lines)
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