Article TOC Generator

Generate and maintain Table of Contents for markdown blog articles with proper anchor navigation. Handles migration from legacy SublimeText MarkdownTOC plugin format to clean markdown TOC.

When to Use

• •User asks to add a table of contents to an article
• •User wants to update/refresh TOC after adding new sections
• •Article needs navigation structure for better readability
• •Preparing an article for publication
• •Migrating old articles from MarkdownTOC plugin format

Inputs

• •file_path: Path to the markdown article file
• •levels (optional): Heading levels to include (default: "2,3" for ## and ###)

Process

Step 1: Read and Parse Article

1. •Read the markdown file
2. •Identify front matter (content between --- markers)
3. •Find all headings at specified levels (## and ### by default)
4. •Check for existing TOC - detect legacy MarkdownTOC plugin markers:
   • •<!-- MarkdownTOC ... --> (various attribute combinations)
   • •``

Step 2: Generate Anchor Names

For each heading, create a kebab-case anchor:

1. •Convert to lowercase
2. •Replace spaces with hyphens
3. •Remove special characters (keep alphanumeric and hyphens)
4. •Handle duplicates by appending numbers if needed

Examples:

Step 3: Remove Legacy MarkdownTOC Markers

If legacy SublimeText MarkdownTOC plugin markers are found, remove them completely:

Patterns to detect and remove:

<!-- MarkdownTOC -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC autolink="true" -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC autolink="true" autoanchor="true" -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC levels="2,3" autolink="true" autoanchor="true" -->

Regex pattern for detection:

<!-- MarkdownTOC[^>]*-->

Action:

1. •Find opening marker: <!-- MarkdownTOC ... -->
2. •Find closing marker: ``
3. •Extract TOC content between markers (the actual list items)
4. •Remove both markers, keep only the TOC list temporarily
5. •The TOC list will be regenerated fresh in Step 5

Step 4: Add Anchor Tags to Headings

Insert HTML anchor tag above each heading:

<a id="section-name"></a>

## Section Name

Important:

• •Add blank line before anchor for proper rendering
• •Anchor tag goes on its own line, directly above heading
• •Don't add anchors if they already exist

Step 5: Generate Clean TOC Block

Create a clean TOC without legacy MarkdownTOC plugin markers:

## Table of Contents

- [First Section](#first-section)
- [Second Section](#second-section)
  - [Subsection A](#subsection-a)
  - [Subsection B](#subsection-b)
- [Third Section](#third-section)

TOC Structure:

• •Optional ## Table of Contents heading (include if article uses headings for structure)
• •Level 2 headings (##) at root level
• •Level 3 headings (###) indented with 2 spaces
• •Each entry: - [Heading Text](#anchor-name)
• •No HTML comment markers - pure markdown

Step 6: Insert TOC in Article

Location: After front matter, before first content paragraph

1. •Find end of front matter (second ---)
2. •Remove any existing TOC block (including legacy MarkdownTOC markers)
3. •Insert new clean TOC after a blank line
4. •Ensure blank line after TOC before content

If legacy TOC exists:

• •Remove entire block including <!-- MarkdownTOC ... --> and `` markers
• •Replace with clean markdown TOC at same position

Step 7: Invoke Post-Edit Actions

After completing TOC changes, invoke the article-post-edit-actions skill with:

• •file_path: Same article file
• •edit_descriptions:
  • •"Added table of contents" (if new TOC)
  • •"Updated table of contents" (if refreshed existing TOC)
  • •"Migrated from legacy MarkdownTOC format" (if old markers were removed)
  • •"Added anchor links to headings" (if anchors were added)

Example Transformations

Example 1: New Article (no existing TOC)

Before:

---
Title: My Article
Date: 2024-01-15
---
Introduction paragraph here.

## First Section

Content...

### Subsection

More content...

## Second Section

Final content...

After:

---
Title: My Article
Date: 2024-01-15
Modified: 2026-02-07
---
Introduction paragraph here.

## Table of Contents

- [First Section](#first-section)
  - [Subsection](#subsection)
- [Second Section](#second-section)

<a id="first-section"></a>

## First Section

Content...

<a id="subsection"></a>

### Subsection

More content...

<a id="second-section"></a>

## Second Section

Final content...

**Edits:**

- 2026-02-07: Added table of contents
- 2026-02-07: Added anchor links to headings

Example 2: Migrating from Legacy MarkdownTOC Plugin

Before (with SublimeText MarkdownTOC markers):

---
Title: Old Article
Date: 2020-05-10
---
Introduction paragraph here.

<!-- MarkdownTOC autolink="true" autoanchor="true" -->

- [First Section](#first-section)
- [Second Section](#second-section)



<a id="first-section"></a>

## First Section

Content...

<a id="second-section"></a>

## Second Section

Final content...

After (clean markdown TOC):

---
Title: Old Article
Date: 2020-05-10
Modified: 2026-02-07
---
Introduction paragraph here.

## Table of Contents

- [First Section](#first-section)
- [Second Section](#second-section)

<a id="first-section"></a>

## First Section

Content...

<a id="second-section"></a>

## Second Section

Final content...

**Edits:**

- 2026-02-07: Migrated from legacy MarkdownTOC format

Output

• •Modified article with:
  • •TOC block after front matter
  • •Anchor tags above all headings
  • •Updated metadata (via post-edit actions skill)

Success Criteria

• • TOC placed after front matter, before content
• • All ## and ### headings included in TOC
• • Anchor IDs use kebab-case naming
• • Each heading has corresponding <a id=""> tag above it
• • TOC links match anchor IDs exactly
• • Indentation correct (### indented under ##)
• • Post-edit actions skill invoked with appropriate descriptions
• • Modified date updated
• • Edits section updated with change description

Edge Cases

Legacy MarkdownTOC Markers

Various formats to handle:

<!-- MarkdownTOC -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC autolink="true" -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC autolink="true" autoanchor="true" -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC levels="2,3" autolink="true" autoanchor="true" -->
<!-- MarkdownTOC levels="1,2,3" -->

• •All variations should be detected and removed
• •Closing marker is always ``
• •Replace with clean markdown TOC

Existing Clean TOC

• •If TOC exists without MarkdownTOC markers, regenerate it
• •Keep same position in document

Existing Anchors

• •Skip headings that already have <a id=""> directly above
• •Or update anchor if ID doesn't match expected format

Special Characters in Headings

• •Remove: `!@#$%^&*()+=[]{}|;:'",.<>?/``
• •Keep: alphanumeric, spaces (convert to hyphens)
• •Apostrophes in contractions: remove (What's → whats)

Duplicate Headings

If same heading text appears multiple times:

• •First occurrence: #section-name
• •Second occurrence: #section-name-1
• •Third occurrence: #section-name-2

Notes

• •This skill always chains to article-post-edit-actions on completion
• •Preserve any content between front matter and first heading (intro paragraphs)
• •No HTML comment markers - generate pure markdown TOC
• •Legacy MarkdownTOC markers from SublimeText plugin should be removed
• •Clean markdown TOC is more portable and readable