# How is the wiki structure (table of contents) determined?

> Open-source DeepWiki — a good answer covers: Prompt/agent that proposes sections and pages; inputs used (file tree, README); output format.

Canonical page: https://llms-technical-reviews.com/open-source-deepwiki/q/structure/

## Verdict

Both tools ask an LLM for the table of contents. They differ in what the model sees and how the answer comes back.

[deepwiki-open](/p/deepwiki-open/) makes one plain completion call. `build_structure_prompt()` includes the complete filtered file list and the README, and asks for `<wiki_structure>` XML with 4 to 6 pages (concise) or 8 to 12 pages in sections (comprehensive). Each page lists its relevant files. `parse_wiki_structure()` tolerates code fences, stray `&` and truncated output. The model cannot check any file, and in this version an argument-order bug turns request exclusions into inclusions for this step.

[OpenDeepWiki](/p/opendeepwiki/) runs an agent with the `catalog-generator` prompt. Its input is a TOON-encoded tree limited by the scan plan, the README (up to 4,000 chars), key files and entry points. It can make up to 4 confirmation calls (`ListFiles`, `Grep`, `ReadFile`) and then saves a nested JSON catalog with `WriteCatalog`. Page count is not fixed. The prompt asks for "right-sized" coverage, so big repos get many more pages (61 for OpenBot in our runs, against 12 from deepwiki-open).

deepwiki-open gives a predictable, small wiki at a known cost. OpenDeepWiki gives a catalog that grows with the codebase and is checked against a few real files.

## Per-project answers

### AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open (answered)

The wiki structure (table of contents) is determined by an LLM call. In `api/services/wiki/tasks.py`, `_determine_structure()` (line 315) orchestrates the process. First it reads the cloned repo's file tree and README via `read_repo_file_tree()` in `structure.py` (line 20), which returns sorted file paths filtered through `iterate_files()` plus the README content. The repo's default branch is detected with `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` (line 51).

These inputs are fed into `build_structure_prompt()` in `prompts.py` (line 213). The prompt constructs an XML schema asking the LLM to output a `<wiki_structure>` block containing a title, description, and individual `<page>` elements — each with an id, title, importance (high/medium/low), related pages, and a list of `<file_path>` citations. For "comprehensive" wikis, it also includes `<sections>` grouping pages and supporting nested subsections (line 135-185); "concise" omits sections and targets 4-6 pages instead of 8-12 (line 187-209).

The LLM's raw XML response is parsed by `parse_wiki_structure()` in `structure.py` (line 179). This function is robust: it strips markdown fences, escapes bare `&` characters, handles truncated responses (missing `</wiki_structure>`) by salvaging complete blocks, and falls back to regex-based extraction if strict `xml.etree.ElementTree` parsing fails. The result is a `WikiStructureModel` containing `WikiPage` and `WikiSection` objects (schemas in `api/schemas/wiki.py`).


Citations: [api/services/wiki/tasks.py:315-358](https://github.com/AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open/blob/d92819a9c9f3b99416e3580ff235fc9d3adf8b89/api/services/wiki/tasks.py#L315-L358) · [api/services/wiki/prompts.py:187-260](https://github.com/AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open/blob/d92819a9c9f3b99416e3580ff235fc9d3adf8b89/api/services/wiki/prompts.py#L187-L260) · [api/services/wiki/structure.py:1-250](https://github.com/AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open/blob/d92819a9c9f3b99416e3580ff235fc9d3adf8b89/api/services/wiki/structure.py#L1-L250) · [api/schemas/wiki.py:1-43](https://github.com/AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open/blob/d92819a9c9f3b99416e3580ff235fc9d3adf8b89/api/schemas/wiki.py#L1-L43)

### AIDotNet/OpenDeepWiki (answered)

The wiki structure (table of contents) is generated by an **LLM agent using the catalog-generator prompt** (src/OpenDeepWiki/prompts/catalog-generator.md). `WikiGenerator.GenerateCatalogAsync()` (src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/WikiGenerator.cs:245) is the entry point. It first calls `CollectRepositoryContextAsync()` to gather the project's directory tree (TOON format), README content, key files, and entry points. Then it loads the `catalog-generator` prompt template, creates a `GitTool` (for source exploration), a `CatalogTool` (wrapping `CatalogStorage` to write the catalog), and a `DocumentSourceToolBudget` that limits source tool calls to the configured `MaxCatalogSourceToolCalls` (default 4). The AI agent is instructed to design a **DeepWiki-style information architecture** — top-level topic domains with independently readable deep-dive leaf pages — not a file/class listing.

**Inputs.** The agent receives a runtime context containing the directory tree, README content, key files, entry points, and project type. It uses the tools sparingly for confirmation reads/greps before writing the catalog.

**Output format.** The catalog is JSON via the `WriteCatalog` tool (`CatalogTool.WriteAsync`), following:
```json
{"items": [{"title": "...", "path": "lowercase-hyphen-path", "order": N, "children": []}]}
```
Each leaf node gets a `DocFileId` pointing to generated content. Parent nodes are navigation groupings only.

**Design rules.** The prompt (line 25–75) emphasizes right-sized coverage (no fixed counts), no over-compression (many independent systems must not be hidden inside few chapters), verifying via source tools first, and never fabricating entries. Page titles should be in the runtime target language. The `CatalogStorage` class (src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/CatalogStorage.cs:12) persists the catalog to `DocCatalog` entities in the database, keyed by `BranchLanguageId`. Parent-child relationships are tracked via `ParentId` and an `Order` field.


Citations: [src/OpenDeepWiki/prompts/catalog-generator.md:1-215](https://github.com/AIDotNet/OpenDeepWiki/blob/d33113c88c56458c202fa6904ec114387319f1f5/src/OpenDeepWiki/prompts/catalog-generator.md#L1-L215) · [src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/WikiGenerator.cs:245-362](https://github.com/AIDotNet/OpenDeepWiki/blob/d33113c88c56458c202fa6904ec114387319f1f5/src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/WikiGenerator.cs#L245-L362) · [src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/CatalogStorage.cs:1-60](https://github.com/AIDotNet/OpenDeepWiki/blob/d33113c88c56458c202fa6904ec114387319f1f5/src/OpenDeepWiki/Services/Wiki/CatalogStorage.cs#L1-L60)