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Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Nexus Properties in 5 minutes.

Step 1: Open the Relationship Graph​

  • Ribbon icon: Click the fork icon in the left sidebar (enable in Settings → Nexus Properties → Show Ribbon Icon)
  • Command palette: Ctrl/Cmd+P → "Show Relationship Graph"

The graph view opens in the sidebar. For full details on graph interaction, see Graph Views.

Step 2: Review Default Settings​

Open Settings → Nexus Properties and check:

  • Property names — Defaults are Parent, Child, Related. Change if your vault already uses different keys.
  • Directory scanning — Defaults to ["*"] (entire vault). Restrict to specific folders if needed.

See Configuration for all settings.

Step 3: Create Your First Hierarchy​

Create a note called Project Overview.md (it can be empty). Then use the Create Child command to build your hierarchy:

  1. Open Project Overview.md
  2. Ctrl/Cmd+P → "Create Child Node"
  3. A modal appears with the name pre-filled as Project Overview -
  4. Type Task 1 and press Enter

The new Project Overview - Task 1.md file is created with:

  • Parent: "[[Project Overview]]" set automatically
  • All frontmatter properties inherited from the parent
  • A bidirectional relationship — Project Overview.md now has Child: ["[[Project Overview - Task 1]]"]

Repeat to create Task 2. You now have a parent with two children, all linked automatically.

See Node Creation for all creation commands and naming patterns.

Step 4: See Bidirectional Sync​

Open any child note and check its frontmatter — Parent was set automatically. Open the parent and Child was updated too.

This works for all relationship types. Try adding a Related property manually:

---
Related:
  - "[[Project Overview - Task 2]]"
---

Check Task 2 — it now has Related: ["[[Project Overview - Task 1]]"] automatically. See Bidirectional Sync for details.

Step 5: Explore the Views​

Use the toggle button to switch between views:

Step 6: Interact with the Graph​

  • Click a node → Enter Zoom Mode to preview content inline
  • Right-click a node → Open the Context Menu for quick actions (add relationships, edit, preview, delete)
  • Hover a node → See Tooltips with frontmatter properties

Step 7: Add Color Rules​

  1. Settings → Nexus Properties → Node Colors → Add Rule
  2. Expression: status === 'complete' → Color: green
  3. Add status: complete to a note's frontmatter — the node changes color

See Color Rules for expression syntax and examples.

Step 8: Filter the Graph​

  1. Ctrl/Cmd+P → "Toggle Graph Filter"
  2. Enter: status === 'pending'
  3. Only matching nodes are shown (source node always visible)

See Filtering for multi-expression filters, presets, and search.

Step 9: MOC Content Mode​

If you have notes with bullet-list hierarchies (Map of Content files), switch to MOC Content mode:

# My Hobbies

- [[Reading]]
    - [[Fiction]]
    - [[Non-Fiction]]
- [[Sports]]
    - [[Running]]
    - [[Swimming]]

Enable in Settings → General → Hierarchy Source → MOC Content, or use the toggle button that appears when viewing a valid MOC file. See MOC View for details.

Next Steps​