diff --git a/Makefile.cbm b/Makefile.cbm
index 28eb21e27..b2003265a 100644
--- a/Makefile.cbm
+++ b/Makefile.cbm
@@ -345,6 +345,7 @@ PIPELINE_SRCS = \
     src/pipeline/pass_gitdiff.c \
     src/pipeline/pass_configures.c \
     src/pipeline/pass_configlink.c \
+    src/pipeline/pass_doclinks.c \
     src/pipeline/pass_route_nodes.c \
     src/pipeline/pass_enrichment.c \
     src/pipeline/pass_envscan.c \
@@ -559,7 +560,7 @@ TEST_DISCOVER_SRCS = \
 
 TEST_GRAPH_BUFFER_SRCS = tests/test_graph_buffer.c
 
-TEST_PIPELINE_SRCS = tests/test_registry.c tests/test_pipeline.c tests/test_cross_repo.c tests/test_fqn.c tests/test_route_canon.c tests/test_path_alias.c tests/test_configlink.c tests/test_infrascan.c tests/test_worker_pool.c tests/test_parallel.c tests/test_index_resilience.c tests/test_call_reference_contract.c tests/repro/repro_call_scope_usages.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_usages.c tests/repro/repro_reference_precision.c tests/repro/repro_lexical_binding_precision.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_matrix_a.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_matrix_b.c tests/repro/repro_call_node_behaviors.c tests/repro/repro_language_registry.c tests/repro/repro_call_node_manifest.c tests/repro/repro_lsp_ordered_signatures.c tests/repro/repro_lsp_ordered_local.c tests/repro/repro_ts_overload_return_chains.c tests/repro/repro_harness_cleanup.c tests/repro/repro_runner_filter.c
+TEST_PIPELINE_SRCS = tests/test_registry.c tests/test_pipeline.c tests/test_cross_repo.c tests/test_fqn.c tests/test_route_canon.c tests/test_path_alias.c tests/test_configlink.c tests/test_doclinks.c tests/test_infrascan.c tests/test_worker_pool.c tests/test_parallel.c tests/test_index_resilience.c tests/test_call_reference_contract.c tests/repro/repro_call_scope_usages.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_usages.c tests/repro/repro_reference_precision.c tests/repro/repro_lexical_binding_precision.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_matrix_a.c tests/repro/repro_call_argument_matrix_b.c tests/repro/repro_call_node_behaviors.c tests/repro/repro_language_registry.c tests/repro/repro_call_node_manifest.c tests/repro/repro_lsp_ordered_signatures.c tests/repro/repro_lsp_ordered_local.c tests/repro/repro_ts_overload_return_chains.c tests/repro/repro_harness_cleanup.c tests/repro/repro_runner_filter.c
 
 TEST_WATCHER_SRCS = tests/test_watcher.c
 
diff --git a/src/cli/cli.c b/src/cli/cli.c
index d981af266..88dd08307 100644
--- a/src/cli/cli.c
+++ b/src/cli/cli.c
@@ -1366,8 +1366,8 @@ static const char skill_content[] =
     "\n"
     "## Edge Types\n"
     "CALLS, HTTP_CALLS, ASYNC_CALLS, DATA_FLOWS, IMPORTS, DEFINES, DEFINES_METHOD,\n"
-    "HANDLES, IMPLEMENTS, OVERRIDE, USAGE, CALL_REFERENCE, CONFIGURES, FILE_CHANGES_WITH,\n"
-    "SIMILAR_TO, SEMANTICALLY_RELATED, CONTAINS_FILE, CONTAINS_FOLDER,\n"
+    "HANDLES, IMPLEMENTS, OVERRIDE, USAGE, CALL_REFERENCE, CONFIGURES, REFERENCES_FILE,\n"
+    "FILE_CHANGES_WITH, SIMILAR_TO, SEMANTICALLY_RELATED, CONTAINS_FILE, CONTAINS_FOLDER,\n"
     "CONTAINS_PACKAGE\n"
     "\n"
     "## Cypher Examples (for query_graph)\n"
diff --git a/src/pipeline/pass_doclinks.c b/src/pipeline/pass_doclinks.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d27a22ce0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pipeline/pass_doclinks.c
@@ -0,0 +1,495 @@
+/*
+ * pass_doclinks.c — Documentation → file reference linking (pre-dump pass).
+ *
+ * Markdown docs reference other repo files constantly — a coding-standards
+ * doc links to the modules it governs, a README points at entry points —
+ * but none of that surfaced as graph edges, so fan-in queries were blind to
+ * documentation hubs: on a docs-heavy repo the top fan-in answer was off by
+ * an order of magnitude because the most-referenced doc had zero inbound
+ * edges.
