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Z109-external-link-broken — Link Integrity

Z-Code: Z109 EXTERNAL_LINK_BROKEN · Engine: standalone · Exit: 1

zenzic check links
standalone - 1 file (1 docs, 0 assets) - 0.0s - 65 files/s
docs/index.md:7:2
✘[Z109]external link 'https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com' is broken
5│
6│ Here is a broken external link:
7❱- [Broken Link](https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com)
│ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
8│
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Summary:✘ 1 errors⚠ 0 warningsℹ 0 info- 1 file with findings
FAILED: Hard errors detected. Exit code 1 is mandatory.
Refer to https://zenzic.dev/docs/reference/finding-codes for remediation · Try
'zenzic check --help' for options.
[ Suppression Audit: 0/30 (inline: 0, per-file: 0)
exit 1

The Fixture​

The fixture lives at examples/z109-external-link-broken/ in the Zenzic repository. The source document is docs/index.md, which contains an external link pointing to a URL that returns an HTTP error or does not exist:

LineLinkTargetExists?
7[Broken Link](https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com)https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com✘

Neither the domain exists nor does it return a success status code. Zenzic fires Z109 for this broken external link.

examples/z109-external-link-broken/.zenzic.toml
docs_dir = "docs"
fail_under = 0

[build_context]
engine = "standalone"

Running the Example​

# Clone the Zenzic repository — no install required
cd examples/z109-external-link-broken
uvx zenzic check links

Expected output:

standalone - 1 file (1 docs, 0 assets) - 0.0s - 65 files/s

docs/index.md:7:2  x  [Z109]  external link 'https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com' is broken

     5  │  
     6  │  Here is a broken external link:
     7  ❱  - [Broken Link](https://this-domain-does-not-exist-at-all-xyz.com)
        │    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
     8  │  

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

Summary:  x 1 errors  ! 0 warnings  i 0 info  - 1 file with findings

FAILED: Hard errors detected. Exit code 1 is mandatory.
Refer to https://zenzic.dev/docs/reference/finding-codes for remediation · Try 
'zenzic check --help' for options.
[ Suppression Audit: 0/30 (inline: 0, per-file: 0)

Exit code: 1

Interpreting the Output​

The Z109 finding indicates an EXTERNAL_LINK_BROKEN issue.

This error is raised by Zenzic when an external link references a URL that cannot be resolved, timed out, or returned an HTTP status error (e.g., 404, 500). In this specific example:

  • Scan Type: Link Validator
  • Severity: Error
  • Impact: Broken external links degrade the user experience and reduce the Documentation Quality Score (DQS) by deducting a penalty of 3.0 points.

Resolve the Issue​

Correct the external link target to a valid URL, or remove the link if the resource is no longer available.

See Also​