Literal brackets put nothing inside a mark, so the nested-link check runs ahead of both guards

AGENTS.md

@@ -55,9 +55,8 @@ Round-trip equality is a property tested over a corpus, not a claim made in pros
   spells the mark; `!adf:link[text]{attrs}` where it does not — an attribute CommonMark cannot
   hold, an `href` or `title` no canonical escape spells, a paragraph opening whose CommonMark
   spelling would read as a link reference definition — and a directive link CommonMark could spell
-  is refused (the maintainer, 2026-09-13). No link wraps a link, so a `[text]` holding one leaves
-  the outer brackets literal text and the directive form is refused, following CommonMark's prose
-  where its reference implementation nests one `<a>` in another (the maintainer, 2026-09-17).
+  is refused (the maintainer, 2026-09-13). No link wraps a link, which is CommonMark's prose where
+  its reference implementation nests one `<a>` in another (the maintainer, 2026-09-17).
 - Identity-bearing nodes carry their ids in attributes; a document is only portable within its
   site — accepted.
 - The HTML dialect mirrors this: semantic elements, stable `adf-*` classes, `data-*` for what HTML

MIGRATION.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Directives moved under the `!adf:` prefix. `0.2.0` reads `0.1.0`'s spelling with
 turning each directive into text and each carried node into an `adf` code block. Before `0.2.0`
 reads any `0.1.0` markdown, convert what is stored or in flight (an open editor, a queue) with the
 recipe below, and rewrite markdown your code writes or matches (templates, prompts, patterns) by
-the spelling table. Stored ADF needs no change.
+the tables below. Stored ADF needs no change.
 
 ### Convert markdown
 
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ function migrateMarkdown(stored: string) {
 A colon run and `:name[` are plain text now, and `adf` an ordinary code block language; text
 holding an unescaped `!adf:` and a `carry` fence are claimed instead.
 
+### Readings
+
+Markdown the spelling table leaves alone, reading to a different document.
+
+| Input | `0.1.0` | `0.2.0` |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| a link whose text already holds one (`[a<https://example.com/>b](/v)`) | marks every node the inner link does not, splitting the outer link around it | leaves the outer brackets literal text |
+
 ### Error codes
 
 `unspellable-link` leaves `ConvertErrorCode`: a `switch` naming it stops compiling, and the link
@@ -55,7 +63,6 @@ it named converts.
 | Input | `0.1.0` | `0.2.0` |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | a link whose `href` or `title` no CommonMark escape spells, on emit | `unspellable-link` | spells `!adf:link[text]{attrs}` |
-| a link whose text already holds one (`[a<https://example.com/>b](/v)`) | marks every node the inner link does not, splitting the outer link around it | leaves the outer brackets literal text |
 | a leaf node given a body (`media`, `listBreak`) | `unsupported-node-shape` | `malformed-directive` |
 | a node with a block body written as a leaf (`panel`) | `unsupported-node-shape` | `malformed-directive` |
 | an empty node the `::taskItem` spelling row names, written as a leaf | parses | `malformed-directive` |

README.md

@@ -120,9 +120,9 @@ emit refuses:
   continuing past a marker change stays one list against CommonMark's two, a shortcut
   reference matching its definition only under Unicode case folding stays unresolved, and a link
   whose text holds an autolink keeps the inner link and leaves the outer brackets literal text,
-  where the reference nests one `<a>` inside another against the spec's own prose. The first three
-  are pinned `pending` in `corpus/commonmark-spec/exceptions.json`; the suite holds no example of
-  the fourth.
+  which the spec requires and the reference implementation itself breaks, nesting one `<a>` in the
+  other. The first three are pinned `pending` in `corpus/commonmark-spec/exceptions.json`; the
+  suite holds no example of the fourth.
 - Raw HTML in markdown input is an error result, never a silent drop — a tag, a comment and a
   processing instruction alike. ADF holds no raw-HTML node; the element mapping ships at `0.2.0`.
 - Not every document converts back: `adfToMarkdown` is partial on valid ADF — a text node holding

src/markdown/parse/inline-content.ts

@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ function directiveMarkPiece(scan: Scan, name: string, mark: AdfMark, slot: SlotC
 function refuseLinkDirective(scan: Scan, mark: AdfMark, nodes: readonly AdfNode[], index: number): Result<Piece> | undefined {
   const href = linkHref(nodeAttrs(mark))
   if (href === undefined) return failure('unsupported-node-shape', hreflessLink, scan.path)
-  if (holdsLink(nodes)) return failure('unsupported-node-shape', linkInLink, scan.path)
+  if (marksLink(nodes)) return failure('unsupported-node-shape', linkInLink, scan.path)
   if (commonMarkLink(nodeAttrs(mark), href, nodes, 0, scan.container === undefined) === undefined) return undefined
   if (index !== 0 || scan.container !== 'paragraph') return failure('unsupported-node-shape', spellableLink, scan.path)
   scan.openingSpellableLink = true
@@ -268,7 +268,12 @@ function holdsImage(pieces: readonly Piece[]): boolean {
   return pieces.some((piece) => piece.kind === 'image')
 }
 
