diff --git a/crates/nuwiki-lsp/src/commands.rs b/crates/nuwiki-lsp/src/commands.rs
index d74287a..7c3f849 100644
--- a/crates/nuwiki-lsp/src/commands.rs
+++ b/crates/nuwiki-lsp/src/commands.rs
@@ -231,8 +231,12 @@ fn list_checkbox(
     };
     let utf8 = backend.use_utf8.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
     let (line, col) = nav::lsp_to_byte_pos(p.position, &doc.text, utf8);
+    let propagate = backend
+        .wiki_for_uri(&p.uri)
+        .map(|w| w.config.listsyms_propagate)
+        .unwrap_or(true);
     Ok(ops::checkbox_edit(
-        &doc.text, &doc.ast, &p.uri, line, col, utf8, mutate,
+        &doc.text, &doc.ast, &p.uri, line, col, utf8, mutate, propagate,
     ))
 }
 
@@ -1216,6 +1220,7 @@ pub mod ops {
         }
     }
 
+    #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
     pub fn checkbox_edit(
         text: &str,
         ast: &DocumentNode,
@@ -1224,9 +1229,11 @@ pub mod ops {
         col: u32,
         utf8: bool,
         mutate: fn(&str) -> Option<&'static str>,
+        propagate: bool,
     ) -> Option<WorkspaceEdit> {
-        let item = find_list_item_at(ast, line, col)?;
-        let cb_span = find_checkbox_span(text, item.span)?;
+        let path = find_path_to_item(ast, line, col)?;
+        let leaf = *path.last()?;
+        let cb_span = find_checkbox_span(text, leaf.span)?;
         let cur = &text[cb_span.start.offset..cb_span.end.offset];
         let new = mutate(cur)?;
         let mut b = WorkspaceEditBuilder::new();
@@ -1234,9 +1241,132 @@ pub mod ops {
             uri.clone(),
             text_edit_replace(cb_span, new.to_string(), text, utf8),
         );
+
+        if propagate && path.len() > 1 {
+            // Vimwiki's listsyms_propagate: walk up the chain, recomputing
+            // each ancestor's marker from the average rate of its immediate
+            // children (using the modified child's *new* state). Stops at
+            // the first ancestor that has no checkbox.
+            let mut child_node: &ListItemNode = leaf;
+            let mut child_marker: &str = new;
+            for parent in path.iter().rev().skip(1) {
+                let parent_cb_span = match find_checkbox_span(text, parent.span) {
+                    Some(s) => s,
+                    None => break,
+                };
+                let parent_cur = &text[parent_cb_span.start.offset..parent_cb_span.end.offset];
+                let new_parent = match compute_parent_marker(parent, child_node, child_marker) {
+                    Some(m) => m,
+                    None => break,
+                };
+                if new_parent == parent_cur {
+                    break;
+                }
+                b.edit(
+                    uri.clone(),
+                    text_edit_replace(parent_cb_span, new_parent.to_string(), text, utf8),
+                );
+                child_node = parent;
+                child_marker = new_parent;
+            }
+        }
+
         Some(b.build())
     }
 
+    /// Convert a marker string like `"[X]"` to its progress rate. `-1`
+    /// signals rejected (handled specially when averaging). Returns
+    /// `None` for unrecognised markers.
+    fn marker_to_rate(marker: &str) -> Option<i32> {
+        match marker {
+            "[ ]" => Some(0),
+            "[.]" => Some(25),
+            "[o]" => Some(50),
+            "[O]" => Some(75),
+            "[X]" => Some(100),
+            "[-]" => Some(-1),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn checkbox_state_to_rate(state: CheckboxState) -> i32 {
+        match state {
+            CheckboxState::Empty => 0,
+            CheckboxState::Quarter => 25,
+            CheckboxState::Half => 50,
+            CheckboxState::ThreeQuarters => 75,
+            CheckboxState::Done => 100,
+            CheckboxState::Rejected => -1,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Inverse of `marker_to_rate`. `rate` is 0..=100 or `-1` (rejected).
+    /// Mirrors vimwiki's `s:rate_to_state` for the standard 5-symbol
+    /// `' .oOX'` palette.
+    fn rate_to_marker(rate: i32) -> &'static str {
+        if rate == -1 {
+            return "[-]";
+        }
+        if rate <= 0 {
+            return "[ ]";
+        }
+        if rate >= 100 {
+            return "[X]";
+        }
+        // n=5 symbols, so n-2=3. ceil(rate/100 * 3) ∈ {1,2,3}
+        let idx = ((rate as f64) / 100.0 * 3.0).ceil() as i32;
+        match idx {
+            1 => "[.]",
+            2 => "[o]",
+            _ => "[O]",
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Compute the new marker for `parent` given that `modified_child`
+    /// (one of its immediate sublist items) just became
+    /// `modified_marker`. Returns `None` if the parent has no children
+    /// with checkboxes — there's nothing to average from.
+    ///
+    /// Mirrors vimwiki's `s:update_state` averaging: rejected children
+    /// count as 100% for the average, but if *every* child is rejected
+    /// the parent itself becomes rejected.
+    fn compute_parent_marker(
+        parent: &ListItemNode,
+        modified_child: &ListItemNode,
+        modified_marker: &str,
+    ) -> Option<&'static str> {
+        let sub = parent.sublist.as_ref()?;
+        let mut sum: i32 = 0;
+        let mut count_with_cb: i32 = 0;
+        let mut count_rejected: i32 = 0;
+        for item in &sub.items {
+            let rate = if std::ptr::eq(item, modified_child) {
+                marker_to_rate(modified_marker)?
+            } else {
+                match item.checkbox {
+                    Some(state) => checkbox_state_to_rate(state),
+                    None => continue,
+                }
+            };
+            count_with_cb += 1;
+            if rate == -1 {
+                count_rejected += 1;
+                sum += 100;
+            } else {
+                sum += rate;
+            }
+        }
+        if count_with_cb == 0 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let new_rate = if count_rejected == count_with_cb {
+            -1
+        } else {
+            sum / count_with_cb
+        };
+        Some(rate_to_marker(new_rate))
+    }
+
     pub fn next_task(
         ast: &DocumentNode,
         uri: &Url,
@@ -1374,6 +1504,9 @@ pub mod ops {
 
