> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://technocoder.gitbook.io/lexica/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://technocoder.gitbook.io/lexica/reference/references.md).

# References

References are denoted with a reference token.

```
let variable = &expression
```

There are two types of references:

* Unique
* Shared

Unique references are denoted with a unique token in front of the reference token.

```
let variable = ~&expression
```

References may also appear in type ascriptions.

```
let variable: &Type = &expression
```

## Dereference

References can be dereferenced with the dereference operator.

```
let reference = &expression
let variable = *reference
```

This accesses the value that the reference is referencing.