+ *
+ * Three strategies emit REFERENCES_FILE edges between EXISTING File nodes
+ * (targets that don't resolve to an indexed file are dropped — the pass
+ * never invents nodes):
+ *   MD 1. Inline link:    [text](relative/path.ext)   (not http/mailto/#anchor)
+ *   MD 2. Backtick path:  `path/with/slash.ext` or `file.ext`
+ *   MD 3. Bare mention:   relative/path.ext            (slash + extension)
+ *
+ * Targets resolve relative to the referencing file's directory AND the repo
+ * root (docs are written both ways). Repeated references between the same
+ * file pair are collapsed to one edge carrying a "count" property; the edge
+ * keeps the highest-confidence strategy that matched.
+ *
+ * Operates on the graph buffer before dump to .db file.
+ */
+#include "pipeline/pipeline.h"
+#include "pipeline/pipeline_internal.h"
+#include "graph_buffer/graph_buffer.h"
+#include "foundation/constants.h"
+#include "foundation/hash_table.h"
+#include "foundation/log.h"
+#include "foundation/compat_fs.h"
+#include "foundation/limits.h"
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
+
+#define SLEN(s) (sizeof(s) - SKIP_ONE)
+
+/* ── Doc link confidence scores ──────────────────────────────────── */
+/* Markdown strategies */
+#define DOCLINK_MD_INLINE 0.95
+#define DOCLINK_MD_BACKTICK 0.85
+#define DOCLINK_MD_BARE 0.70
+
+/* Edge type emitted by this pass. */
+#define DOCLINK_EDGE_TYPE "REFERENCES_FILE"
+
+enum {
+    DOCLINK_MAX_REFS = CBM_SZ_256, /* distinct targets per referencing file */
+    DOCLINK_MAX_SEGS = CBM_SZ_64,  /* path segments during normalization */
+};
+
+/* ── Path classification ─────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Extension of the path's basename (including the dot), or NULL. */
+static const char *doclink_path_ext(const char *path) {
+    if (!path) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    const char *base = strrchr(path, '/');
+    base = base ? base + SKIP_ONE : path;
+    return strrchr(base, '.');
+}
+
+static bool doclink_is_markdown_path(const char *path) {
+    const char *ext = doclink_path_ext(path);
+    return ext && (strcmp(ext, ".md") == 0 || strcmp(ext, ".mdx") == 0);
+}
+
+/* ── File reading (mirrors pass_semantic.c read_file, minus TS pad) ── */
+
+static char *doclink_read_file(const char *path) {
+    FILE *f = cbm_fopen(path, "rb");
+    if (!f) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    (void)fseek(f, 0, SEEK_END);
+    long size = ftell(f);
+    (void)fseek(f, 0, SEEK_SET);
+    if (size <= 0 || size > cbm_max_file_bytes()) {
+        (void)fclose(f);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    char *buf = malloc((size_t)size + SKIP_ONE);
+    if (!buf) {
+        (void)fclose(f);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    size_t nread = fread(buf, SKIP_ONE, (size_t)size, f);
+    (void)fclose(f);
+    if (nread > (size_t)size) {
+        nread = (size_t)size;
+    }
+    buf[nread] = '\0';
+    return buf;
+}
+
+/* ── Path normalization + resolution ─────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Normalize "a/./b/../c" into "a/c". Rejects paths that escape the repo
+ * root (leading ".."), empty results, and over-long/over-deep inputs. */
+static bool doclink_normalize(const char *in, char *out, size_t out_sz) {
+    size_t seg_starts[DOCLINK_MAX_SEGS];
+    int depth = 0;
+    size_t out_len = 0;
+    const char *p = in;
+    out[0] = '\0';
+    while (*p) {
+        const char *seg = p;
+        const char *slash = strchr(p, '/');
+        size_t seg_len = slash ? (size_t)(slash - p) : strlen(p);
+        p = slash ? slash + SKIP_ONE : p + seg_len;
+        if (seg_len == 0 || (seg_len == SKIP_ONE && seg[0] == '.')) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (seg_len == PAIR_LEN && seg[0] == '.' && seg[SKIP_ONE] == '.') {
+            if (depth == 0) {
+                return false; /* escapes the repo root */
+            }
+            depth--;
+            out_len = seg_starts[depth];
+            out[out_len] = '\0';
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (depth >= DOCLINK_MAX_SEGS || out_len + seg_len + PAIR_LEN >= out_sz) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        seg_starts[depth++] = out_len;
+        if (out_len > 0) {
+            out[out_len++] = '/';
+        }
+        memcpy(out + out_len, seg, seg_len);
+        out_len += seg_len;
+        out[out_len] = '\0';
+    }
+    return out_len > 0;
+}
+
+/* Per-file accumulator: dedupes repeated references to the same target. */
+typedef struct {
+    int64_t target_id;
+    int count;
+    double confidence;
+    const char *strategy; /* static string literal */
+} doclink_ref_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    cbm_gbuf_t *gb;
+    CBMHashTable *files_by_path; /* rel_path → cbm_gbuf_node_t* (borrowed) */
+    const cbm_gbuf_node_t *src;  /* referencing File node */
+    char src_dir[CBM_SZ_512];    /* its directory ("" at repo root) */