     /// Find the `[X]` (or other checkbox) substring within a list item's
     /// source span. Returns a span covering exactly the 3-byte run.
+    /// Searches only the marker line — a parent item's span covers its
+    /// nested sublist too, and we don't want a child's checkbox to look
+    /// like the parent's.
     pub fn find_checkbox_span(text: &str, item_span: Span) -> Option<Span> {
         let start = item_span.start.offset;
         let end = item_span.end.offset.min(text.len());
@@ -1382,6 +1515,8 @@ pub mod ops {
         }
         let segment = &text[start..end];
         let bytes = segment.as_bytes();
+        let line_end = bytes.iter().position(|&b| b == b'\n').unwrap_or(bytes.len());
+        let bytes = &bytes[..line_end];
         let mut i = 0;
         while i + 2 < bytes.len() {
             if bytes[i] == b'['
@@ -1444,6 +1579,50 @@ pub mod ops {
         None
     }
 
+    /// Return the chain of list items from outermost ancestor to the
+    /// deepest item containing `line`. Used by checkbox propagation so
+    /// it can update each ancestor in turn.
+    pub fn find_path_to_item(
+        ast: &DocumentNode,
+        line: u32,
+        col: u32,
+    ) -> Option<Vec<&ListItemNode>> {
+        for block in &ast.children {
+            if let Some(path) = path_in_block(block, line, col) {
+                return Some(path);
+            }
+        }
+        None
+    }
+
+    fn path_in_block(block: &BlockNode, line: u32, col: u32) -> Option<Vec<&ListItemNode>> {
+        match block {
+            BlockNode::List(l) => l.items.iter().find_map(|it| path_in_item(it, line, col)),
+            BlockNode::Blockquote(BlockquoteNode { children, .. }) => {
+                children.iter().find_map(|c| path_in_block(c, line, col))
+            }
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn path_in_item(item: &ListItemNode, line: u32, col: u32) -> Option<Vec<&ListItemNode>> {
+        if let Some(sub) = &item.sublist {
+            for sub_it in &sub.items {
+                if let Some(mut deeper) = path_in_item(sub_it, line, col) {
+                    let mut path = Vec::with_capacity(deeper.len() + 1);
+                    path.push(item);
+                    path.append(&mut deeper);
+                    return Some(path);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if (item.span.start.line..=item.span.end.line).contains(&line) {
+            return Some(vec![item]);
+        }
+        let _ = col;
+        None
+    }
+
     // ===== Phase 15: TOC + Links generation, workspace queries =====
 
     use serde::Serialize;
diff --git a/crates/nuwiki-lsp/tests/commands_checkboxes.rs b/crates/nuwiki-lsp/tests/commands_checkboxes.rs
index 0c9bff2..c04d46f 100644
--- a/crates/nuwiki-lsp/tests/commands_checkboxes.rs
+++ b/crates/nuwiki-lsp/tests/commands_checkboxes.rs
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ fn reject_state_toggles_dash_marker() {
 fn toggle_empty_checkbox_to_done() {
     let src = "- [ ] task\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 4, true, ops::toggle_state)
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 4, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
         .expect("toggle edit");
     let te = one_text_edit(edit);
     assert_eq!(te.new_text, "[X]");
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ fn toggle_empty_checkbox_to_done() {
 fn cycle_advances_partial_states() {
     let src = "- [.] half\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::cycle_state)
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::cycle_state, true)
         .expect("cycle edit");
     let te = one_text_edit(edit);
     assert_eq!(te.new_text, "[o]");
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ fn cycle_advances_partial_states() {
 fn reject_replaces_empty_with_dash() {
     let src = "* [ ] thing\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::reject_state)
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::reject_state, true)
         .expect("reject edit");
     let te = one_text_edit(edit);
     assert_eq!(te.new_text, "[-]");
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ fn checkbox_edit_returns_none_on_plain_list_item() {
     // No `[…]` at all → no edit.
     let src = "- plain item\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::toggle_state);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::toggle_state, true);
     assert!(edit.is_none());
 }
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ fn checkbox_edit_returns_none_on_plain_list_item() {
 fn checkbox_edit_returns_none_off_list() {
     let src = "just a paragraph\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::toggle_state);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 0, true, ops::toggle_state, true);
     assert!(edit.is_none());
 }
 
