Relations Suite

[!NOTE] Safe & Non-Destructive:

• Visualizers (Family Tree & Graph) operate strictly at the UI display level and never modify, edit, or write to any files.
• Sync Engine only writes reciprocal links in YAML frontmatter when you edit relationships, and never alters note bodies or text content.

Relations Suite is an all-in-one Obsidian plugin bringing together bi-directional relationship synchronization, an interactive family tree visualizer, and an interactive connection path graph into a single, unified experience, allowing you to trace and find the shortest relationship path between any two people.

✨ Features

1. 🔄 Bi-Directional Relation Sync

• Automatic Reciprocal Linking: When you add a relationship in a note's frontmatter (YAML), the reciprocal link is automatically updated on the related note.
• Family Logic: Automatically pairs Father/Mother with Son/Daughter based on gender, connects Spouses, and auto-links full/half-siblings and co-parents.
• Custom Relations: Define your own symmetric or inverse relationship pairs (e.g., Mentor ↔ Mentee, Friend ↔ Friend).
• Scope Control: Choose specific folders to monitor, leaving the rest of your vault untouched.

2. 🌳 Interactive Family Tree

• Generational Canvas: Visualize multi-generational family trees dynamically generated from your notes' metadata.
• Collapsible Lineages: Expand or collapse branches with smooth animations to focus on specific bloodlines.
• Clean Connections: Distinct, color-coded lineage paths, clean marriage bridges, and straight vertical child drops.
• Adaptive Cards: Person cards dynamically scale to fit names.
• Interactive Controls: Zoom, pan, search for ancestors/descendants, and click any card to instantly open the corresponding note.

3. 🕸️ Relations Graph & Path Tracer

• Visual Network: Explore relationships across your vault as an interactive graph.
• Shortest Path Finder: Select any two individuals to calculate and visually illuminate the shortest relationship path connecting them.
• Live Filtering: Filter nodes by property values with instant autocomplete search.

🚀 Installation

Method 1: Via BRAT (Recommended for Beta Testing)

1. Install and enable the BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tester) plugin from Obsidian Community Plugins.
2. Open BRAT settings and click Add Beta plugin.
3. Enter vishwasupponi/relations-suite.
4. Click Add Plugin and enable Relations Suite in Settings → Community plugins.

Method 2: Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release assets (manifest.json, main.js, and styles.css) from the Latest Release.
2. Inside your Obsidian vault, navigate to:

   <Your-Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/
   

3. Create a folder named relations-suite.
4. Copy manifest.json, main.js, and styles.css into that folder:

   .obsidian/plugins/relations-suite/
   ├── manifest.json
   ├── main.js
   └── styles.css
   

5. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins, click Reload plugins, and enable Relations Suite.

⚡ Quick Start

Get up and running with Relations Suite in 4 simple steps:

1. Tag a Relationship in Any Note

Open or create a note (e.g. Alice.md) and add a family property to its YAML frontmatter:

---
father: "[[John]]"
gender: female
---

2. Experience Instant Reciprocal Sync

Open John.md. The plugin automatically creates the reciprocal link without you typing it:

---
daughter: "[[Alice]]"
gender: male
---

(Similarly, adding a brother or sister automatically links shared parents and reciprocal sibling connections across the whole family unit.)

3. Open the Family Tree Viewer

• From the Ribbon / Sidebar: Click the Family Tree icon (git-pull-request) in Obsidian's left ribbon.
• Or via Command Palette: Press Ctrl + P (or Cmd + P on macOS) and run:

  Relations Suite: Open Family Tree Viewer

• Select your root family member or base note.
• Pan, zoom, and expand or collapse branches dynamically on the interactive canvas.
• (Optional) Drag the tab header into either the left or right sidebar to keep the tree docked while editing notes.

4. Trace Relationship Paths

• From the Ribbon / Sidebar: Click the Graph icon (git-fork) in Obsidian's left ribbon.
• Or via Command Palette: Press Ctrl + P (or Cmd + P on macOS) and run:

  Relations Suite: Open Relationship Path Graph

• Enter Person A and Person B in the top bar.
• Click Find Path to illuminate the shortest connection path between them across your entire vault, or cycle through alternative paths using the stepper.
• (Optional) Drag the graph tab into a sidebar pane to keep it open side-by-side with your active note.

⚙️ Settings Reference

Customize the plugin's behavior by going to Settings → Relations Suite:

📁 Vault Scope & Exclusions

• Included Folders: Restrict automatic syncing and graph generation to specific folders (e.g., People/ or Family/). Notes outside these folders remain untouched unless they explicitly contain relationship properties.
• Exclusion Filters:
  • Exclude Property & Value: Filter out non-person notes (such as type: Place or category: Organization) so they never render as family cards or graph nodes.
  • Excluded Values: Comma-separated note names (e.g., Template, Folder Note) to completely ignore vault-wide.

👥 Family Property Mapping

• Custom Property Keys: Configure the exact frontmatter property names your vault uses for nuclear family members:
  • Father / Mother (e.g., father)
  • Husband / Wife (e.g., husband)
  • Son / Daughter (e.g., son)
  • Brother / Sister (e.g., brother)
• Gender Recognition: Specify the property name (e.g., gender) and values (e.g., male, female, m, f) used to automatically determine whether to assign Son vs. Daughter or Brother vs. Sister.

[!TIP] Gender-Neutral & Shared Properties: If your vault does not differentiate by gender, you can enter the same property name in both fields (e.g., spouse for both Husband & Wife, children for Son & Daughter, and siblings for Brother & Sister). Both the sync engine and visualizers handle shared properties seamlessly.

🔗 Custom Bi-Directional Pairs

Create custom reciprocal relationship rules outside the traditional family structure:

• Forward & Inverse Keys: Define symmetric pairs (e.g. friend ↔ friend) or asymmetric pairs (e.g. mentor ↔ mentee, manager ↔ direct-report).
• When you link someone under the Forward property, the plugin automatically populates the Inverse property on the target note.

🎨 Visualizer Display Options

• Card Properties: Select which additional frontmatter fields (e.g., birth, death, occupation) display directly on Family Tree cards.
• Graph Clustering: Adjust force-directed layout settings to suit larger or more compact vaults.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Developed by Vishwas Upponi.