Queries

Typed accessors answer common document questions. Generic queries remain available for extension node kinds and compound filters.

Use typed accessors

<?php
use Alto\Markdown\Markdown;

$document = Markdown::github()->fromString(
    "# Project\n\nRead the [guide](https://example.com).\n\n"
    ."## Install\n\nRun Composer.\n",
);

$title = $document->title()?->text();
$hasInstall = $document->section('install')->exists();
$linkCount = $document->links()->count();
$firstH2 = $document->headings(level: 2)->first()?->text();

The values are Project, true, 1, and Install.

Available typed entry points include headings(), section(), sections(), links(), images(), codeBlocks(), and frontMatter(). A missing section returns a handle whose exists() method is false; check it before mutation.

Work with collections

Collections are lazy, repeatable, iterable, and countable:

• first() stops after the first match;
• count() consumes matches without building an array;
• all() returns every handle;
• filter() derives another lazy collection.

Select node kinds

Use the generic query for core or qualified extension kinds:

<?php
$blocks = $document->query()
    ->kind('paragraph')
    ->kind('gfm:table')
    ->get();

Kind filters are combined with OR. where() predicates are combined with AND, and results remain in source order. Unknown kinds produce an empty collection.

Handles belong to one document generation. Query again after a save or structural reparse. Continue with Statistics for aggregate metrics or Editing to change selected content.