NameGuard
astroyhs147 downloadsStrictly enforce vault-wide unique note names. Blocks new notes (and moves/renames) that would collide with an existing name, so shortest-format links are never silently rewritten.
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🛡️ NameGuard
Keep every note name unique — and stop Obsidian from silently rewriting your links.
The problem
With Settings → Files and links → New link format set to Shortest path when possible,
Obsidian keeps your [[wikilinks]] short only while a note name is unique. The moment a second note
with the same name appears anywhere in the vault, Obsidian rewrites your existing links to keep
them pointing at the original file:
- [[Foobar]]
+ [[notes/Foobar]]
You never touched those notes — yet your links changed, your git diff is noisy, and a careless undo can leave links resolving to the wrong file.
The fix
NameGuard treats a note name as a vault-wide unique key. When an operation would introduce a duplicate name, NameGuard blocks it before the file is created — so the rewrite never happens.
🔑 Pre-existing duplicates are left untouched. NameGuard only guards new collisions.
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| 🚫 | Blocks duplicate creation — new notes, "create from link", and templates all run through one guard |
| 🔀 | Guards moves & renames — renaming a note into a name that's already taken is blocked too |
| 🎯 | Shortest-mode aware — only acts when it actually matters (configurable) |
| 📝 | Markdown-first — guards .md by default; opt in to every file type |
| 🧩 | Zero config — sensible defaults, with a settings tab when you want control |
| 🔒 | 100% local — no network, no telemetry |
How it works (in one breath)
Obsidian's MetadataCache.fileToLinktext falls back to a full path once a name stops being unique,
and FileManager rewrites the affected links right after a create/rename. NameGuard wraps the vault's
create / createBinary / rename and rejects the operation when the new name already resolves to
an existing note — so the trigger never fires.
📖 Full write-up in docs/how-it-works.md.
Install
Manually
- Download
main.js,manifest.json, andstyles.cssfrom the latest release. - Copy them into
<your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/name-guard/. - Reload Obsidian, then enable NameGuard under Settings → Community plugins.
From source
bun install
bun run build # bundles main.js
Settings
NameGuard works with its defaults. Settings → NameGuard exposes only file-type scope and release note preferences; see the settings reference for details.
Documentation
- 📘 Getting started
- 🔬 How it works
- ⚙️ Settings reference
- ❓ FAQ