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GUIDE 2 — STRUCTURE

bullet lists

plain text already renders line by line — single enter = line break.
so a simple list in plain text just works:

apples
bananas
cherries

but when you want structure — indentation, nesting, styled bullets — use ;-:

• first item
• second item
• third item

;- first item ;.
;- second item ;.
;- third item ;.

vs markdown

- first item       markdown — but - is also used in yaml, CLI flags, separators
;- first item ;.  mtx — ; + - is always a bullet

numbered lists

same idea — plain text numbered lists render naturally:

1. first item
2. second item
3. third item

but when you want proper <ol> structure — use ;N.:

1. first item
2. second item
3. third item

;1. first item ;.
;2. second item ;.
;3. third item ;.

the digit sets the start number. ;0. starts from zero. ;5. starts from five.

checkboxes

• buy groceries
• write the guide
• publish to github

;+ buy groceries ;.       unchecked
;* write the guide ;.     checked
;+ publish to github ;.   unchecked

blockquotes

plain is safe. formatting is opt-in.

;< plain is safe. formatting is opt-in. ;.

vs markdown

> quote text      markdown — but > is also shell redirect
;< quote text ;. mtx — unambiguous

links

plain url

https://example.com

;} https://example.com ;.

linked text

visit example

;] visit example ;. ;} https://example.com ;.

text first, then url. both closed with ;.

vs markdown

[text](url)                markdown — brackets + parens clash with code syntax
;] text ;. ;} url ;.    mtx — same ; pattern as everything

images

;{ alt text ;. ;} /img/photo.jpg ;.

;{ for image alt, then ;} for url. same pattern as links but with { instead of ]

tables

;[ name ;x ;[ role ;x ;[ status ;x
;[ alice ;x ;[ designer ;x ;[ active ;x
;[ bob ;x ;[ developer ;x ;[ active ;x

first row = header. ;[ opens a cell, ;x closes it.
;x is a dedicated cell closer — inline ;. inside cells (bold, code) never collides.

vs markdown

| name  | role     |     markdown — needs alignment row, pipes everywhere
|-------|----------|
| alice | designer |

;[ name ;x ;[ role ;x      mtx — clean, no alignment row needed
;[ alice ;x ;[ designer ;x

dividers

;& ;.

renders as a horizontal rule. used between major sections.

comments

;# this is a comment — it wont render ;.

invisible in output. useful for notes to yourself.

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