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

# Entity Guidance

`entity` is the type for concrete things: projects, systems, tools, technologies or people.
Entities are the primary building blocks of the knowledge graph.

## When to use

- Representing a software project, an initiative or a piece of work
- Documenting a running system, service or infrastructure component
- Describing a CLI tool, utility or software library
- Recording information about a language, a framework or a protocol
- Documenting a person, a team or an organization

## When NOT to use

- For abstract concepts, patterns or methodologies (use `concept`)
- For source documents or ingested material (use `source`)
- For comparative analyses (use `comparison`)

## Authoring guidance

- The title is the entity's canonical name and follows the subject's established designation, not the KB language (`kb/CONTRACT.md` § "Titles are identifiers", `kb/CONVENTIONS.md` §§ "Naming" and "Language")
- The main description goes near the top
- Link to related entities and concepts wherever relationships exist
- 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:

- Entity pages form the concrete inventory of the knowledge base
- Every entity type (project, system, tool and so on) is a variant of this base type
- The relationships between entities carry the knowledge graph's interconnection