---
type: types/type-guidance.md
name: concept
description: When to write a concept page instead of a neighboring type, and how to write a conforming one - citation, linking and register rules that hold regardless of which concept_type values this instance chose
---

# Concept Guidance

`concept` is the type for abstract ideas, methodologies, patterns and architectural decisions.
Concepts provide the theoretical and methodological ground that entities implement or follow.

## When to use

- Documenting an architectural pattern or design approach
- Explaining a design pattern or a programming methodology
- Describing a communication protocol or standard
- Recording a workflow or process that recurs across projects
- Documenting an architectural decision (ADR) or design decision
- Analysing a recurring problem and its solutions

## When NOT to use

- For concrete things such as projects, systems or tools (use `entity`)
- For source documents or ingested material (use `source`)
- For comparative analyses of concrete subjects (use `comparison`)

## Authoring guidance

- The title is the concept's canonical name and follows the established term of art, not the KB language (`kb/CONTRACT.md` § "Titles are identifiers", `kb/CONVENTIONS.md` §§ "Naming" and "Language")
- Open with a clear definition: what the concept is
- Give examples wherever they carry the understanding
- Link to the entities that implement or use the concept
- Under `provenance: sourced` or `mixed`, back hard facts inline with a `[^cite-id]` footnote -
  `tools/wikitool cite add --page "<Title>" --source "Source - X"` mints the id and its definition
- Wikipedia register: factual, neutral, no marketing language

---

Relevant Notes:

- Concept pages carry the wiki's theoretical underpinning
- Each concept type stands for a different category of abstract knowledge
- Concepts should be linked to from the entities that implement or use them