okf

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Overview

okf is a .NET tool for working with Open Knowledge Format (OKF) bundles — directories of markdown concepts with YAML frontmatter, linked by relative paths.

It validates bundles, builds a knowledge graph (nodes + edges + optional body/nav), and emits an interactive HTML reader (view).

Run without installing permanently via dnx:

dnx okf -- --help

While the package is pre-release, pass --prerelease to dnx (before the tool args):

dnx okf --prerelease -- check samples/the-law

Command	Purpose
check	Validate a bundle (structure, frontmatter, links)
graph	Emit okf.json / okf.js knowledge graph
view	Obsidian-style single-file reader (index.html + full graph)

The sample bundle under samples/the-law is used in the screenshots below (Frédéric Bastiat’s The Law as a knowledge corpus).

Install / run

# One-shot (downloads tool package as needed)
dnx okf -- check samples/the-law

# Or install as a local/global tool
dotnet tool install okf --prerelease
okf check samples/the-law

Use -- after dnx okf when you need to pass flags that might otherwise be parsed by dnx itself (for example dnx okf -- --help).

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check

Validate an OKF bundle directory for structural and content issues.

dnx okf -- check [path] [--json]

Argument / option	Description
path	Bundle directory (default: .)
--json	Emit issues as JSON instead of human-readable text

What it checks (errors):

• Bundle directory exists
• Concept files have valid YAML frontmatter
• Concept files declare a non-empty type
• index.md frontmatter is valid (root index may only use okf_version)
• index.md structure and list entries are valid
• log.md format is valid

Warnings:

• Unresolved internal links
• Free prose lines in index.md (non-structural)

Exit code is 1 when any errors are reported, 0 otherwise.

dnx okf -- check samples/the-law
# ✓ Bundle directory exists
# ✓ Concept files have valid YAML frontmatter
# …

dnx okf -- check samples/check-failures
# intentionally invalid showcase (see samples/README.md)

---

graph

Generate an OKF graph file for the bundle. Runs validation first; generation is skipped if there are errors.

dnx okf -- graph [path] [-o|--out <path>] [-b|--body] [--nav] [--js] [-q|--quiet] [--json] [-p|--properties Key=Value]

Argument / option	Description
path	Bundle directory (default: .)
-o, --out	Output path (default: okf.json, or okf.js with --js)
-b, --body	Include markdown body text on each node
--nav	Include the index-driven navigation tree
--js	Emit a script that sets window.data (loadable via <script src> on file://)
-q, --quiet	Only render validation errors and warnings
--json	Print validation issues as JSON
-p, --properties	Extra bundle-level properties (Key=Value, repeatable)

Examples:

# Compact graph (metadata + link edges + PageRank metrics)
dnx okf -- graph samples/the-law -o samples/the-law/okf.json

# Full graph for offline consumers / custom UIs
dnx okf -- graph samples/the-law --body --nav -o samples/the-law/okf-full.json

# JS global for file:// hosting
dnx okf -- graph samples/the-law --js -o samples/the-law/okf.js

Graph schema

Top-level shape:

{
  "version": "0.1",
  "timestamp": "2026-07-10T05:21:13.1336661+00:00",
  "nav": { },
  "nodes": [ ],
  "edges": [ ],
  "bundle": { }
}

Field	When present	Description
version	always	Graph format version (0.1)
timestamp	always	Generation time (UTC offset)
nodes	always	Concept nodes (one per concept .md)
edges	always	Directed links from markdown references
nav	--nav	Index-driven tree for progressive disclosure
bundle	-p used	Producer-defined key/value properties

Nodes

Each concept becomes a node. Concept id is the path within the bundle without .md (for example fundamental-principles/natural-rights).

Field	Source	Description
id	path	Stable concept id
slug	derived	Short unique abbreviation (edge ids / fragments)
type	frontmatter	Required concept type
title	frontmatter	Display title
label	frontmatter / title	Short label (nav, graph UI)
description	frontmatter	One-line summary
resource	frontmatter	Optional canonical URI for an underlying asset
tags	frontmatter	Optional tag list
timestamp	frontmatter	Optional last-modified
path	file	Relative path to the .md file
body	file (--body)	Markdown body after frontmatter
degree / in / out	graph	Link counts
weight / rank	PageRank	Importance score and dense rank (1 = highest)

Plus any other frontmatter keys are preserved as extension data on the node.

