diff --git a/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/js/endpoints.js b/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/js/endpoints.js
index 0eb813d62..d7df26cd3 100644
--- a/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/js/endpoints.js
+++ b/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/js/endpoints.js
@@ -15,28 +15,49 @@
 
 
 export default {
+    /**
+     * construct a url for the provided logical target path, taking into account
+     * the current document location, port, and logical element path.
+     * When in dev mode as indicated by port 3003,
+     * this auto converts service urls to point at a backend running on the same
+     * host, such that the statically served content comes from the app dev
+     * server, and service endpoints come from the service layer on a different port.
+     */
     url(document, context, path) {
-        console.log("isDev=" + context.isDev)
-        console.log("document.location=" + JSON.stringify(document.location, null, 2))
+        // console.log("isDev=" + context.isDev)
+        // console.log("document.location=" + JSON.stringify(document.location, null, 2))
 
         let origin = document.location.origin;
         let base = origin;
+        base = origin.replace(":3003", ":12345")
 
-        if (origin.includes(":3003")) {
-            base = origin.replace(":3003", ":12345")
-        }
-        console.log("base=" + base);
+        // console.log("base=" + base + ", path=" + path);
         let url = base + path;
-        console.log("url=" + url);
+        // console.log("url=" + url);
         return url;
     },
-    localize(body, baseurl) {
-        // console.log("localize([body],baseurl='" + baseurl + "'")
-        // const regex = /\[([^/][^]]+)]/;
-        // let remaining = body;
-        //
-        // while (remaining.)
-        //
-        return body;
+    localize(body, docurl) {
+        let localized = body;
+        // console.log("localizing " + details.path)
+        let offset = docurl.lastIndexOf("/")
+        let baseurl = docurl.slice(0, offset + 1)
+
+        let replacer = function (match, p1, p2, p3, groups) {
+            let replacement = "[" + p1 + "](" + baseurl + p2 + p3 + ")"
+
+            // console.log("docurl:" + docurl)
+            // console.log("matched:" + match)
+            // console.log("baseurl:'" + baseurl + "'")
+            // console.log("endpoints.baseUrlFor(document.location,isDev)'" + p1 + "'")
+            // console.log("p2:'" + p2 + "'")
+            // console.log("replacement:'"+replacement+"'")
+
+            return replacement;
+        }
+        localized = localized.replace(/\[([a-zA-Z0-9 ]+)]\(([-._a-zA-Z0-9]+)( [=x0-9]+)?\)/g, replacer)
+        if (body !== localized) {
+            // console.log("rewrote:\n" + localized)
+        }
+        return localized;
     }
 }
diff --git a/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/store/docs.js b/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/store/docs.js
index 002bdcf1f..a7b86d6fc 100644
--- a/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/store/docs.js
+++ b/docsys/src/main/node/docsys/store/docs.js
@@ -174,8 +174,8 @@ export const actions = {
                             let weight = ((mdMeta.attributes.weight) ? mdMeta.attributes.weight : 0)
                             let title = ((mdMeta.attributes.title) ? mdMeta.attributes.title : basename)
                             let path = "/docs/" + entry.path
-                            let baseurl = endpoints.url(document, context, "/services/docs/" + path);
-                            console.log("baseurl for doc:" + baseurl);
+                            let baseurl = endpoints.url(document, context, '/services' + path);
+                            // console.log("baseurl for doc:" + baseurl);
                             let body = endpoints.localize(mdMeta.body, baseurl)
                             // console.log("path:" + entry.path)
                             return {
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export const actions = {
                                 categories,
                                 weight,
                                 title,
-                                content: mdMeta.body
+                                content: body
                             }
                         })
                     }