diff --git a/development/ONBOARDING.md b/development/ONBOARDING.md
index 04560ec..fb9b3d2 100644
--- a/development/ONBOARDING.md
+++ b/development/ONBOARDING.md
@@ -71,9 +71,8 @@ nuwiki/
 ├── development/                # Developer-only tooling and docs (not shipped)
 │   ├── ONBOARDING.md           # This file
 │   ├── nuwiki-architecture.html
-│   ├── start-nvim.sh           # Launch Neovim against a scratch wiki
-│   ├── start-vim.sh            # Launch Vim against a scratch wiki
-│   ├── test-personal-wiki.sh   # Launch Vim against your real wiki
+│   ├── start-nvim.sh           # Launch Neovim against a generated sample wiki
+│   ├── start-vim.sh            # Launch Vim against a generated sample wiki
 │   ├── syntax-diag.vim         # Dump highlighting state for debugging
 │   └── tests/                  # Editor keymap/command harnesses (run in CI)
 │       ├── test-keymaps.sh     # Neovim keymap harness
diff --git a/development/start-nvim.sh b/development/start-nvim.sh
index 1edfdf6..e6ba83b 100755
--- a/development/start-nvim.sh
+++ b/development/start-nvim.sh
@@ -55,52 +55,236 @@ ensure_binary() {
   log "binary ready: $bin (built $(date -r "$built" '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'))"
 }
 
-seed_wiki() {
-  mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
-  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
-    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
-= Welcome to nuwiki =
+# write_sample_wiki DIR — lay down a fixture that exercises every vimwiki
+# feature nuwiki supports: one page per feature group plus a diary. Kept
+# identical to the copy in start-vim.sh so both launchers showcase the
+# same surface. Heredocs use a quoted delimiter so `$math`, backticks,
+# and backslashes land verbatim.
+write_sample_wiki() {
+  local root="$1"
+  mkdir -p "$root" "$root/diary"
 
-This is a scratch wiki created by start-nvim.sh. Edit, run commands,
-or jump to the linked pages to test the plugin.
+  cat > "$root/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= nuwiki sample wiki =
 
-== Smoke test ==
+%% Generated by the start-* dev launchers. A single fixture that exercises
+%% every vimwiki feature nuwiki supports — open the linked pages and run
+%% the plugin commands against them.
 
-- [[Notes]]
-- [[diary/]]
-- [ ] Toggle me with <C-Space>
-- [ ] Or with :VimwikiToggleListItem
+One page per feature group:
+
+- [[Syntax]] — inline formatting, blocks, comments
+- [[Lists]] — bullets, ordering, checkbox states, nesting
+- [[Tables]] — alignment and spanning cells
+- [[Links]] — every wikilink and URL form
+- [[Notes]] — anchor targets for cross-page links
+- [[diary/diary]] — the diary index
+
+=== Heading level 3 ===
+==== Heading level 4 ====
+===== Heading level 5 =====
+====== Heading level 6 ======
 
 == Commands to try ==
 
-- :VimwikiTOC
-- :VimwikiGenerateLinks
-- :VimwikiCheckLinks
-- :VimwikiMakeDiaryNote
-- :Vimwiki2HTMLBrowse
+- :NuwikiTOC
+- :NuwikiGenerateLinks
+- :NuwikiCheckLinks
+- :NuwikiMakeDiaryNote
 
-== Tags ==
-
-:smoke-test:sandbox:
-
-== Links ==
-
-* [[Notes]]
-* [[Notes#section-one]]
-* https://example.com
+:sample:smoke-test:sandbox:
 EOF
-  fi
-  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" ]]; then
-    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
+
+  cat > "$root/Syntax.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Syntax showcase =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Inline formatting ==
+
+*bold*, _italic_, *_bold italic_*, ~~strikethrough~~, `inline code`,
+super^script^ and sub,,script,,, and inline math $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$.
+
+== Keywords ==
+
+TODO STARTED FIXME XXX DONE FIXED STOPPED
+
+== Horizontal rule ==
+
+----
+
+== Blockquote ==
+
+> A quoted line.
+> A second quoted line.
+
+== Definition list ==
+
+Term:: Definition of the term.
+Another:: Its definition.
+
+== Code block ==
+
+{{{python
+def greet(name):
+    return f"hello {name}"
+}}}
+
+== Math block ==
+
+{{$
+\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}
+}}$
+
+== Comments ==
+
+%% a single-line comment
+%%+ a multi-line
+comment block +%%
+
+== Transclusion ==
+
+{{file:image.png}}
+{{image.png|alt text|width=120}}
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Lists.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Lists =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Unordered ==
+
+- item with dash
+- second
+  - nested under dash
+* item with star
+# item with hash
+
+== Ordered ==
+
+1. first
+2. second
+   1. nested ordered
+1) paren style
+a) alpha
+A) Alpha
+i) roman
+I) Roman
+
+== Checkbox states ==
+
+- [ ] empty (0%)
+- [.] started (1-33%)
+- [o] in progress (34-66%)
+- [O] nearly done (67-99%)
+- [X] done (100%)
+- [-] rejected
+
+== Nested with checkboxes ==
+
+- [ ] parent task
+  - [X] done subtask
+  - [ ] pending subtask
+    - [ ] deep subtask
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Tables.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Tables =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Plain ==
+
+| Name | Role |
+| Alice | Author |
+| Bob | Editor |
+
+== Aligned ==
+
+| Left | Center | Right |
+|:-----|:------:|------:|
+| a | b | c |
+| d | e | f |
+
+== Spanning cells ==
+
+| Header | Span |
+| cell | > |
+| rowspan | value |
+| \/ | value |
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Links.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Links =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Wikilinks ==
+
+- [[Notes]]
+- [[Notes|described]]
+- [[Notes#Section one]]
+- [[Notes#Section one|anchored + described]]
+- [[/index]]
+- [[diary/]]
+- [[#Wikilinks]]
+
+== Diary and interwiki ==
+
+- [[diary:2026-05-30]]
+- [[wiki1:index]]
+- [[wn.MyWiki:index]]
+
+== External and raw URLs ==
+
+- [[https://example.com]]
+- [[https://example.com|Example]]
+- https://example.com
+- mailto:gffranco@gmail.com
+- file:///etc/hosts
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
 = Notes =
 