+    doclink_ref_t refs[DOCLINK_MAX_REFS];
+    int ref_count;
+    bool truncated;
+} doclink_ctx_t;
+
+/* Resolve a reference against the referencing file's directory, then the
+ * repo root, mirroring how humans write doc links. Returns the already-
+ * indexed File node or NULL — unresolvable references are dropped. */
+static const cbm_gbuf_node_t *doclink_resolve(doclink_ctx_t *dc, const char *ref) {
+    const char *r = ref;
+    while (r[0] == '.' && r[SKIP_ONE] == '/') {
+        r += PAIR_LEN;
+    }
+    if (r[0] == '/') {
+        r++; /* "/docs/x.md" is repo-root-relative by doc convention */
+    }
+    if (r[0] == '\0') {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    char norm[CBM_SZ_512];
+    if (dc->src_dir[0] != '\0') {
+        char joined[CBM_SZ_512];
+        int n = snprintf(joined, sizeof(joined), "%s/%s", dc->src_dir, r);
+        if (n > 0 && (size_t)n < sizeof(joined) && doclink_normalize(joined, norm, sizeof(norm))) {
+            const cbm_gbuf_node_t *node = cbm_ht_get(dc->files_by_path, norm);
+            if (node) {
+                return node;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if (doclink_normalize(r, norm, sizeof(norm))) {
+        return cbm_ht_get(dc->files_by_path, norm);
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/* Record one match. Same-pair repeats bump the count; a higher-confidence
+ * strategy upgrades the edge's confidence + strategy label. */
+static void doclink_record(doclink_ctx_t *dc, const cbm_gbuf_node_t *target, double confidence,
+                           const char *strategy) {
+    if (!target || target->id == dc->src->id) {
+        return; /* never self-reference */
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < dc->ref_count; i++) {
+        if (dc->refs[i].target_id == target->id) {
+            dc->refs[i].count++;
+            if (confidence > dc->refs[i].confidence) {
+                dc->refs[i].confidence = confidence;
+                dc->refs[i].strategy = strategy;
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    if (dc->ref_count >= DOCLINK_MAX_REFS) {
+        dc->truncated = true;
+        return;
+    }
+    dc->refs[dc->ref_count].target_id = target->id;
+    dc->refs[dc->ref_count].count = SKIP_ONE;
+    dc->refs[dc->ref_count].confidence = confidence;
+    dc->refs[dc->ref_count].strategy = strategy;
+    dc->ref_count++;
+}
+
+/* Emit accumulated references as REFERENCES_FILE edges. Returns edge count. */
+static int doclink_flush(doclink_ctx_t *dc) {
+    int emitted = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < dc->ref_count; i++) {
+        char props[CBM_SZ_256];
+        (void)snprintf(props, sizeof(props),
+                       "{\"strategy\":\"%s\",\"confidence\":%.2f,\"count\":%d}",
+                       dc->refs[i].strategy, dc->refs[i].confidence, dc->refs[i].count);
+        if (cbm_gbuf_insert_edge(dc->gb, dc->src->id, dc->refs[i].target_id, DOCLINK_EDGE_TYPE,
+                                 props) > 0) {
+            emitted++;
+        }
+    }
+    if (dc->truncated) {
+        char cap_buf[CBM_SZ_16];
+        (void)snprintf(cap_buf, sizeof(cap_buf), "%d", DOCLINK_MAX_REFS);
+        cbm_log_info("doclinks.truncated", "file", dc->src->file_path ? dc->src->file_path : "",
+                     "cap", cap_buf);
+    }
+    dc->ref_count = 0;
+    dc->truncated = false;
+    return emitted;
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown scanning ───────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Characters allowed in a path-shaped token (backtick / bare mention). */
+static bool doclink_token_pathlike(const char *tok) {
+    bool last_seg_has_dot = false;
+    for (const char *p = tok; *p; p++) {
+        unsigned char c = (unsigned char)*p;
+        if (c == '/') {
+            last_seg_has_dot = false;
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (c == '.') {
+            last_seg_has_dot = true;
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (!isalnum(c) && c != '_' && c != '-' && c != '+' && c != '@' && c != '~') {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    /* the basename must carry an extension — bare words are not paths */
+    return last_seg_has_dot;
+}
+
+/* A markdown link target worth resolving: not a URL, mailto, or pure anchor. */
+static bool doclink_md_target_ok(const char *target) {
+    if (target[0] == '\0' || target[0] == '#') {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (strstr(target, "://") != NULL || strncmp(target, "mailto:", SLEN("mailto:")) == 0) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+/* MD 1: inline links [text](target). Consumed spans are blanked so the
+ * backtick / bare-mention scans below cannot re-match the same path. */
+static void doclink_scan_md_links(doclink_ctx_t *dc, char *line) {
+    char *p = line;
+    while ((p = strstr(p, "](")) != NULL) {
+        char *close = strchr(p + PAIR_LEN, ')');
+        if (!close) {
