reqlan

reqlan {
    semantic *engineering* toolset
}

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Why reqlan

Notes apps store paragraphs. reqlan stores handles — requirements as code, built for LLM workflows.

Six ideas and their edges beat forty files. Hand the agent a shaped slice — never the whole repo.

# /rq-search oauth flow
→ auth.login
→ auth.session
→ auth.logout

# not: dump the whole workspace

Name the idea. Point at the code. Prove it with a test. Hop the graph like a signal path.

login {
    rejects empty passwords
    aligns with [auth.session]
    implemented in ["./auth.ts".login]
    proven by ["./auth.test.ts:rejects empty password"]
    @status done
}

Software, ops, industrial control, personal knowledge — if you can name it, you can graph it.

safety_interlock {
    valve must close before heater enables
    bound to ["./plc/safety.st".INTERLOCK]
    @tags: (iec-61131, critical)
}

A real language server for `.rq` — and `rq:` hooks in every other file.

LSP — go-to-def, find refs, validation, semantic tokens
Inlay hints, hover, and completion for imports and links
rq: references in comments of any source file
CodeLens on references with classification cards

auth.login ──► session.rq:12
              └──► [auth.logout]
# rq:["./auth.rq".login]

Ideas Summary, neighbourhood context, and exports that share one `.reqlan` index with the CLI.

Ideas Summary — tables plus a live Obsidian-style graph
Activity-bar neighbourhood scoped to file or selection
Semantic search across the base
Export HTML site, JSON, or CSV — same index as `reqlan` / `rq` CLI

Reqlan: Ideas Summary
Reqlan: Semantic Search
Reqlan: Get Local Graph
Reqlan: Export HTML
$ reqlan search oauth
$ reqlan export

@reqlan in chat, MCP tools for agents, rq-* skills for Cursor and Copilot — token discipline by default.

@reqlan chat participant with #requirement / #file tools
MCP — search, file context, local graph
rq-* skills: search, build requirement, add to context, write plan
Install Cursor skills from the command palette

/rq-search oauth
/rq-build-requirement
/rq-add-to-context
/rq-write-plan

Write it like you mean it

The language teaches itself — each rule is a valid idea. Flip to example inside any block for a practical slice.

one-liner

one_line_idea an idea is prose after an identifying name

block

block_idea {
    A name followed by curly braces holds a longer body and optional attributes.
    The first unmarked text is the main description.
}

links & attributes

reference_target a named idea other ideas can point at

links_and_attributes {
    Bracket refs like [reference_target] connect ideas in the graph.
    @status draft
    @tags (syntax, reference)
}

imports

import "pythonmodule.py" as importable_python_module

imports {
    You can import [importable_python_module] — arbitrary files, not only .rq.
}

file refs

file_reference {
    Point at a whole file ["./module.py"], a symbol ["./module.py".SessionStore],
    or a named test ["./module.test.py:rejects expired token"].
}

typescript

// rq:["./syntax.rq".comment_reference]
// An rq: comment in TypeScript pins this location back to an idea.

markdown

<!-- rq:["./syntax.rq".comment_reference] -->
An `rq:` comment in Markdown pins this doc back to an idea.

python

# rq:["./syntax.rq".comment_reference]
# An rq: comment in Python pins this location back to an idea.

A slice of a real graph

Imports, file anchors, wikilinks, status, tags, and tests — one idea that tools can find.

from "auth.rq" import login
import "./session.rq" as session

session_refresh {
    refresh tokens rotate on use
    aligns with [session.session_expiry] and [login]
    implemented in ["./src/auth/session.ts".rotateRefresh]
    proven by ["./src/auth/session.test.ts:rejects reused refresh token"]

    @status: in-progress
    @tags: (auth, security)
    @todo: reject reuse of the old refresh token
}

Why reqlan

Write it like you mean it

A slice of a real graph

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