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Bidirectional Relationship Management

Nexus Properties automatically manages bidirectional relationships between your notes. When you set a relationship in one direction, the reverse relationship is automatically created and maintained.

How It Works​

Parent-Child Relationships​

When you add a child reference to a parent note:

# parent-note.md
---
Child:
  - "[[child-note]]"
---

Nexus Properties automatically updates the child note:

# child-note.md
---
Parent: "[[parent-note]]"
---

You only set the relationship once - the plugin handles the bidirectional sync!

The same works for related relationships. When you mark two notes as related:

# note-1.md
---
Related:
  - "[[note-2]]"
---

The plugin automatically updates the other note:

# note-2.md
---
Related:
  - "[[note-1]]"
---

Both notes now show they're related to each other.

Relationship Types​

Parent Property​

Default name: Parent Cardinality: Single value Bidirectional with: Child

A note can have zero or one parent. When you set a parent, the parent note automatically gets the child relationship.

Example hierarchy:

Project
├── Task 1
├── Task 2
└── Task 3
# Task 1.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"
# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
  - "[[Task 2]]"
  - "[[Task 3]]"

Child Property​

Default name: Child Cardinality: Array (multiple values) Bidirectional with: Parent

A note can have zero or many children. When you add children, each child note automatically gets the parent relationship.

Default name: Related Cardinality: Array (multiple values) Bidirectional with: Related (self)

Notes can be related to any number of other notes. Related relationships are symmetrical - if A is related to B, then B is related to A.

Use cases:

  • Linking similar concepts
  • Cross-referencing between topics
  • Connecting notes in a network (not hierarchy)

Recursive Relationships​

Nexus Properties computes recursive relationships dynamically:

All Parents​

Shows all ancestors in the hierarchy, not just the immediate parent.

Example:

Grandparent
└── Parent
    └── Child

When viewing Child in "All Related" mode, the graph will show:

  • Parent (direct parent)
  • Grandparent (indirect parent)

All Children​

Shows all descendants in the hierarchy, not just direct children.

Example:

Project
├── Phase 1
│   ├── Task 1.1
│   └── Task 1.2
└── Phase 2
    ├── Task 2.1
    └── Task 2.2

When viewing Project in "All Related" mode, the graph will show:

  • Phase 1, Phase 2 (direct children)
  • Task 1.1, Task 1.2, Task 2.1, Task 2.2 (indirect children)

Shows all notes connected through the Related property, recursively.

Example:

Note A ↔ Note B ↔ Note C
         ↓
      Note D ↔ Note E

When viewing Note A in "All Related" mode with sufficient depth, the graph will show all connected notes:

  • Note B (direct related)
  • Note C (related to B)
  • Note D (related to B)
  • Note E (related to D)

The depth of recursion is controlled by the All Related Max Depth setting.

Setting: autoLinkSiblings Default: true

When enabled, notes that share the same parent are automatically marked as related to each other.

Without auto-link:

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
  - "[[Task 2]]"
# Task 1.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"
# Task 2.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"

With auto-link (enabled by default):

# Task 1.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"
Related:
  - "[[Task 2]]"
# Task 2.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"
Related:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
When to Use

Enable auto-link siblings when:

  • Tasks in the same project should be aware of each other
  • Siblings in an outline should cross-reference
  • Chapters in a book should link together

Disable when:

  • Children are independent items
  • You want strict hierarchies without lateral connections
  • Performance is a concern with many siblings

Automatic Maintenance​

Nexus Properties automatically maintains relationship consistency:

File Deletion​

When you delete a file, all references to it are automatically removed from other notes' frontmatter.

Before deletion:

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
  - "[[Task 2]]"

After deleting Task 1.md:

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[Task 2]]"

File Rename​

When you rename a file, all references are automatically updated.

Before rename (old-name.md → new-name.md):

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[old-name]]"

After rename:

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[new-name]]"

Relationship Removal​

When you remove a relationship from one side, the reverse relationship is automatically removed.

Remove child from parent:

# Before (parent-note.md)
Child:
  - "[[child-note]]"
  - "[[other-child]]"

# After removing [[child-note]]
Child:
  - "[[other-child]]"

Automatically updates child-note.md:

# Before
Parent: "[[parent-note]]"

# After (Parent property removed)
---

Best Practices​

1. Choose Your Direction​

Pick one direction to set relationships and let the plugin handle the rest:

✅ Recommended: Set relationships in parent notes

# Project.md
Child:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
  - "[[Task 2]]"

❌ Not recommended: Setting both sides manually

# Project.md
Child: ["[[Task 1]]"]

# Task 1.md
Parent: "[[Project]]"

The plugin does this automatically!

Always use Obsidian's wiki link format for relationships:

✅ Correct:

Parent: "[[note name]]"
Child:
  - "[[child 1]]"
  - "[[child 2]]"

❌ Incorrect:

Parent: note name
Child:
  - child 1
  - child 2

3. Consistent Property Names​

Stick with the default property names or customize them once in settings. Don't mix property names across your vault.

4. Let the Plugin Work​

Don't try to manually sync relationships - the plugin handles it automatically. Just set relationships in one direction and trust the sync.

5. Use the Rescan Feature​

If relationships ever seem out of sync:

  1. Go to Settings → Nexus Properties
  2. Click "Index and assign properties to all files"
  3. Wait for the rescan to complete

This will rebuild all relationships from scratch.

Common Patterns​

Project Management​

# Project.md
---
Child:
  - "[[Sprint 1]]"
  - "[[Sprint 2]]"
status: active
---
# Sprint 1.md
---
Parent: "[[Project]]"
Child:
  - "[[Task 1]]"
  - "[[Task 2]]"
---

Knowledge Hierarchy​

# Mathematics.md
---
Child:
  - "[[Algebra]]"
  - "[[Geometry]]"
  - "[[Calculus]]"
---
# Algebra.md
---
Parent: "[[Mathematics]]"
Child:
  - "[[Linear Algebra]]"
  - "[[Abstract Algebra]]"
---

Cross-Referenced Network​

# Concept A.md
---
Related:
  - "[[Concept B]]"
  - "[[Concept C]]"
---
# Concept B.md
---
Related:
  - "[[Concept A]]"
  - "[[Concept D]]"
---

All four concepts will show as related in "All Related" mode!

Troubleshooting​

Relationships Not Syncing​

  1. Check property names - Make sure you're using the correct property names from settings
  2. Check wiki link format - Must use [[note name]] format
  3. Check directory scanning - File must be in a scanned directory
  4. Run full rescan - Use "Index and assign properties to all files"

Orphaned Relationships​

If you have relationships pointing to non-existent files:

  1. The plugin will show warnings in the console
  2. Run a full rescan to clean them up
  3. Check for typos in wiki links

Performance Issues​

With large networks (1000+ notes):

  1. Limit recursion depth
  2. Use directory scanning to limit scope
  3. Disable auto-link siblings if not needed

Next Steps​