References and mentions in threads
Mention a person or point to another thread or note by typing a short reference. btn.dev turns it into a link when the page is shown.
Where they work
In anything written in Markdown on btn.dev: notes and their additional context, comments, and project and org descriptions.
Mentioning someone
Type @ and their username:
| You type | You see |
|---|---|
@ada |
a link @ada to ada's page |
Pointing to a thread
Every thread has a number: the year and month it was started, a hyphen, and a count, so 2611-1 is the first thread started in November 2026. It is in the thread's address and at the top of its page. A project's inbox is a thread too, but it has no number: its address ends in inbox (inbox-2 for a project's second), and you refer to it that way, as neapolitan/inbox or, for a note in it, inbox#k3vq8x. The word inbox on its own, with neither a project before it nor a note after it, is left as a word.
| You type | It points to |
|---|---|
2611-1 |
that thread in the same project |
neapolitan/2611-1 |
a thread in another project of the same org |
noumenal/neapolitan/2611-1 |
a thread in any project of any org |
Each becomes a link. The link shows the shortest form that is clear where you are reading it: on a page of the same project, noumenal/neapolitan/2611-1 shows as 2611-1. Hold the pointer over a thread link to see the thread's title.
Pointing to a note
Every note has an id, shown at the top of the note, for example #k3vq8x. Put it after the thread's reference:
2611-1#k3vq8x
That is a link to the note, shown as 2611-1#k3vq8x, or as #k3vq8x within the same thread. Any of the thread forms works before the #: neapolitan/2611-1#k3vq8x and noumenal/neapolitan/2611-1#k3vq8x too. A #k3vq8x typed on its own is not read as a reference, because a word after # is too common in ordinary writing.
The editor helps
In the editor, type @ to be offered people, and # to be offered threads, as you type. Choosing one writes the reference for you.
What is not a reference
So that ordinary text is left alone:
- A reference must be a word of its own, not part of a longer one:
2611-1is a reference, butv2611-1,2026-11-09,/path/2611-1andada@example.orgare not. - The month must be 01 to 12, so
2613-1is not a reference. - Nothing inside code or inside a link is read. To write a reference as plain text, put it in backticks:
`2611-1`.
When the reader may not see it
A reference becomes a link only for readers who may see what it points to. For anyone else, it stays exactly the text that was typed, with no title and no sign of whether the thread, note or person exists. So you can refer to a members-only thread in a public one without giving anything away, but readers outside the project will not be able to follow it.
Mentioned in
A thread's page lists, under Mentioned in, the other threads that refer to it, as far as you may see them.