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ fn checkbox_edit_finds_item_in_sublist() {
     let src = "- top\n  - [ ] nested\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
     // Cursor on line 1, the nested item.
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 5, true, ops::toggle_state)
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 5, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
         .expect("edit on nested item");
     let te = one_text_edit(edit);
     assert_eq!(te.new_text, "[X]");
@@ -123,7 +123,189 @@ fn checkbox_edit_finds_item_in_sublist() {
 fn checkbox_edit_uses_changes_map_not_document_changes() {
     let src = "- [ ] task\n";
     let doc = parse(src);
-    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 4, true, ops::toggle_state).unwrap();
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 0, 4, true, ops::toggle_state, true).unwrap();
     assert!(doc_changes_for(edit.clone()).is_none());
     assert!(edit.changes.is_some());
 }
+
+// ===== parent propagation (vimwiki listsyms_propagate) =====
+
+/// Collect the (line, new_text) pairs for every TextEdit in the result,
+/// sorted by line. Lets propagation tests assert the parent edit
+/// without caring about edit ordering.
+fn edits_by_line(edit: tower_lsp::lsp_types::WorkspaceEdit) -> Vec<(u32, String)> {
+    let changes = edit.changes.expect("expected changes map");
+    let (_, edits) = changes.into_iter().next().expect("at least one uri");
+    let mut pairs: Vec<(u32, String)> = edits
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|e| (e.range.start.line, e.new_text))
+        .collect();
+    pairs.sort_by_key(|(line, _)| *line);
+    pairs
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_one_of_four_done_marks_parent_quarter() {
+    // Toggle the first child of a 4-child parent. Parent should land at
+    // [.] (Quarter, 25%).
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [ ] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+  - [ ] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[.]".into()), (1, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_two_of_four_done_marks_parent_half() {
+    // sub1 is already done; toggling sub2 → done leaves rate=50% → [o].
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [X] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+  - [ ] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 2, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[o]".into()), (2, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_three_of_four_done_marks_parent_three_quarters() {
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [X] sub1
+  - [X] sub2
+  - [ ] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 3, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[O]".into()), (3, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_all_done_marks_parent_done() {
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [X] sub1
+  - [X] sub2
+  - [X] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 4, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[X]".into()), (4, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_untoggle_drops_parent_back() {
+    // Untoggling the only completed child should put parent back to [ ].
+    let src = "\
+- [.] root
+  - [X] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+  - [ ] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[ ]".into()), (1, "[ ]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_disabled_only_emits_leaf_edit() {
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [ ] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+  - [ ] sub3
+  - [ ] sub4
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, false)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(1, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_skips_parent_without_checkbox() {
+    // Parent has no `[…]`, so propagation has nothing to update.
+    let src = "\
+- root
+  - [ ] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 1, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(1, "[X]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_walks_multiple_levels() {
+    // Toggle the deepest leaf: grandparent has 1 child (parent), parent
+    // has 2 children. Sub1 done → parent half → grandparent half.
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] grand
+  - [ ] parent
+    - [ ] sub1
+    - [ ] sub2
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 2, 8, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(
+        pairs,
+        vec![(0, "[o]".into()), (1, "[o]".into()), (2, "[X]".into())]
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_all_rejected_marks_parent_rejected() {
+    // Every counted child is rejected → parent becomes [-].
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [-] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    // Reject sub2 so both children are rejected.
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 2, 6, true, ops::reject_state, true)
+        .expect("reject edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[-]".into()), (2, "[-]".into())]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn propagate_rejected_sibling_counts_as_done_for_average() {
+    // sub1 rejected, sub2 toggled to done → both "complete" → parent [X].
+    let src = "\
+- [ ] root
+  - [-] sub1
+  - [ ] sub2
+";
+    let doc = parse(src);
+    let edit = ops::checkbox_edit(src, &doc, &dummy_uri(), 2, 6, true, ops::toggle_state, true)
+        .expect("toggle edit");
+    let pairs = edits_by_line(edit);
+    assert_eq!(pairs, vec![(0, "[X]".into()), (2, "[X]".into())]);
+}