1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
|
# Obsidian MetadataCache API
Access via `this.app.metadataCache`. Extends `Events`.
The MetadataCache provides parsed/indexed metadata for all vault files without reading file content directly.
## Terminology
- **Linktext**: Internal link with path + subpath, e.g., `My note#Heading`
- **Linkpath / path**: The path portion of a linktext
- **Subpath**: The heading/block ID portion of a linktext
## Properties
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `resolvedLinks` | `Record<string, Record<string, number>>` | Map: source path → { dest path → link count }. All paths are vault-absolute. |
| `unresolvedLinks` | `Record<string, Record<string, number>>` | Map: source path → { unknown dest → count } |
## Methods
| Method | Returns | Description |
|--------|---------|-------------|
| `getFileCache(file: TFile)` | `CachedMetadata \| null` | Get cached metadata for a file |
| `getCache(path: string)` | `CachedMetadata \| null` | Get cached metadata by path (v0.14.5) |
| `getFirstLinkpathDest(linkpath, sourcePath)` | `TFile \| null` | Resolve a link path to a file (best match). (v0.12.5) |
| `fileToLinktext(file, sourcePath, omitMdExtension?)` | `string` | Generate linktext for a file. Uses filename if unique, full path otherwise. |
## MetadataCache Events
| Event | Callback Args | Description |
|-------|--------------|-------------|
| `'changed'` | `(file: TFile, data: string, cache: CachedMetadata)` | File indexed, cache updated. **Not fired on rename** — use vault `rename` event. |
| `'deleted'` | `(file: TFile, prevCache: CachedMetadata \| null)` | File deleted. Previous cache provided best-effort. |
| `'resolve'` | `(file: TFile)` | File's links resolved in `resolvedLinks`/`unresolvedLinks`. |
| `'resolved'` | `()` | All files resolved. Fires after initial load and each subsequent modification. |
```typescript
// Example: React to metadata changes
this.registerEvent(
this.app.metadataCache.on('changed', (file, data, cache) => {
if (cache.frontmatter?.tags?.includes('important')) {
console.log('Important file changed:', file.path);
}
})
);
```
## CachedMetadata Interface
Returned by `getFileCache()` / `getCache()`. All properties are optional.
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `frontmatter` | `FrontMatterCache` | Parsed YAML frontmatter as key-value object |
| `frontmatterPosition` | `Pos` | Position of frontmatter block in file (v1.4.0) |
| `frontmatterLinks` | `FrontmatterLinkCache[]` | Links found in frontmatter (v1.4.0) |
| `headings` | `HeadingCache[]` | All headings |
| `links` | `LinkCache[]` | All internal `[[links]]` |
| `embeds` | `EmbedCache[]` | All `![[embeds]]` |
| `tags` | `TagCache[]` | All inline `#tags` |
| `listItems` | `ListItemCache[]` | All list items |
| `sections` | `SectionCache[]` | Root-level markdown blocks |
| `blocks` | `Record<string, BlockCache>` | Named blocks (by block ID) |
| `footnotes` | `FootnoteCache[]` | Footnote definitions (v1.6.6) |
| `footnoteRefs` | `FootnoteRefCache[]` | Footnote references (v1.8.7) |
| `referenceLinks` | `ReferenceLinkCache[]` | Reference-style links (v1.8.7) |
### FrontMatterCache
A plain object with YAML frontmatter keys as properties. Access properties directly:
```typescript
const cache = this.app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
if (cache?.frontmatter) {
const title = cache.frontmatter.title;
const tags = cache.frontmatter.tags; // string[]
const aliases = cache.frontmatter.aliases; // string[]
}
```
### HeadingCache
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `heading` | `string` | Heading text |
| `level` | `number` | 1-6 |
| `position` | `Pos` | Position in file |
### LinkCache
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `link` | `string` | Link destination |
| `displayText` | `string?` | Display text if different (from `[[page|display]]`) |
| `original` | `string` | Raw text as written in document |
| `position` | `Pos` | Position in file |
### TagCache
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `tag` | `string` | Tag including `#` prefix (e.g., `"#mytag"`) |
| `position` | `Pos` | Position in file |
### Pos (Position)
```typescript
interface Pos {
start: Loc; // { line: number, col: number, offset: number }
end: Loc;
}
```
### FrontMatterInfo
Returned by `getFrontMatterInfo(content: string)` standalone function:
| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `exists` | `boolean` | Whether frontmatter block exists |
| `frontmatter` | `string` | String content of frontmatter |
| `from` | `number` | Start offset (excluding `---`) |
| `to` | `number` | End offset (excluding `---`) |
| `contentStart` | `number` | Offset where frontmatter block ends (including `---`) |
## Common Patterns
### Get all tags for a file
```typescript
const cache = this.app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
const inlineTags = cache?.tags?.map(t => t.tag) ?? [];
const fmTags = cache?.frontmatter?.tags ?? [];
const allTags = [...inlineTags, ...fmTags];
```
### Find all files linking to a file
```typescript
function getBacklinks(app: App, filePath: string): string[] {
const backlinks: string[] = [];
for (const [source, links] of Object.entries(app.metadataCache.resolvedLinks)) {
if (links[filePath]) {
backlinks.push(source);
}
}
return backlinks;
}
```
### Resolve a link
```typescript
const targetFile = this.app.metadataCache.getFirstLinkpathDest('My Note', currentFile.path);
if (targetFile) {
const content = await this.app.vault.cachedRead(targetFile);
}
```
### Collect all vault metadata for AI context
```typescript
function collectVaultSummary(app: App): { path: string; tags: string[]; links: string[]; headings: string[] }[] {
return app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().map(file => {
const cache = app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
return {
path: file.path,
tags: [
...(cache?.tags?.map(t => t.tag) ?? []),
...(cache?.frontmatter?.tags ?? []),
],
links: cache?.links?.map(l => l.link) ?? [],
headings: cache?.headings?.map(h => h.heading) ?? [],
};
});
}
```
### Find untagged notes (candidates for AI tagging)
```typescript
function getUntaggedNotes(app: App): TFile[] {
return app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().filter(file => {
const cache = app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
const inlineTags = cache?.tags ?? [];
const fmTags = cache?.frontmatter?.tags ?? [];
return inlineTags.length === 0 && fmTags.length === 0;
});
}
```
### Find orphan notes (no inbound or outbound links)
```typescript
function getOrphanNotes(app: App): TFile[] {
const { resolvedLinks } = app.metadataCache;
const linked = new Set<string>();
for (const [source, targets] of Object.entries(resolvedLinks)) {
if (Object.keys(targets).length > 0) linked.add(source);
for (const dest of Object.keys(targets)) linked.add(dest);
}
return app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().filter(f => !linked.has(f.path));
}
```
### Wait for metadata cache to be ready
```typescript
// In onload(), ensure all metadata is indexed before processing:
if (this.app.metadataCache.resolvedLinks) {
// Already resolved
this.startProcessing();
} else {
this.registerEvent(
this.app.metadataCache.on('resolved', () => {
this.startProcessing();
})
);
}
```
|
