Quartz v4 with Semantic Knowledge Graph

"[One] who works with the door open gets all kinds of interruptions, but [they] also occasionally gets clues as to what the world is and what might be important." — Richard Hamming

Quartz is a set of tools that helps you publish your digital garden and notes as a website for free. Quartz v4 features a from-the-ground rewrite focusing on end-user extensibility and ease-of-use.

This fork extends Quartz with semantic knowledge graph functionality, enabling rich semantic relationships and knowledge visualization through YAML frontmatter.

🔗 Read the documentation and get started: https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/

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✨ Semantic Knowledge Graph Features

This enhanced version of Quartz includes powerful semantic knowledge graph capabilities that transform your content into a true knowledge graph with labeled relationships and semantic entities.

🎯 Key Features

• Dual Graph Modes: Toggle between standard wiki-link graph and semantic knowledge graph
• Semantic Relationships: Define relationships in YAML frontmatter using relationships array
• Semantic Triples: Express complex knowledge using semantic_triples for RDF-like statements
• Edge Labels: Visual representation of relationship types (:relatedTo, :usesTechnology, :leverages, etc.)
• Semantic Entities: Nodes for concepts, technologies, organizations that don't have corresponding files
• Rich Visualization: Color-coded links and comprehensive knowledge mapping

🚀 Usage

Standard Wiki Links

The default mode shows traditional [[wikilink]] connections between your markdown files.

Semantic Knowledge Graph Mode

Toggle the "Knowledge Graph" switch to reveal rich semantic relationships defined in your YAML frontmatter.

Defining Relationships in Frontmatter

---
title: "Your Article"
relationships:
  - predicate: :relatedTo
    object: OtherArticle.md
    description: "How they're related"
  - predicate: :usesTechnology
    object: SomeTechnology
    description: "Usage description"

semantic_triples:
  - subject: self
    predicate: :isa
    object: "concept type"
  - subject: "external entity"
    predicate: :enables
    object: self
---

Relationship Types

Common relationship predicates include:

• :relatedTo - General relationships
• :usesTechnology - Technology dependencies
• :leverages - Building upon concepts
• :isa - Type relationships
• :enables - Enablement relationships
• :supports - Support relationships
• :exploresConcept - Conceptual exploration

🛠 Development

Building

npx quartz build

Local Development

Since Quartz v4 doesn't include a built-in serve command, use a simple HTTP server:

# After building
python3 -m http.server 8000 -d public
# or
cd public && npx serve

📁 Architecture

The semantic knowledge graph functionality is implemented through:

• Graph Component: Enhanced quartz/components/Graph.tsx with toggle UI
• Graph Script: Extended quartz/components/scripts/graph.inline.ts with semantic processing
• Content Index: Modified quartz/plugins/emitters/contentIndex.ts to preserve frontmatter
• Styling: Updated quartz/components/styles/graph.scss with toggle controls

📖 Detailed Documentation: See the semanticKnowledgeGraph/ folder for:

• Implementation Details
• YAML Schema Reference
• Usage Examples

🎨 Customization

The semantic knowledge graph respects your Quartz theme:

• Relationships use the secondary theme color
• Semantic triples use the tertiary theme color
• Standard links use the default light gray

📊 Example Use Cases

Perfect for:

• Bioregional Knowledge Commons: Mapping place-based knowledge and relationships
• Research Networks: Connecting concepts, methodologies, and findings
• Technology Ecosystems: Visualizing tool dependencies and relationships
• Organizational Knowledge: Mapping institutional relationships and processes
• Academic Research: Expressing complex theoretical relationships

This semantic layer transforms your digital garden into a true knowledge graph, enabling rich exploration of conceptual relationships and semantic connections between ideas, entities, and resources.

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