Every content reference in MeshWeaver follows one compact pattern:
{address}/{prefix}/{path}
Three parts, one slash between each. Once you know what each part does, you can construct any reference by inspection.
Backward compatibility. The legacy
{prefix}:{path}colon format is still accepted wherever Unified Paths are parsed.
The Three Parts
| Part | What it identifies | Example |
|---|---|---|
address |
A MeshNode in the catalog, resolved by best-match scoring | Doc/DataMesh |
prefix |
The kind of content you want from that node | content/, data/, area/ … |
path |
The specific resource within the node | docs/readme.md, Posts, Thumbnail |
Address Resolution
The address segment is not a hard-coded node ID — it is resolved dynamically against the MeshCatalog using score-based matching:
- The path is split into segments.
- Each segment is matched against registered namespace patterns.
- The highest-scoring match identifies the target node.
- Any remaining segments become the
pathportion.
This means short, human-readable addresses like Doc/DataMesh resolve correctly even as the catalog grows.
Address resolution pipeline: the input string is split into segments, scored against registered namespace patterns, and the best match becomes the target node — any leftover segments become the resource path.
Prefix Reference
The prefix tells MeshWeaver how to interpret the resource at the resolved address.
| Prefix | Purpose | Rendered as |
|---|---|---|
content/ |
Static files — images, markdown, attachments | File content, inline |
data/ |
Data collections or entities | Data grid or entity view |
area/ |
Layout areas | Layout component |
schema/ |
Type schemas | JSON schema code block |
model/ |
Data model diagrams | Mermaid class diagram |
menu/ |
Menu structure | Menu items |
| (none) | Default area reference | Layout component |
@ vs @@
The leading @ character controls whether the reference becomes a link or an inline embed.
| Syntax | Behavior |
|---|---|
@path |
Creates a hyperlink to the referenced content |
@@path |
Embeds the content inline at that point in the document |
Use @ when you want the reader to navigate to the content. Use @@ when the content should appear directly in the page — for thumbnails, summaries, or reusable snippets.
Examples
Simple Reference (hyperlink)
@Doc/DataMesh/QuerySyntax
Result:
@Doc/DataMesh/QuerySyntaxEmbedded Content
@@Doc/DataMesh/UnifiedPath/Thumbnail
Result: