> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wanderersguide.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Content Data

> How spells, feats, ancestries and the rest are stored, linked, and turned into the rules that drive a character sheet.

This page is for anyone authoring or programmatically reading Wanderer’s Guide content: homebrew creators, tool builders, and contributors. If you only want to call the public API, the [API reference](/api-reference/introduction) is enough; this is the layer underneath.

## The data model

WG content lives in Postgres, with one table per primary content type:

| Table                                                                                   | What it holds                                                                                                                                                               |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `trait`                                                                                 | Tags / keywords (e.g. *Fire*, *Concentrate*, *Dwarf*). Most other rows reference these by id.                                                                               |
| `ability_block`                                                                         | Feats, actions, class features, heritages, senses, physical features, modes. Anything action-block-shaped. The `type` column distinguishes them.                            |
| `spell`                                                                                 | Spells.                                                                                                                                                                     |
| `item`                                                                                  | Equipment, weapons, armor, consumables, runes, materials.                                                                                                                   |
| `ancestry`, `versatile_heritage`, `class`, `class_archetype`, `archetype`, `background` | Character-build options. Each is its own table because the schemas differ.                                                                                                  |
| `creature`                                                                              | Monsters, NPCs, animal companions.                                                                                                                                          |
| `language`                                                                              | Languages.                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `content_source`                                                                        | The “book” a row belongs to. Every content row has a `content_source_id`. Sources are owned (`user_id`) by the user who created them, or `null` for official Paizo sources. |
| `content_update`                                                                        | A pending edit submitted by the community for moderator review.                                                                                                             |

A second layer, the **frontend cache**, mirrors a subset of these tables in the browser so the character sheet doesn’t hit the database for every lookup. The cache is populated at app start from `find-*` calls and refreshed when the active character’s `content_sources.enabled` list changes.

### Public vs. homebrew

`find-*` endpoints implicitly filter to **official, published** sources unless you pass `content_sources` (or query by a specific `id`). This is the rule baked into [`fetchData()`](https://github.com/wanderers-guide/wanderers-guide/blob/main/supabase/functions/_shared/helpers.ts). Without it, a search would surface every random homebrew row in the database.

Every entity that lives in a content source carries a generated `uuid` (a hash of `name + type + level/rank + content_source_id`) so duplicate entries within the same source are caught at insert time.

## Operations

The `operations` column on each content row is what makes WG content actually *do* something to a character. See **[Operations](/guides/operations)** for the full catalog of types and their JSON shapes.

When you `POST` a content row to a `create-*` endpoint, you’re sending operations in raw JSON. The API treats them as opaque (the OpenAPI schema uses `additionalProperties: true`); validation happens at character-build time on the frontend.

## Linking content from prose

Descriptions, special clauses, and notes can reference other content. The convention is a flat marker the frontend rewrites into a real link:

```
link_<type>_<id>
```

Examples:

* `link_spell_1234` links to spell #1234
* `link_action_42` links to ability block #42 of type `action`
* `link_trait_7` links to trait #7

In React code, [`convertToHardcodedLink(type, name)`](https://github.com/wanderers-guide/wanderers-guide/blob/main/frontend/src/process/content/hardcoded-links.ts) does the lookup-by-name against the cache and emits the marker:

```ts theme={null}
import { convertToHardcodedLink } from '@content/hardcoded-links';

`${convertToHardcodedLink('action', 'Seek')} basic action`;
// -> "[Seek](link_action_42) basic action"
```

If the name isn’t in the cache, it falls back to plain text, so prose still reads correctly when the cache hasn’t loaded.

### What to link in prose

Link **proper nouns** that have a row in the database: feat names, action names, spell names, traits, conditions, damage types. Don’t link generic phrases (“a basic strike”, “any spell”), and don’t link the same thing twice in a paragraph. Once is enough.

When in doubt: if a reader would benefit from clicking through to the rules, link it. If not, leave it plain.

## See also

* [`find-content-source`](/api-reference/content/find-content-source): list books, including homebrew you own.
* [`create-content-source`](/api-reference/content/create-content-source): start a new homebrew book (Patreon tier 2+).
* [`create-content-update`](/api-reference/content/create-content-update): submit an edit or erratum for community review.
* [`search-data`](/api-reference/search/search-data): full-text search across every content type.