Sample nodes (from samples/the-law, compact graph — no body):

{
  "version": "0.1",
  "timestamp": "2026-07-10T05:21:13.1336661+00:00",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "foreword",
      "slug": "f",
      "type": "Foreword",
      "title": "Foreword by Thomas J. DiLorenzo",
      "label": "Foreword",
      "description": "Places the essay in the tradition of the Declaration of Independence and warns against modern forms of legal plunder.",
      "tags": ["bastiat", "foreword", "legal-philosophy", "the-law"],
      "timestamp": "2026-07-02T12:00:00+00:00",
      "path": "foreword.md",
      "degree": 5,
      "in": 0,
      "out": 5,
      "weight": 0.0018987341772151902,
      "rank": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "fundamental-principles/natural-rights",
      "slug": "fna",
      "type": "Core Principle",
      "title": "Natural Rights",
      "label": "Natural Rights",
      "description": "Life, liberty and property are God-given and exist prior to any legislation.",
      "tags": ["bastiat", "legal-philosophy", "natural-rights", "the-law"],
      "timestamp": "2026-07-02T12:00:00+00:00",
      "path": "fundamental-principles/natural-rights.md",
      "degree": 70,
      "in": 62,
      "out": 8,
      "weight": 0.11198154345997116,
      "rank": 5
    }
  ],
  "edges": [
    {
      "source": "foreword",
      "target": "the-law",
      "id": "f_t",
      "label": "The Law"
    },
    {
      "source": "foreword",
      "target": "fundamental-principles/natural-rights",
      "id": "f_fna",
      "label": "Natural Rights"
    },
    {
      "source": "foreword",
      "target": "fundamental-principles/law-as-organization-of-defense",
      "id": "f_flaw-",
      "label": "the definition of law"
    }
  ]
}

With --body, nodes also include the markdown body:

{
  "id": "foreword",
  "slug": "f",
  "type": "Foreword",
  "title": "Foreword by Thomas J. DiLorenzo",
  "body": "# Foreword\n\nThese principles are developed in [The Law](/the-law.md) and rest on [Natural Rights](/fundamental-principles/natural-rights.md).\n…",
  "path": "foreword.md",
  "degree": 5,
  "in": 0,
  "out": 5,
  "weight": 0.0018987341772151902,
  "rank": 10
}

Edges

Edges are directed links discovered in concept markdown (relative and bundle-rooted /… paths). External URLs are ignored.

Field	Description
source	Concept id of the linking document
target	Concept id of the linked document
id	Short edge id from source/target slugs
label	Link text when available

Nav (--nav)

Index-driven tree used by view. Node kinds:

kind	Meaning
dir	Directory (has optional body from index.md)
group	Section heading group inside an index
concept	Leaf pointing at a concept id
orphans	Concepts not listed from any index

{
  "kind": "dir",
  "id": "",
  "label": "The Law — Knowledge Bundle",
  "body": "\n# The Law — Knowledge Bundle\n\n## Primary Documents\n…",
  "children": [
    {
      "kind": "group",
      "label": "Primary Documents",
      "children": [
        {
          "kind": "concept",
          "id": "the-law",
          "label": "The Law",
          "description": "Complete overview and analysis"
        },
        {
          "kind": "concept",
          "id": "foreword",
          "label": "Foreword",
          "description": "Thomas DiLorenzo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

---

view

Generate an Obsidian-style single-file reader (index.html) plus a full body+nav okf.json. Always builds with concept bodies and the index-driven nav tree. Default writes both files into the bundle root (overwrites an existing compact okf.json).

dnx okf -- view [path] [-o|--out <path>] [--name <title>] [--open]

Argument / option	Description
path	Bundle directory (default: .)
-o, --out	Output directory, or path to index.html / okf.json (extension-less paths are directories)
--name	Display name in the HTML title (default: directory name)
--open	Open the generated index.html in the default browser

dnx okf -- view samples/the-law --name "The Law" --open

Reader features

The generated viewer is a self-contained HTML app (marked + DOMPurify + 3d-force-graph):

• Navigation tree from index.md groups and directories, with search
• Concept reader — type chip, title, description, tags, rendered markdown
• Backlinks — “Linked from” list derived from graph edges
• Local graph — force-directed neighborhood of the current concept (expandable)
• Tags panel — co-occurrence graph across the corpus
• Light / dark theme (persisted in localStorage)

Screenshots from samples/the-law/index.html:

Bundle home (dark theme) — nav, index body, local graph, on-this-page:

Concept page with tags, backlinks, and neighborhood graph:

Expanded local graph for a concept (Lawful Defense):

Tags panel — tag co-occurrence force graph:

Light theme:

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Typical workflow

# 1. Author markdown concepts under a bundle directory
# 2. Validate
dnx okf -- check ./my-bundle

# 3a. Ship a compact graph for agents / APIs
dnx okf -- graph ./my-bundle -o ./my-bundle/okf.json

# 3b. Or ship a human reader
dnx okf -- view ./my-bundle --open

OKF format (brief)

A bundle is a directory of UTF-8 markdown files:

• Concept files: YAML frontmatter (type required) + free-form body
• index.md — optional directory listing (progressive disclosure)
• log.md — optional chronological update log

Concept id = relative path without .md. Links between concepts use normal markdown links; graph / view turn those into edges.

See the full draft specification embedded in the tool package and in src/okf/SPEC.md.

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