Simple Auto-Link

Converts similar matching words into wiki links on the go. Highly customizable. Supports both desktop and mobile (iOS + Android) versions of Obsidian.

Features

• Automatic detection (by default) of matching search results when you modify a file by using smart matching to filter the closest possible link. See the match case behavior below for the specifics.
• Code blocks, inline code, existing links, YAML properties, tables, and math are always skipped. Headings can be skipped with their respective settings option.
• Include/exclude folders for manual vault linking. Excluded notes are neither scanned nor used as link targets.
• Alias masterlist: allows a single note file to map to multiple aliases, with automatic backfill into each note's YAML alias field.
• Highly configurable: Toggle features on or off in the plugin's settings page.
• Mobile-friendly: lightweight, cross-platform, and optimized to support larger vaults.

How the matching works (and what it won't do)

• Longer match cases are preferred than shorter ones. Matching is case-insensitive by default, can be toggled in the settings. A note is never linked to itself.
• Word-boundary aware, the plugin will never links inside another word (For example, concatenate won't match cat).
• Optional base word matching so that plural words (cats) links to a note titled cat.
• Optional one link per file so a note isn't linked over and over.
• When the matched text differs from the note title (case difference or an alias), Auto-link writes a display link: [[Canonical|what you typed]].
• Titles that are common English words (the, note) will match aggressively. If you want to restrict these words, either scope them out with the folder exclude list or keep base-form matching off.
• Title detection conflicts across notes resolve last-write-wins; the masterlist takes precedence over vault titles.

Warning

Make sure to create a backup your vault before you try the vault-wide manual link feature. Your way of writing in your vault might not automatically translate on how the matching functionality of this plugin works.

Usage

Run on the whole vault

Click the link ribbon icon, or open the command palette and run "Auto-link: Scan whole vault" to toggle manual linking. You can also bind a hotkey to that command in Settings → Hotkeys.

A summary of how many links were added across how many notes are edited within a single run session will be shown once the process is completed.

Run on save

Turn on Settings → Auto-link → Link on save. Editing and saving a note triggers the linking process it automatically.

Configuration

You can configure the following options in the settings page to turn features on or off to your liking:

Folder matching

Patterns are matched against vault-relative paths:

• * matches within a path segment, ** spans folders, ? matches one char.
• A bare folder name (e.g. Archive) is shorthand for Archive/**.

Examples:

Concepts
Projects/**
Daily/2024-*.md

Dynamic Alias Masterlist

The alias masterlist allows for the addition of extra search terms that point at a different note that may or may not be beyond the target note's title and its own frontmatter aliases.

To toggle the alias masterlist feature on, do the following:

1. Go to Obsidian -> Settings → Simple Auto-Link → turn on Use alias masterlist.
2. Set the Masterlist file path (any .md file in your vault). Either pick an existing file, or enter a new path and click Create template.
3. Edit the file. The plugin watches and reloads on save.

Format

The masterlist allows one mapping of search term per line, like this:

Note name: alias1, alias2, alias3

• The name must match an existing note's title.
• Aliases are comma-separated; each becomes a match term for that note.
• The masterlist supports adding comments with #. Blank lines are also ignored.

Example:

Timetable: time table, tt
API: application programming interface, api

Tagging

Keywords set inside the masterlist are set to affect the entire vault by default. You can change the affected areas by adding case-insensitive tags (block, folder, or root) as prefix for the line/s that should be affected. See the following formats below for reference:

block: Note name                          # never auto-link this note's title or its aliases
block: Note name: alias1, alias2          # suppress only those specific surface terms
folder: Note name                         # link only when the source note shares the target's parent folder (folder1/note.md). Applies for both note name and aliases.
folder: Note name: alias1, alias2         
root: Note name                           # link only when the source note shares the target's top-level folder (folder1/folder2/folder3/note.md, all tagging will take effect as long as the detected tag is under folder1). Applies for both note name and aliases.
root: Note name: alias1, alias2           

• block — With no aliases listed, it suppresses the note's title and all associated aliases from auto-linking. With aliases listed, only those words will be blocked. THe title folder will still link.
• folder — limits matching to notes in the same parent folder as the target. Useful for short or ambiguous aliases that should only resolve within a directory (i.e. activity-specific definitions).
• root — limits matching to notes that share the target's top-level folder. Example: a target at Definitions/Actions/View.md is only linked from sources under Definitions/**. USeful for category-based tagging.

Lines without a recognized scope prefix keep the original vault-wide behavior, so existing masterlist files are still supported.

Example:

Name1: alias1, alias2
block: Name2
folder: Name3: alias3, alias4, alias5
root: Name4: alias6, alias7

YAML Property Auto-Add

When "Write aliases back to notes" is on (default), the first time a note is linked via a masterlist alias, that alias is added to the note's YAML aliases property. No existing aliases are removed or reordered. This makes the alias work everywhere Obsidian resolves links, not just inside the plugin.

Roadmap

• Improve alias masterlist to allow blacklisting of certain keywords - Implemented as of version 1.1.0
• Choice for certain keywords to auto-link up to the base folder only, specific folders, or to exclude specific folders Implemented as of version 1.1.0
• You tell me!

Privacy & Safety

• All file reads and writes go through Obsidian's Vault / FileManager APIs.
• No network access, no telemetry, no Node/filesystem access.
• Properties are only edited through Obsidian's own processFrontMatter method.

Installation

• Using the Community Manager: Go to Obsidian -> Settings -> Community Plugins -> Browse, search for Simple Auto-Link, then click install. Make sure Community Plugins are turned on before doing the following steps.
• Using BRAT: Install the BRAT plugin, then "Add beta plugin" with this repository URL.
• Manual installation: Download main.js and manifest.json from a release and copy them into <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-simple-autolink/, then enable the plugin in Settings.

Development and Contribution

In order to setup the source files, clone the repository, open your editor/tool of choice then run the following:

npm install
npm run dev     # esbuild watch -> main.js
npm run build   # type-check (strict) + production bundle
npm test        # Vitest unit + perf tests

Disclaimer

This plugin was created with assistance from Artificial Intelligence tools. Human intervention was done during the drafting, feature development, and validation (source code and functionality) of the project. If that does not sit well with you, please consider using other alternatives.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License, allowing free use, modification, and distribution.