# Introducing Link Maintainer [wenlzhang/obsidian-link-maintainer: An Obsidian plugin that helps you maintain various types of links when splitting or reorganizing notes.](https://github.com/wenlzhang/obsidian-link-maintainer?tab=readme-ov-file) [](https://github.com/wenlzhang/obsidian-link-maintainer/releases)  An [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) plugin that helps you maintain block references when splitting or reorganizing notes, with a focus on safety and reliability. ![[Link-Maintainer-Demo.gif]] ## Videos and Articles ### Videos <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHSdNaQIuZ0?si=2FicEAZxFlDvadAx" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> - [[Effortlessly Maintain Your Obsidian Links with the Link Maintainer Plugin & PTKM Method]] ## Why You Need Link Maintainer Have you ever found yourself in this situation? You're working with a long note in Obsidian, and you realize that a particular section would be more valuable as its own note. This is a common scenario when: - You want to make certain information more discoverable - You need to link the same content in multiple contexts - You're reorganizing your knowledge base for better structure Obsidian provides ways to extract text into a new note, either through its native features or various community plugins. However, there's a catch: **what happens to all the block references pointing to that text?** ### The Block Reference Challenge Let's say you have: ```markdown // original-long-note.md A long note with many sections... Some important text here ^important-block More content... // other-notes.md References to the important text [[original-long-note#^important-block]] ``` When you extract the section with `^important-block` into a new note: 1. The block ID moves to the new note 2. All existing references in other notes still point to the original note 3. These references are now broken because the block ID no longer exists there ### The Manual Fix Without **Link Maintainer**, you would need to: 1. Find every note that references the block ID 2. Manually update each reference to point to the new note 3. Repeat this process for canvas files 4. Hope you didn't miss any references This is tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming - especially if the block is referenced in multiple places or canvas files. ### The Solution This is exactly why **Link Maintainer** exists. It embodies two essential [[PTKM Core Principles]] that shape its functionality: - [[Providing Context - PTKM CP|Providing Context]]: Ensuring no valuable information is lost in the task management process - [[Linking Everything - PTKM CP|Linking Everything]]: Bridging the gap between Obsidian and Todoist With **Link Maintainer**, you can: 1. Select the line containing the block ID 2. Run a single command 3. Let the plugin automatically update all references - both in markdown notes and canvas files No more manual searching and replacing. No more broken references. Just smooth, reliable link maintenance that lets you focus on organizing your knowledge the way you want. ## The Story Behind Link Maintainer I often take long notes in my PTKM system for a simple reason: longer notes help reduce the overall number of notes in the system, making it much easier to maintain the entire knowledge base. Imagine managing 100,000 notes versus 10,000 notes—roughly the number I have now. For me, the former feels overwhelming. (To learn more, feel free to read my take on [[Long Notes or Short Notes_My 5-Year Reflections|Long Notes or Short Notes]].) Later, I might want to convert a section of text into a separate note to highlight its importance. This makes it easier to refer to that note, as the title will clearly convey the topic. However, when I split a piece of text into a separate note, the block IDs and block links that refer to that text may become invalid. This is why I need an efficient way to update these outdated block links. I am developing this tool to help me achieve this goal. This is how this tool was born, and I hope you enjoy using it! ## Learn More About Link Maintainer - [[Key Features of Link Maintainer]] - [[How to Use Link Maintainer]] ## Supporting If you find this tool useful, please consider [[Support Us]].