Rule matrix

Compare Wenmode rules by preset membership, generated nodes, configuration options, and streaming compatibility.

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Use this page when you are building a custom dialect and need to decide which rules to enable. For syntax examples and default HTML output, use the Reference pages. For constructor details, use the generated Rules API page.

Preset membership

Rule	Kind	commonmark	github	streaming	Generated node or behavior	Options
ThematicBreak	block	yes	yes	yes	thematicBreak	none
FencedCode	block	yes	yes	yes	code	none
IndentedCode	block	yes	yes	yes	code	none
HtmlBlock	block	yes	configured	yes	html	disallowed_tags=()
List	block	yes	configured	yes	list, listItem	task=False
AtxHeading	block	yes	yes	yes	heading	transforms=()
SetextHeading	continuation	yes	yes	yes	heading	transforms=()
Blockquote	block	yes	yes	yes	blockquote	none
HardBreak	inline	yes	yes	yes	break	none
Autolink	inline	yes	yes	yes	link	none
RawHtml	inline	yes	configured	yes	html	disallowed_tags=(), comment_style="commonmark"
BackslashEscape	inline	yes	yes	yes	text escaping	none
CharacterReference	inline	yes	yes	yes	decoded text	none
Image	inline	yes	yes	configured	image	references=True
Link	inline	yes	yes	configured	link	references=True
InlineCode	inline	yes	yes	yes	inlineCode	none
Emphasis	inline	yes	yes	yes	emphasis, strong	none
Table	block	no	configured	configured	table, tableRow, tableCell	require_body_pipe=True
Footnote	inline + transform	no	yes	no	footnoteReference, footnoteDefinition	none
Strikethrough	inline	no	yes	yes	delete	none
ExtendedAutolink	inline	no	yes	no	link	none
LeafDirective	block	no	no	no	leafDirective	none
ContainerDirective	block	no	no	no	containerDirective	none
TextDirective	inline	no	no	no	textDirective	none

github configures Table(require_body_pipe=False), configures HtmlBlock and RawHtml with the GFM disallowed tag list, uses RawHtml(comment_style="gfm"), and configures List(task=True) so task list markers become listItem.checked values. streaming configures Table(require_body_pipe=False), Image(references=False), and Link(references=False) to keep tables GFM-compatible while avoiding document-wide reference resolution.

ReferenceDefinition is enabled automatically by Link(references=True) and Image(references=True). FootnoteDefinition is enabled automatically by Footnote. You normally configure the user-facing inline rules rather than adding those definition rules directly.

Plugin rules

These rules are not part of wenmode.rules. Enable them with the plugins argument from wenmode.plugins when your dialect needs the syntax.

The plugin name in the first column is the module you import from wenmode.plugins.

Plugin	Rule class	Kind	Generated node or behavior	Streaming note
abbr	AbbreviationRule	transform	rewrites matching text to abbreviation	not streaming-compatible
definition_list	DefinitionListRule	continuation	definitionList, definitionTerm, definitionDescription	compatible
frontmatter	FrontmatterRule	block + transform	stores parsed data on root.data["frontmatter"]	compatible
github_alert	GithubAlertBlockquote	block	replaces enabled blockquote rule; emits githubAlert for top-level GitHub alerts	compatible
heading_ids	HeadingIdTransform	node transform	adds generated data.id values to enabled heading rules	compatible
html_container	HtmlContainer	block	replaces HtmlBlock; emits htmlContainer for standalone tag pairs and html for raw fallback cases	compatible
block_math	configured fenced rule	block	math	compatible
inline_math	configured literal rule	inline	inlineMath	compatible
block_spoiler	BlockSpoilerRule	block	blockSpoiler	compatible
inline_spoiler	configured delimiter rule	inline	inlineSpoiler	compatible
fenced_directive	FencedDirectiveRule	block	containerDirective, or literalDirective for configured literal-body names such as code-block	compatible
inline_role	RoleRule	inline	textDirective	compatible
mark	configured delimiter rule	inline	mark	compatible
insert	configured delimiter rule	inline	insert	compatible
superscript	SuperscriptRule	inline	superscript	compatible
subscript	SubscriptRule	inline	subscript	compatible
ruby	RubyRule	inline	ruby	compatible

fenced_directive defaults to backtick and tilde fences and literal_names={"code-block"}. Pass a custom fence tuple when a dialect also accepts colon fences.

Streaming compatibility

Streaming works only when enabled rules do not need deferred document-wide inline resolution. Avoid these when using Wenmode(streaming).stream(...):

• Link(references=True) and Image(references=True), because they attach ReferenceTransform.

• Footnote, because footnote references need collected definitions.

• wenmode.plugins.abbr, because matching text nodes are rewritten after abbreviation definitions are collected.

Use the streaming preset when latency matters. It keeps tables, strikethrough, direct links, and direct images, but leaves shortcut and reference-style links as text.

If a custom rule set raises StreamingUnsupportedError, compare it with this section first. The issue is usually a rule or transform that waits for the full document before resolving inline content.

Common customizations

Generate heading IDs while keeping a small dialect:

from wenmode import Wenmode
from wenmode.headings import HeadingIdTransform
from wenmode.rules import AtxHeading, SetextHeading

wen = Wenmode([
    AtxHeading(transforms=[HeadingIdTransform()]),
    SetextHeading(transforms=[HeadingIdTransform()]),
])

Disable reference-style links for streaming-like behavior without using the full streaming preset:

from wenmode import Wenmode
from wenmode.rules import Image, Link

wen = Wenmode([
    Link(references=False),
    Image(references=False),
])

Filter GFM-disallowed raw HTML tags in a custom rule list:

from wenmode.presets import GFM_DISALLOWED_HTML_TAGS
from wenmode.rules import HtmlBlock, RawHtml

rules = [
    HtmlBlock(disallowed_tags=GFM_DISALLOWED_HTML_TAGS),
    RawHtml(disallowed_tags=GFM_DISALLOWED_HTML_TAGS, comment_style='gfm'),
]