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Z104-file-not-found — Link Target Missing

Z-Code: Z104 FILE_NOT_FOUND · Engine: standalone · Exit: 1

The Fixture

The fixture lives at examples/z104-file-not-found/ in the Zenzic repository. The source document is docs/index.md, which contains a link to api/reference.md — a file that does not exist on disk:

Line Link Target Exists?
11 [API Reference](api/reference.md) docs/api/reference.md ✘
examples/z104-file-not-found/.zenzic.toml
docs_dir = "docs"
fail_under = 0

[build_context]
engine = "standalone"

Running the Example

# Clone the Zenzic repository — no install required
cd examples/z104-file-not-found
uvx zenzic check all

Expected output:

standalone · 1 file (1 docs, 0 assets) · 0.0s · 67 files/s

docs/index.md:11:44  x  [Z104]  'api/reference.md' not found in docs

     9  │  ## API Reference
    10  │
    11  ❱  For the complete API specification, see the [API Reference](api/refer…
    12  │  The API reference contains all endpoints, request formats, and respo…
    13  │

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Summary:  x 1 error  ! 0 warnings  i 0 info  · 1 file with findings

FAILED: Hard errors detected. Exit code 1 is mandatory.

Exit code: 1

Interpreting the Output

The Z104 finding indicates a FILE_NOT_FOUND issue.

This error is raised when a relative link in a Markdown page points to a file path that does not exist in the docs_dir tree. Unlike Z101 LINK_BROKEN (which covers structural routing issues), Z104 is the precise signal for a missing filesystem entry:

  • Scan Type: Link Validator
  • Severity: Error
  • Impact: Missing link targets break navigation and deduct 8.0 DQS points — the highest penalty in the Z1xx group.

Resolve the Issue

  1. Create the missing file at docs/api/reference.md.
  2. Or correct the link target in docs/index.md to point to an existing file.
- For the complete API specification, see the [API Reference](api/reference.md).
+ For the complete API specification, see the [API Reference](api/index.md).

Footnotes Parsing Behavior

Footnote definitions (such as [^1]: footnote text) are parsed and recognized correctly by Zenzic's link parser. Zenzic automatically ignores footnotes during the link verification process, preventing them from being mistakenly validated as filesystem links, thereby avoiding false-positive Z104 errors.

See Also