+            return;
+        }
+        char target[CBM_SZ_512];
+        size_t tlen = (size_t)(close - (p + PAIR_LEN));
+        if (tlen < sizeof(target)) {
+            memcpy(target, p + PAIR_LEN, tlen);
+            target[tlen] = '\0';
+            char *cut = strchr(target, ' '); /* [t](path "title") */
+            if (cut) {
+                *cut = '\0';
+            }
+            cut = strchr(target, '#'); /* [t](path#anchor) */
+            if (cut) {
+                *cut = '\0';
+            }
+            if (doclink_md_target_ok(target)) {
+                doclink_record(dc, doclink_resolve(dc, target), DOCLINK_MD_INLINE,
+                               "md_inline_link");
+            }
+        }
+        /* blank the whole [text](target) span, link text included, so a
+         * path-shaped link text is not re-counted as a bare mention */
+        char *open = p;
+        while (open > line && *open != '[') {
+            open--;
+        }
+        if (*open != '[') {
+            open = p;
+        }
+        memset(open, ' ', (size_t)(close - open) + SKIP_ONE);
+        p = close + SKIP_ONE;
+    }
+}
+
+/* MD 2: backtick-quoted paths `src/foo.c` / `build.sh`. */
+static void doclink_scan_md_backticks(doclink_ctx_t *dc, char *line) {
+    char *p = line;
+    while ((p = strchr(p, '`')) != NULL) {
+        char *end = strchr(p + SKIP_ONE, '`');
+        if (!end) {
+            return;
+        }
+        char tok[CBM_SZ_512];
+        size_t tlen = (size_t)(end - (p + SKIP_ONE));
+        if (tlen > 0 && tlen < sizeof(tok)) {
+            memcpy(tok, p + SKIP_ONE, tlen);
+            tok[tlen] = '\0';
+            if (doclink_token_pathlike(tok)) {
+                doclink_record(dc, doclink_resolve(dc, tok), DOCLINK_MD_BACKTICK,
+                               "md_backtick_path");
+            }
+        }
+        memset(p, ' ', (size_t)(end - p) + SKIP_ONE);
+        p = end + SKIP_ONE;
+    }
+}
+
+static bool doclink_md_delim(char c) {
+    return isspace((unsigned char)c) || strchr("()[]{}<>\"',;:`*|", c) != NULL;
+}
+
+/* MD 3: bare relative path mentions — must contain a slash AND an extension
+ * (and, via doclink_resolve, an indexed file) to count. */
+static void doclink_scan_md_bare(doclink_ctx_t *dc, const char *line) {
+    const char *p = line;
+    while (*p) {
+        while (*p && doclink_md_delim(*p)) {
+            p++;
+        }
+        const char *start = p;
+        while (*p && !doclink_md_delim(*p)) {
+            p++;
+        }
+        size_t tlen = (size_t)(p - start);
+        char tok[CBM_SZ_512];
+        if (tlen == 0 || tlen >= sizeof(tok)) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        memcpy(tok, start, tlen);
+        tok[tlen] = '\0';
+        while (tlen > 0 && tok[tlen - SKIP_ONE] == '.') {
+            tok[--tlen] = '\0'; /* sentence-ending period */
+        }
+        if (strchr(tok, '/') != NULL && doclink_token_pathlike(tok)) {
+            doclink_record(dc, doclink_resolve(dc, tok), DOCLINK_MD_BARE, "md_bare_mention");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+static void doclink_scan_md_line(doclink_ctx_t *dc, char *line) {
+    doclink_scan_md_links(dc, line);
+    doclink_scan_md_backticks(dc, line);
+    doclink_scan_md_bare(dc, line);
+}
+
+/* ── Per-file driver ─────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Scan one referencing file's content line by line and emit its edges. */
+static int doclink_scan_file(doclink_ctx_t *dc, const cbm_gbuf_node_t *node, const char *source) {
+    dc->src = node;
+    dc->ref_count = 0;
+    dc->truncated = false;
+    dc->src_dir[0] = '\0';
+    const char *slash = strrchr(node->file_path, '/');
+    if (slash) {
+        size_t dlen = (size_t)(slash - node->file_path);
+        if (dlen >= sizeof(dc->src_dir)) {
+            return 0;
+        }
+        memcpy(dc->src_dir, node->file_path, dlen);
+        dc->src_dir[dlen] = '\0';
+    }
+
+    const char *p = source;
+    char line[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    while (*p) {
+        const char *eol = strchr(p, '\n');
+        size_t line_len = eol ? (size_t)(eol - p) : strlen(p);
+        if (line_len >= sizeof(line)) {
+            line_len = sizeof(line) - SKIP_ONE;
+        }
+        memcpy(line, p, line_len);
+        line[line_len] = '\0';
+        p = eol ? eol + SKIP_ONE : p + line_len;
+
+        doclink_scan_md_line(dc, line);
+    }
+    return doclink_flush(dc);
+}
+
+/* ── Pass entry point ────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* True when at least one File node is a markdown file. */
+static bool doclink_has_doc_files(const cbm_gbuf_node_t *const *files, int file_count) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < file_count; i++) {
+        if (doclink_is_markdown_path(files[i]->file_path)) {
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+/* Scan every markdown File node's on-disk content, emitting edges.
