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Routing Concepts ​

MSD lines route themselves like cable raceways on a circuit board: they find their own way around obstacles, bundle together when they're heading the same direction, and avoid cutting across each other when a small detour is cheap enough. This page is the short version of how the router decides a path: a mental model, not the full config reference.

Just want the config knobs?

This page explains the concepts. For every mode, field, and tunable default, see Line Routing & Channels.

The Decision Flow ​

For every line, on every recompute, the router works through the same sequence:

Two things worth calling out that a flowchart's yes/no boxes can't fully capture: bundling and crossing-avoidance are always cost comparisons, never hard rules: a line only joins a bundle or takes a detour when doing so is genuinely cheaper than the alternative. And this whole sequence runs for every line, repeatedly, until the arrangement settles, so the order you declared your lines in never affects the outcome.

Obstacles ​

Any control with obstacle: true is something every auto/smart/grid line routes around automatically, no per-line config needed.

A line detouring around an obstacle box

Automatic Bundling ​

Lines heading the same general direction, running close enough to each other, merge into a shared corridor (riding evenly-spaced lanes) and branch apart again where their destinations actually diverge. This is entirely automatic: no channel, no config, just lines that happen to be going the same way.

Three lines merging into a shared lane-separated corridor, then branching apart at their destinations

Channels ​

A channel is an authored corridor: a region you draw yourself that lines are rewarded for traveling through (mode: prefer), penalized for entering (avoid), or required to use (force). Where automatic bundling only happens between lines that are already naturally close, a channel can pull a line off a path it wouldn't otherwise take, when the discount makes it worthwhile.

A line bending off its natural path to ride through an authored prefer channel

Crossing Avoidance ​

A line's path is penalized for cutting across another already-routed line's segment. It's a deterrent, not a wall: when stepping around is cheap, the router takes the detour; when the only alternative is a long way around, it crosses cleanly instead.

A line stepping around another line's path instead of crossing straight through it

Where to Go Next ​