SilverBullet automatically builds and maintains an index of objects extracted from all Markdown Pages in your Spaces|Space. It subsequently allows you to use Space Lua/Lua Integrated Query to query this database in (potentially) useful ways.
By design, the truth remains in the markdown: all data indexed as objects will have a representation in markdown text as well. This index can be flushed at any time and be rebuilt from its source markdown files kept in your space (and you can do so on demand if you like using the Space: Reindex command).
Every object has a set of Attributes, some predefined, but you can add any additional custom attributes that you like.
The following attributes are predefined, and you can expect all objects to have them:
* ref: a globally unique identifier, often represented as a pointer to the place (page, position) in your space where the object is defined. For instance, a page object will use the page name as its ref attribute, and a task will use page@pos (where pos is the location the task appears in page).
* tag: the main type, or “tag” of the object, usually a built-in type (see below for a list).
In addition, many objects will also contain:
* tags: an optional set of additional, explicitly assigned tags.
* itags: a set of implicit or inherited tags: including the object’s tag, tags as well as any tags assigned to its containing page. This is useful to answer queries like, “give me all tasks on pages where that page is tagged with person“, which would be expressed as query[from index.tag "task" where table.includes(_.itags, "person")](from index.tag "task" where table.includes(_.itags, "person")) (although technically that would also match any tags that have the #person explicitly assigned).
Beside these, any number of additional tag-specific and custom Attributes can be defined (see below).
Every object has a main tag, which signifies the type of object being described. In addition, any number of additional tags can be assigned as well via the tags attribute. You can use either the main tag or any of the tags as query sources in Space Lua/Lua Integrated Query — examples below.
Every page in your space is available via the page tag. You can attach additional tags to a page, by either specifying them in the tags attribute Frontmatter, or by putting additional Tags in a stand alone paragraph with no other (textual) content in them.
In addition to ref and tags, the page tag defines a bunch of additional attributes as can be seen in this example query:
${queryfrom index.tag "page" where name == _CTX.currentPage.name}
Note that you can also query this page using the level/intermediate directly:
${queryfrom index.tag "level/intermediate"}
Aspiring Pages are pages that are linked to, but not yet created.
${queryfrom index.tag "aspiring-page"}
Markdown table rows are indexed using the table tag, any additional tags can be added using Tags in any of its cells.
| Title | Description Text |
|---|---|
| This is some key | The value contains a #table-tag |
| Some Row | This is an example row in between two others |
| Another key | This time without a tag |
${queryfrom index.tag "table" where page == _CTX.currentPage.name}
Table headers will be normalized by converting them to lowercase and replacing all non alphanumeric characters with _.
List items (both bullet point and numbered items) are indexed with the item tag, and additional tags can be added using Tags.
Here is an example of a #quote item using a custom Attributes|attribute:
And then queried via the #quote tag: ${query from index.tag "quote" where table.includes(itags, "item") )}
When items are nested, they will contain a parent attrite with a reference to their parent. In addition, itags will also inherit their ancestors’ tags. For instance:
The Leaf item will be indexed as follows:
${query
from index.tag "item"
where page == _CTX.currentPage.name
and name == "Leaf item"
select {name=name, parent=parent, itags=itags}}
Every task in your space is tagged with the task tag by default. You tag it with additional tags by using Tags in the task name, e.g.
And can then be queried via either task or upnext.
The following query shows all attributes available for tasks:
${queryfrom index.tag "upnext"}
Although you may want to render it using a template instead:
${template.each(queryfrom index.tag "upnext", templates.taskItem)}
Similar to #item, task objects have a parent attribute when nested (pointing to their parent item), and inherit their ancestor’s tags in itags.
Tasks support the default x and states (done and not done), but custom states as well. Custom states used across your space are kept in taskstate:
And can be queried as follows: ${queryfrom index.tag "taskstate" where page == _CTX.currentPage.name}
Top-level paragraphs (that is: paragraphs not embedded in a list) are indexed using the paragraph tag, any additional tags can be added using Tags.
A paragraph with a #paragraph-tag.
${queryfrom index.tag "paragraph-tag"}
You can also embed arbitrary YAML data blocks in pages via fenced code blocks and use a tag as a coding language, e.g.
name: Pete
age: 55
Which then becomes queriable via the contact tag:
${queryfrom index.tag "contact"}
All page links are tagged with link. You cannot attach additional tags to links. The main two attributes of a link are:
toPage the page the link is linking topage the page the link appears onIn addition, the snippet attribute attempts to capture a little bit of context on where the link appears.
Here is a query that shows some links that appear in this particular page:
${queryfrom index.tag "link" where page == _CTX.currentPage.name limit 5}
Headers (lines starting with #, ## etc.) are indexed as well and queriable.
${queryfrom index.tag "header" where page == _CTX.currentPage.name limit 3}
The ultimate meta tag is tag itself, which indexes for all tags used, in which page they appear and what their “parent tag” is (the context of the tag: either page, item or task).
Here are the tags used/defined in this page:
${queryfrom index.tag "tag" where page == _CTX.currentPage.name select {name=name, parent=parent}}