+ * md_edges receives the emitted edge count. */
+static void doclink_scan_repo(doclink_ctx_t *dc, const char *repo_path,
+                              const cbm_gbuf_node_t *const *files, int file_count, int *md_edges) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < file_count; i++) {
+        if (!files[i]->file_path || !doclink_is_markdown_path(files[i]->file_path)) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        char abs_path[CBM_PATH_MAX];
+        int n = snprintf(abs_path, sizeof(abs_path), "%s/%s", repo_path, files[i]->file_path);
+        if (n <= 0 || (size_t)n >= sizeof(abs_path)) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        char *source = doclink_read_file(abs_path);
+        if (!source) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        int emitted = doclink_scan_file(dc, files[i], source);
+        free(source);
+        *md_edges += emitted;
+    }
+}
+
+int cbm_pipeline_pass_doclinks(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
+    cbm_gbuf_t *gb = ctx->gbuf;
+
+    const cbm_gbuf_node_t **files = NULL;
+    int file_count = 0;
+    if (cbm_gbuf_find_by_label(gb, "File", &files, &file_count) != 0 || file_count == 0) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    /* Early exit: no markdown/shell files means nothing to scan. */
+    if (!doclink_has_doc_files(files, file_count)) {
+        cbm_log_info("doclinks.skip", "reason", "no_doc_files");
+        return 0;
+    }
+    if (!ctx->repo_path) {
+        cbm_log_info("doclinks.skip", "reason", "no_repo_path");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    doclink_ctx_t dc;
+    memset(&dc, 0, sizeof(dc));
+    dc.gb = gb;
+    dc.files_by_path = cbm_ht_create((uint32_t)file_count);
+    if (!dc.files_by_path) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < file_count; i++) {
+        if (files[i]->file_path) {
+            /* key borrowed from the node (owned by gbuf, outlives the pass) */
+            cbm_ht_set(dc.files_by_path, files[i]->file_path, (void *)files[i]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    int md_edges = 0;
+    doclink_scan_repo(&dc, ctx->repo_path, files, file_count, &md_edges);
+    cbm_ht_free(dc.files_by_path);
+
+    char buf1[CBM_SZ_16];
+    (void)snprintf(buf1, sizeof(buf1), "%d", md_edges);
+    cbm_log_info("doclinks.strategy", "name", "markdown", "edges", buf1);
+    cbm_log_info("doclinks.done", "total", buf1);
+
+    return md_edges;
+}
diff --git a/src/pipeline/pipeline.c b/src/pipeline/pipeline.c
index 65ac75183..3df5f22e6 100644
--- a/src/pipeline/pipeline.c
+++ b/src/pipeline/pipeline.c
@@ -931,6 +931,9 @@ static void predump_sem(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
 static void predump_cfg(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
     cbm_pipeline_pass_configlink(ctx);
 }
+static void predump_doclinks(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
+    cbm_pipeline_pass_doclinks(ctx);
+}
 static void predump_complexity(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
     cbm_pipeline_pass_complexity(ctx);
 }
@@ -940,11 +943,12 @@ static void run_predump_passes(cbm_pipeline_t *p, cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx) {
         const char *name;
         bool moderate_only; /* true = skip in fast mode */
     } passes[] = {
-        {predump_deco, "decorator_tags", false}, {predump_cfg, "configlink", false},
-        {predump_route, "route_match", false},   {predump_sim, "similarity", true},
-        {predump_sem, "semantic_edges", true},   {predump_complexity, "complexity", false},
+        {predump_deco, "decorator_tags", false},   {predump_cfg, "configlink", false},
+        {predump_doclinks, "doclinks", false},     {predump_route, "route_match", false},
+        {predump_sim, "similarity", true},         {predump_sem, "semantic_edges", true},
+        {predump_complexity, "complexity", false},
     };
-    enum { PREDUMP_PASS_COUNT = 6 };
+    enum { PREDUMP_PASS_COUNT = 7 };
     struct timespec t;
     for (int i = 0; i < PREDUMP_PASS_COUNT && !check_cancel(p); i++) {
         /* "moderate_only" passes (similarity/semantic edges) run in FULL,
diff --git a/src/pipeline/pipeline_incremental.c b/src/pipeline/pipeline_incremental.c
index fca1c8f06..b51ff69ed 100644
--- a/src/pipeline/pipeline_incremental.c
+++ b/src/pipeline/pipeline_incremental.c
@@ -1438,6 +1438,14 @@ static int run_postpasses(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx, cbm_file_info_t *changed_file
         return rc < 0 ? rc : CBM_NOT_FOUND;
     }
 
+    cbm_clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &t);
+    rc = cbm_pipeline_pass_doclinks(ctx);
+    cbm_log_info("pass.timing", "pass", "incr_doclinks", "elapsed_ms",
+                 itoa_buf((int)elapsed_ms(t)));
+    if (rc < 0 || cbm_pipeline_check_cancel(ctx)) {
+        return rc < 0 ? rc : CBM_NOT_FOUND;
+    }
+
     /* SIMILAR_TO + SEMANTICALLY_RELATED edges only in moderate/full modes */
     if (ctx->mode <= CBM_MODE_MODERATE) {
         cbm_clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &t);
