Reference codes
The short name a formula uses to reach a node, why it is separate from the title, and what happens when one changes.
Every forecast node has a reference code — a short identifier that formulas use to name it.
revenue * marginmeans the value of the node whose code is revenue, times the value of margin. Not their titles:
their codes.
Why they are separate from titles
A title is prose for a reader. A code is an identifier for a formula. Keeping them apart means you
can rewrite a node's title — from Revenue to Monthly recurring revenue, net of refunds — without
touching anything that computes from it.
It also means two nodes can carry similar titles without ambiguity, which happens constantly on a map of any size.
Where to find one
A node's code appears in the inspector, under its title, whichever node is selected.
On the card itself, codes appear only when the map contains a Formula node — including an empty one. A map with nothing computing has no use for codes, so they stay out of the way; the moment one formula exists, every card shows the name a formula would use.
This applies to editable, shared and historical maps alike. The inspector always shows the selected node's code, whether or not the cards do.
What a code may contain
A code must start with a letter or an underscore, and after that use only letters, digits and underscores. No spaces, no punctuation, no leading digit.
revenue, p_default, visitors2024 are fine. 2024visitors, gross margin and p-default are
not.
Where codes come from
New forecasting nodes receive a code automatically, so you can use them in a formula immediately.
Imported Metaculus questions use q followed by their post ID, such as q12345.
You can change any of them. margin reads better than node_7.
Codes must be unique
Two nodes cannot share a code. If they do, the map reports Reference code "…" is used by 2 nodes, and neither is usable until you rename one — a formula naming that code would have no way to say which node it meant.
When a code changes
Changing a code does not update the formulas that referenced the old one. They keep the old text, and each reports Formula node references unknown code "…" until you fix it.
Rename titles freely, codes carefully
Renaming a title is always safe. Renaming a code breaks every formula that named it, and the breakage is visible but not automatic to repair.
If you do rename one, the diagnostics tell you exactly which formulas to update: each names the code it could not find. See Troubleshooting forecasts.
Codes and connections
A formula creates a dependency by naming a code, whether or not you have drawn a connection between the two nodes. Connections explain the map; codes determine what a formula uses.
Radiant draws the dependency for you: a connection a formula actually reads is shown as a dashed line. If you see a dashed line you did not draw, that is a formula's dependency being made visible.