Links and Backlinks
Links are explicit decisions that two notes belong together. Backlinks show the notes that already point to the current one. Together they are the spine of a connected vault.
Link types
OpenOnyx supports ordinary Markdown links and wiki-style vault links.
[Readable label](<Project Plan.md>)
[[Project Plan]]
[[Project Plan#Decisions]]
Use Markdown links when you want a custom label. Use wiki links when the note title itself is the best label.
Create useful links
A useful link explains a relationship. The sentence around the link should make that relationship clear.
Weak:
See [[Design]].
Stronger:
The onboarding flow should follow the constraint in [[Design Principles#Progressive disclosure]].
Backlinks
The backlinks panel answers, “What already refers to this note?” It helps you discover context you forgot, find orphan notes, and see which notes depend on a concept.
Use backlinks when:
- Renaming a note.
- Revising a central concept.
- Checking whether a decision has downstream references.
- Turning a draft into an index note.
Unlinked mentions
If available, unlinked mentions show text references that are not links yet. Review them carefully. Not every repeated phrase deserves a link.