diff --git a/src/pipeline/pipeline_internal.h b/src/pipeline/pipeline_internal.h
index 754fa4ffa..3a4b65664 100644
--- a/src/pipeline/pipeline_internal.h
+++ b/src/pipeline/pipeline_internal.h
@@ -617,6 +617,9 @@ int cbm_pipeline_pass_decorator_tags(cbm_gbuf_t *gbuf, const char *project);
 /* Pre-dump pass: config ↔ code linking. */
 int cbm_pipeline_pass_configlink(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx);
 
+/* Pre-dump pass: markdown/shell → file REFERENCES_FILE linking. */
+int cbm_pipeline_pass_doclinks(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx);
+
 /* Pre-dump pass: SIMILAR_TO edges via MinHash fingerprinting. */
 int cbm_pipeline_pass_similarity(cbm_pipeline_ctx_t *ctx);
 
diff --git a/tests/test_doclinks.c b/tests/test_doclinks.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a03542d9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_doclinks.c
@@ -0,0 +1,312 @@
+/*
+ * test_doclinks.c — Tests for markdown/shell → file reference linking.
+ *
+ * Unit-test approach mirrors test_configlink.c: create real files in a
+ * tmpdir (the pass reads content from disk), set up File nodes in a gbuf,
+ * run the pass, check REFERENCES_FILE edges.
+ */
+#include "../src/foundation/compat.h"
+#include "test_framework.h"
+#include "test_helpers.h"
+#include "pipeline/pipeline.h"
+#include "pipeline/pipeline_internal.h"
+#include "graph_buffer/graph_buffer.h"
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdatomic.h>
+
+/* ── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Run the pass with a minimal ctx (same shape as run_configlink). */
+static int run_doclinks(cbm_gbuf_t *gb, const char *project, const char *repo_path) {
+    atomic_int cancelled;
+    atomic_init(&cancelled, 0);
+    cbm_pipeline_ctx_t ctx = {
+        .project_name = project,
+        .repo_path = repo_path,
+        .gbuf = gb,
+        .cancelled = &cancelled,
+    };
+    return cbm_pipeline_pass_doclinks(&ctx);
+}
+
+/* Create a File node the way pass_structure does: QN via fqn_compute with
+ * "__file__", file_path = repo-relative path. Returns the node id. */
+static int64_t add_file_node(cbm_gbuf_t *gb, const char *project, const char *rel) {
+    char *qn = cbm_pipeline_fqn_compute(project, rel, "__file__");
+    const char *slash = strrchr(rel, '/');
+    const char *basename = slash ? slash + 1 : rel;
+    int64_t id = cbm_gbuf_upsert_node(gb, "File", basename, qn, rel, 0, 0, NULL);
+    free(qn);
+    return id;
+}
+
+/* Find the REFERENCES_FILE edge between two node ids. NULL if absent. */
+static const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *find_ref_edge(cbm_gbuf_t *gb, int64_t src, int64_t tgt) {
+    const cbm_gbuf_edge_t **edges = NULL;
+    int count = 0;
+    cbm_gbuf_find_edges_by_type(gb, "REFERENCES_FILE", &edges, &count);
+    for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+        if (edges[i]->source_id == src && edges[i]->target_id == tgt) {
+            return edges[i];
+        }
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/* True when the edge's props JSON carries the given strategy. */
+static bool edge_has_strategy(const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *e, const char *strategy) {
+    char needle[64];
+    snprintf(needle, sizeof(needle), "\"strategy\":\"%s\"", strategy);
+    return e && e->properties_json && strstr(e->properties_json, needle) != NULL;
+}
+
+/* Total REFERENCES_FILE edge count. */
+static int ref_edge_count(cbm_gbuf_t *gb) {
+    return cbm_gbuf_edge_count_by_type(gb, "REFERENCES_FILE");
+}
+
+/* Fixture: tmpdir + project + gbuf. */
+typedef struct {
+    char tmpdir[256];
+    char *project;
+    cbm_gbuf_t *gb;
+} dl_fix_t;
+
+static bool dl_fix_init(dl_fix_t *fx) {
+    snprintf(fx->tmpdir, sizeof(fx->tmpdir), "/tmp/cbm_doclinks_XXXXXX");
+    if (!cbm_mkdtemp(fx->tmpdir)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    fx->project = cbm_project_name_from_path(fx->tmpdir);
+    fx->gb = cbm_gbuf_new(fx->project, fx->tmpdir);
+    return fx->gb != NULL;
+}
+
+static void dl_fix_free(dl_fix_t *fx) {
+    cbm_gbuf_free(fx->gb);
+    free(fx->project);
+    th_rmtree(fx->tmpdir);
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown: inline link ───────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_md_inline_link) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "docs/guide.md"),
+                  "# Guide\n\nSee [the build script](../scripts/build.sh) for details.\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "scripts/build.sh"), "#!/bin/sh\necho build\n");
+
+    int64_t doc_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "docs/guide.md");
+    int64_t script_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "scripts/build.sh");
+
+    int n = run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+    ASSERT_GT(n, 0);
+
+    const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *e = find_ref_edge(fx.gb, doc_id, script_id);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(e);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(edge_has_strategy(e, "md_inline_link"));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(e->properties_json, "\"confidence\":0.95"));
