Rule matrix

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

---

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	id_transform=False
SetextHeading	continuation	yes	yes	yes	heading	id_transform=False
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	yes	no	table, tableRow, tableCell	none
Footnote	inline + transform	no	yes	no	footnoteReference, footnoteDefinition	none
Strikethrough	inline	no	yes	no	delete	none
ExtendedAutolink	inline	no	yes	no	link	none

github 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 Image(references=False) and Link(references=False) to avoid 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.

Extension-only rules

These rules are not part of the built-in commonmark, github, or streaming presets. Enable them explicitly when your dialect needs the syntax.

Rule	Kind	Generated node or behavior	Streaming note
Abbreviation	transform	rewrites matching text to abbreviation	not streaming-compatible
DefinitionList	continuation	definitionList, definitionTerm, definitionDescription	compatible
MathBlock	block	math	compatible
BlockSpoiler	block	blockSpoiler	compatible
LeafDirective	block	leafDirective	compatible
ContainerDirective	block	containerDirective	compatible
FencedDirective	block	containerDirective	compatible
TextDirective	inline	textDirective	compatible
Role	inline	textDirective	compatible
Mark	inline	mark	compatible
Insert	inline	insert	compatible
Superscript	inline	superscript	compatible
Subscript	inline	subscript	compatible
Ruby	inline	ruby	compatible
InlineSpoiler	inline	inlineSpoiler	compatible
InlineMath	inline	inlineMath	compatible

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.

• Abbreviation, because matching text nodes are rewritten after abbreviation definitions are collected.

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

Common customizations

Generate heading IDs while keeping a small dialect:

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

wenmode = Wenmode([
    AtxHeading(id_transform=True),
    SetextHeading(id_transform=True),
])

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

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

wenmode = 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'),
]