-function holdsLink(nodes: readonly AdfNode[]): boolean {
+// A carry rides its own piece: the carried node's marks restore with it rather than riding a spelling, so the guard below answers for it.
+function holdsLink(pieces: readonly Piece[]): boolean {
+  return pieces.some((piece) => piece.kind === 'nodes' && marksLink(piece.nodes))
+}
+
+function marksLink(nodes: readonly AdfNode[]): boolean {
   return nodes.some((node) => nodeMarks(node).some((mark) => mark.type === 'link'))
 }
 
@@ -349,6 +354,11 @@ function resolveTarget(scan: Scan, bracket: Bracket, index: number): { definitio
 }
 
 function closeLink(scan: Scan, at: number, inner: readonly Piece[], definition: LinkDefinition): Result<boolean> {
+  // Ahead of the guards below: brackets going literal put the image and the carry inside no mark for either to refuse.
+  if (holdsLink(inner)) {
+    deactivateOpeners(scan, at)
+    return success(false)
+  }
   if (holdsImage(inner)) return failure('unmappable-image', imageAlone, scan.path)
   if (holdsCarry(inner)) return failure('unsupported-node-shape', carriedInMark, scan.path)
   const resolved = resolveNodes(inner, scan.path)
@@ -356,10 +366,6 @@ function closeLink(scan: Scan, at: number, inner: readonly Piece[], definition:
   const nodes = resolved.value
   // An empty link text gives the mark no node to ride, so the brackets stay text.
   if (nodes.length === 0) return success(false)
-  if (holdsLink(nodes)) {
-    deactivateOpeners(scan, at)
-    return success(false)
-  }
   const attrs = definition.title === undefined ? { href: definition.destination } : { href: definition.destination, title: definition.title }
   truncatePieces(scan, at)
   deactivateOpeners(scan, at)

src/markdown/parse/markdown-to-adf.test.ts

@@ -416,6 +416,7 @@ test('names the mark spelling no opaque carry sits inside', () => {
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`**${carried}**\n`)), named)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`~~a ${carried}~~\n`)), named)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`[a ${carried} b](https://example.com/x)\n`)), named)
+  assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`[*<http://x/>${carried}*](/w)\n`)), named)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`!adf:underline[${carried}]\n`)), named)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`!adf:textColor[a ${carried}]{color="#ae2e24"}\n`)), named)
   assert.equal(content(markdownToAdf(`![_a ${carried}_](https://example.com/i)\n`)), named)
@@ -842,8 +843,11 @@ test('leaves the brackets of a link whose text already holds one the text they a
 })
 
 test('keeps the carry and the image the brackets a nested link leaves literal hold', () => {
-  assert.deepEqual(content(markdownToAdf('[[<http://x/>](/c)!adf:carry{json="{\\"type\\":\\"blockCard\\"}"}](/w)\n')), [
-    { content: [text('[['), marked('http://x/', link('http://x/')), text('](/c)'), { type: 'blockCard' }, text('](/w)')], type: 'paragraph' },
+  assert.deepEqual(content(markdownToAdf(`[<http://x/>${carried}](/w)\n`)), [
+    { content: [text('['), marked('http://x/', link('http://x/')), { type: 'placeholder' }, text('](/w)')], type: 'paragraph' },
+  ])
+  assert.deepEqual(content(markdownToAdf(`[[<http://x/>](/c)${carried}](/w)\n`)), [
+    { content: [text('[['), marked('http://x/', link('http://x/')), text('](/c)'), { type: 'placeholder' }, text('](/w)')], type: 'paragraph' },
   ])
   assert.deepEqual(content(markdownToAdf('![![a [b](/c) ](/i)[![x](/y)[<http://x/>](/c)](/w)](/v)\n')), [image('/v', 'a b [x[http://x/](/c)](/w)')])
 })