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown: backtick path ─────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_md_backtick_path) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "README.md"),
+                  "Run `scripts/build.sh` before pushing. `not_a_file.xyz` is unknown.\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "scripts/build.sh"), "#!/bin/sh\n");
+
+    int64_t doc_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "README.md");
+    int64_t script_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "scripts/build.sh");
+
+    run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+
+    const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *e = find_ref_edge(fx.gb, doc_id, script_id);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(e);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(edge_has_strategy(e, "md_backtick_path"));
+    /* `not_a_file.xyz` has no File node → no invented target */
+    ASSERT_EQ(ref_edge_count(fx.gb), 1);
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown: bare mention ──────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_md_bare_mention) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "STANDARDS.md"),
+                  "All handlers live in src/handlers.c and follow the pattern there.\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "src/handlers.c"), "int h(void) { return 0; }\n");
+
+    int64_t doc_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "STANDARDS.md");
+    int64_t code_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "src/handlers.c");
+
+    run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+
+    const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *e = find_ref_edge(fx.gb, doc_id, code_id);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(e);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(edge_has_strategy(e, "md_bare_mention"));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(e->properties_json, "\"confidence\":0.70"));
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown: non-file links ignored (http / mailto / #anchor) ──── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_md_non_file_link_ignored) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "README.md"),
+                  "See [the site](https://example.com/scripts/build.sh) or\n"
+                  "[mail us](mailto:dev@example.com) or [below](#usage).\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "scripts/build.sh"), "#!/bin/sh\n");
+
+    add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "README.md");
+    add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "scripts/build.sh");
+
+    int n = run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+    ASSERT_EQ(n, 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(ref_edge_count(fx.gb), 0);
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Markdown: anchor suffix on a file link still resolves ───────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_md_link_with_anchor_resolves_file) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "docs/a.md"), "See [setup](../INSTALL.md#quick-start).\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "INSTALL.md"), "# Install\n");
+
+    int64_t doc_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "docs/a.md");
+    int64_t tgt_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "INSTALL.md");
+
+    run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(find_ref_edge(fx.gb, doc_id, tgt_id));
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Dedupe: repeated references collapse to one counted edge ────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_dedupe_keeps_count) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "README.md"),
+                  "Use [build](scripts/build.sh) daily.\n"
+                  "Run `scripts/build.sh` first, then scripts/build.sh again.\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "scripts/build.sh"), "#!/bin/sh\n");
+
+    int64_t doc_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "README.md");
+    int64_t script_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "scripts/build.sh");
+
+    int n = run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+    /* three matches, ONE edge */
+    ASSERT_EQ(n, 1);
+    ASSERT_EQ(ref_edge_count(fx.gb), 1);
+
+    const cbm_gbuf_edge_t *e = find_ref_edge(fx.gb, doc_id, script_id);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(e);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(e->properties_json, "\"count\":3"));
+    /* highest-confidence match kind wins the edge label */
+    ASSERT_TRUE(edge_has_strategy(e, "md_inline_link"));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(e->properties_json, "\"confidence\":0.95"));
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Path resolution: relative to the referencing file's directory ── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_resolves_relative_to_file_dir) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    /* docs/deep/page.md links an upward "../../src/main.c" path and a