-A second page so [[index]] has somewhere to point.
+A page that other pages point at. Back to [[index]].
 
 == Section one ==
 
-Anchor target for :checkhealth-style smoke tests.
+Anchor target for cross-page links.
+
+== Section two ==
+
+Another anchor target.
 EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/diary/diary.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Diary =
+
+Back to [[/index]].
+
+- [[2026-05-30]]
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/diary/2026-05-30.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= 2026-05-30 =
+
+A diary entry. Back to [[diary]].
+
+- [X] set up sample wiki
+- [ ] review every feature page
+EOF
+}
+
+seed_wiki() {
+  mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
+  # Seed the whole showcase as a unit; skip when an index already exists
+  # so a re-run never clobbers edits made while testing.
+  if [[ -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
+    return
   fi
+  write_sample_wiki "$WIKI_DIR"
 }
 
 write_init() {
diff --git a/development/start-vim.sh b/development/start-vim.sh
index 768af38..125deb1 100755
--- a/development/start-vim.sh
+++ b/development/start-vim.sh
@@ -77,49 +77,239 @@ ensure_vim_lsp() {
   clone_if_missing https://github.com/prabirshrestha/async.vim.git "$ASYNC_DIR" || true
 }
 
+# write_sample_wiki DIR — lay down a fixture that exercises every vimwiki
+# feature nuwiki supports: one page per feature group plus a diary. Kept
+# identical to the copy in start-nvim.sh so both launchers showcase the
+# same surface. Heredocs use a quoted delimiter so `$math`, backticks,
+# and backslashes land verbatim.
+write_sample_wiki() {
+  local root="$1"
+  mkdir -p "$root" "$root/diary"
+
+  cat > "$root/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= nuwiki sample wiki =
+
+%% Generated by the start-* dev launchers. A single fixture that exercises
+%% every vimwiki feature nuwiki supports — open the linked pages and run
+%% the plugin commands against them.
+
+One page per feature group:
+
+- [[Syntax]] — inline formatting, blocks, comments
+- [[Lists]] — bullets, ordering, checkbox states, nesting
+- [[Tables]] — alignment and spanning cells
+- [[Links]] — every wikilink and URL form
+- [[Notes]] — anchor targets for cross-page links
+- [[diary/diary]] — the diary index
+
+=== Heading level 3 ===
+==== Heading level 4 ====
+===== Heading level 5 =====
+====== Heading level 6 ======
+
+== Commands to try ==
+
+- :NuwikiTOC
+- :NuwikiGenerateLinks
+- :NuwikiCheckLinks
+- :NuwikiMakeDiaryNote
+
+:sample:smoke-test:sandbox:
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Syntax.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Syntax showcase =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Inline formatting ==
+
+*bold*, _italic_, *_bold italic_*, ~~strikethrough~~, `inline code`,
+super^script^ and sub,,script,,, and inline math $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$.
+
+== Keywords ==
+
+TODO STARTED FIXME XXX DONE FIXED STOPPED
+
+== Horizontal rule ==
+
+----
+
+== Blockquote ==
+
+> A quoted line.
+> A second quoted line.
+
+== Definition list ==
+
+Term:: Definition of the term.
+Another:: Its definition.
+
+== Code block ==
+
+{{{python
+def greet(name):
+    return f"hello {name}"
+}}}
+
+== Math block ==
+
+{{$
+\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}
+}}$
+
+== Comments ==
+
+%% a single-line comment
+%%+ a multi-line
+comment block +%%
+
+== Transclusion ==
+
+{{file:image.png}}
+{{image.png|alt text|width=120}}
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Lists.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Lists =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Unordered ==
+
+- item with dash
+- second
+  - nested under dash
+* item with star
+# item with hash
+
+== Ordered ==
+
+1. first
+2. second
+   1. nested ordered
+1) paren style
+a) alpha
+A) Alpha
+i) roman
+I) Roman
+
+== Checkbox states ==
+
+- [ ] empty (0%)
+- [.] started (1-33%)
+- [o] in progress (34-66%)
+- [O] nearly done (67-99%)
+- [X] done (100%)
+- [-] rejected
+
+== Nested with checkboxes ==
+
+- [ ] parent task
+  - [X] done subtask
+  - [ ] pending subtask
+    - [ ] deep subtask
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Tables.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Tables =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Plain ==
+
+| Name | Role |
+| Alice | Author |
+| Bob | Editor |
+
+== Aligned ==
+
+| Left | Center | Right |
+|:-----|:------:|------:|