+     * sibling-relative "notes.md" path, neither repo-root-relative. */
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "docs/deep/page.md"),
+                  "See [main](../../src/main.c) and [notes](notes.md).\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "docs/deep/notes.md"), "# notes\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "src/main.c"), "int main(void) { return 0; }\n");
+
+    int64_t page_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "docs/deep/page.md");
+    int64_t notes_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "docs/deep/notes.md");
+    int64_t main_id = add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "src/main.c");
+
+    run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(find_ref_edge(fx.gb, page_id, main_id));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(find_ref_edge(fx.gb, page_id, notes_id));
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Never invent nodes: unresolvable targets produce nothing ────── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_unresolvable_target_no_edge) {
+    dl_fix_t fx;
+    ASSERT_TRUE(dl_fix_init(&fx));
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(fx.tmpdir, "README.md"),
+                  "See [gone](docs/removed.md) and `also/missing.sh`.\n");
+
+    add_file_node(fx.gb, fx.project, "README.md");
+
+    int node_count_before = cbm_gbuf_node_count(fx.gb);
+    int n = run_doclinks(fx.gb, fx.project, fx.tmpdir);
+    ASSERT_EQ(n, 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(ref_edge_count(fx.gb), 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(cbm_gbuf_node_count(fx.gb), node_count_before);
+
+    dl_fix_free(&fx);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── NULL repo_path (configlink-style unit setups) is a clean skip ── */
+
+TEST(doclinks_null_repo_path_skips) {
+    cbm_gbuf_t *gb = cbm_gbuf_new("test", "/tmp/test");
+    add_file_node(gb, "test", "README.md");
+    int n = run_doclinks(gb, "test", NULL);
+    ASSERT_EQ(n, 0);
+    cbm_gbuf_free(gb);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* ── Suite ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+SUITE(doclinks) {
+    /* Markdown strategies */
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_md_inline_link);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_md_backtick_path);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_md_bare_mention);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_md_non_file_link_ignored);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_md_link_with_anchor_resolves_file);
+
+    /* Dedupe + resolution + guards */
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_dedupe_keeps_count);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_resolves_relative_to_file_dir);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_unresolvable_target_no_edge);
+    RUN_TEST(doclinks_null_repo_path_skips);
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_edge_structural.c b/tests/test_edge_structural.c
index 947288124..a88fd66d3 100644
--- a/tests/test_edge_structural.c
+++ b/tests/test_edge_structural.c
@@ -258,6 +258,7 @@ static const char *ES_ALL_EDGE_TYPES[] = {"CALLS",
                                           "INHERITS",
                                           "INFRA_MAPS",
                                           "OVERRIDE",
+                                          "REFERENCES_FILE",
                                           "SEMANTICALLY_RELATED",
                                           "SIMILAR_TO",
                                           "TESTS_FILE",
diff --git a/tests/test_lang_contract.c b/tests/test_lang_contract.c
index 586452e2b..be4f34f68 100644
--- a/tests/test_lang_contract.c
+++ b/tests/test_lang_contract.c
@@ -1015,6 +1015,7 @@ static const char *ALL_EDGE_TYPES[] = {"CALLS",
                                        "INHERITS",
                                        "INFRA_MAPS",
                                        "OVERRIDE",
+                                       "REFERENCES_FILE",
                                        "SEMANTICALLY_RELATED",
                                        "SIMILAR_TO",
                                        "TESTS_FILE",
diff --git a/tests/test_main.c b/tests/test_main.c
index ba6f26d45..e3ddec49d 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.c
+++ b/tests/test_main.c
@@ -750,6 +750,7 @@ extern void suite_store_pragmas(void);
 extern void suite_store_checkpoint(void);
 extern void suite_traces(void);
 extern void suite_configlink(void);
+extern void suite_doclinks(void);
 extern void suite_infrascan(void);
 extern void suite_cli(void);
 extern void suite_agent_clients(void);
@@ -1047,6 +1048,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
     /* Config link */
     RUN_SELECTED_SUITE(configlink);
 
+    /* Doc/shell file reference link */
+    RUN_SELECTED_SUITE(doclinks);
+
     /* Infrastructure scanning */
     RUN_SELECTED_SUITE(infrascan);