+| a | b | c |
+| d | e | f |
+
+== Spanning cells ==
+
+| Header | Span |
+| cell | > |
+| rowspan | value |
+| \/ | value |
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Links.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Links =
+
+Back to [[index]].
+
+== Wikilinks ==
+
+- [[Notes]]
+- [[Notes|described]]
+- [[Notes#Section one]]
+- [[Notes#Section one|anchored + described]]
+- [[/index]]
+- [[diary/]]
+- [[#Wikilinks]]
+
+== Diary and interwiki ==
+
+- [[diary:2026-05-30]]
+- [[wiki1:index]]
+- [[wn.MyWiki:index]]
+
+== External and raw URLs ==
+
+- [[https://example.com]]
+- [[https://example.com|Example]]
+- https://example.com
+- mailto:gffranco@gmail.com
+- file:///etc/hosts
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Notes =
+
+A page that other pages point at. Back to [[index]].
+
+== Section one ==
+
+Anchor target for cross-page links.
+
+== Section two ==
+
+Another anchor target.
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/diary/diary.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Diary =
+
+Back to [[/index]].
+
+- [[2026-05-30]]
+EOF
+
+  cat > "$root/diary/2026-05-30.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= 2026-05-30 =
+
+A diary entry. Back to [[diary]].
+
+- [X] set up sample wiki
+- [ ] review every feature page
+EOF
+}
+
 seed_wiki() {
   if [[ "${NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
     log "NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED=1 — skipping wiki seed (using $WIKI_DIR as-is)"
     return
   fi
-  mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
-  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
-    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
-= Welcome to nuwiki =
-
-This is a scratch wiki created by start-vim.sh. Edit, run commands,
-or jump to the linked pages to test the plugin.
-
-== Smoke test ==
-
-- [[Notes]]
-- [[diary/]]
-- [ ] Toggle me with :VimwikiToggleListItem
-- [ ] Inspect the LSP via :LspStatus
-
-== Commands to try ==
-
-- :VimwikiTOC
-- :VimwikiGenerateLinks
-- :VimwikiCheckLinks
-- :VimwikiMakeDiaryNote
-
-== Tags ==
-
-:smoke-test:sandbox:
-EOF
-  fi
-  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" ]]; then
-    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
-= Notes =
-
-A second page so [[index]] has somewhere to point.
-
-== Section one ==
-
-Anchor target for cross-page link follows.
-EOF
+  # Seed the whole showcase as a unit; skip when an index already exists
+  # so a re-run never clobbers edits made while testing.
+  if [[ -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
+    return
   fi
+  write_sample_wiki "$WIKI_DIR"
 }
 
 write_vimrc() {
diff --git a/development/test-personal-wiki.sh b/development/test-personal-wiki.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 90baa52..0000000
--- a/development/test-personal-wiki.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-# test-personal-wiki.sh — open the user's real personal wiki via start-vim.sh.
-#
-# Reuses start-vim.sh's plumbing (binary build, vim-lsp clone, viminfo
-# under the dev cache) but points the wiki root at ~/.vimwiki/personal_wiki
-# and disables seed_wiki so we don't drop a scratch `Notes.wiki` into your
-# real notes.
-#
-# Useful when reproducing a user-reported bug against actual content rather
-# than the seeded smoke-test wiki. State (viminfo/sessions) still lives
-# under $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Vim install stays untouched.
-#
-# Usage:
-#   ./development/test-personal-wiki.sh                          # open index.wiki
-#   ./development/test-personal-wiki.sh path/to/note.wiki        # open a specific file
-#   NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI=/other/path ./development/test-personal-wiki.sh
-#   NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 ./development/test-personal-wiki.sh  # reuse the cached binary
-
-set -euo pipefail
-
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
-WIKI_DIR="${NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI:-$HOME/.vimwiki/personal_wiki}"
-
-if [[ ! -d "$WIKI_DIR" ]]; then
-  echo "test-personal-wiki: $WIKI_DIR does not exist" >&2
-  echo "set NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI to point at your wiki, or create the default path" >&2
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-export NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI="$WIKI_DIR"
-export NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED=1
-
-exec "$REPO_ROOT/development/start-vim.sh" "$@"