---
name: wikilink-backlink-convention
description: "Use when adding, organizing, or interlinking notes in a personal knowledge base, wiki, or Obsidian-style vault — connects each note to the concepts it mentions with inline [[wikilinks]] that name the concept itself (never a filename or path) and appends an explicit Related / backlinks section so no note is left orphaned and unreachable. Do NOT use for prose editing, summarizing a note's content, generating HTML or standard-markdown hyperlinks for a web page, or configuring a note-taking app's plugins and settings."
metadata:
  decimalai-skill-id: "0950d053-d351-4429-92d9-d1ed5c0d161d"
  decimalai-version-id: "571f7cc7-1f78-4e5b-b40e-ee4210b68688"
  decimalai-version: "1"
  decimalai-body-sha256: "95654883c5080a05ba290925387711bc43111455b5ee0cb04d4d7b8582b5e994"
  decimalai-name: "wikilink-backlink-convention"
  decimalai-format: "1"
  decimalai-invocation: "model"
  decimalai-category: "productivity"
  decimalai-source: "https://app.decimal.ai/s/wikilink-backlink-convention@1/SKILL.md"
---
# Interlink notes with concept wikilinks and an explicit Related section

When notes are added to or organized inside a knowledge base, weave them into the web of existing
notes so nothing becomes an island. The failure mode this fixes: the model writes a fine, self-
contained note — good prose, right facts — but leaves it **disconnected**. It uses plain text where a
link belongs, or drops a standard-markdown `[label](path/to/file.md)` link, or links to a raw file
name, and it never records what the note relates to. The result is an orphan: a note nothing points
at and that points at nothing, invisible to the graph that makes a knowledge base worth keeping.

Two disciplines fix this, and both must be present.

## 1. Link concepts inline with `[[wikilinks]]` — to the concept, not the file

Wherever a note mentions a concept that is (or should be) its own note, wrap that mention in a
double-bracket wikilink at the point it appears in the sentence:

    Raft is easier to teach than [[Paxos]] because it separates [[Leader Election]]
    from [[Log Replication]].

Rules that make the link resolve to a **concept**, not a file path:

- **Target the concept's canonical note name, not a filename or path.** Write `[[Distributed
  Consensus]]`, never `[[notes/distributed-consensus.md]]`, `[[distributed_consensus]]`, or
  `[[note-3]]`. The link names the idea; the vault resolves it to a file. A `.md` extension, a
  directory prefix, or a slugified filename inside the brackets is the tell that the link points at a
  file instead of a concept — remove it.
- **Link the first, natural mention** of a concept in the body, in place — do not relegate every link
  to a list at the bottom. The link should read as part of the sentence.
- **Use a display alias when the sentence needs different wording** than the note's name, with the
  pipe form: `[[Leader Election|electing a leader]]`. The target stays the canonical concept name; the
  visible text fits the prose.
- **Do not wikilink ordinary words** that are not concepts with their own note (`the`, `system`,
  `today`). Link the nouns a reader would want to follow, not every word.
- **Do not convert wikilinks into standard-markdown or HTML links.** `[[Paxos]]` is the vault link;
  `[Paxos](paxos.md)` and `<a href>` are for exporting to the web, which is a different task.

## 2. Append an explicit Related / backlinks section

End every note with a section — heading `## Related` (or `## Backlinks`) — that lists the notes this
one connects to, as wikilinks, ideally each with a few words on *why*:

    ## Related
    - [[Paxos]] — the consensus protocol Raft is a simpler alternative to
    - [[Leader Election]] — the sub-problem Raft isolates into its own phase
    - [[CAP Theorem]] — the constraint every consensus protocol negotiates

Rules for the Related section:

- **Every note gets one.** Even a short note lists the one or two concepts it sits next to. A note
  with no Related section is the orphan this skill exists to prevent.
- **List the note's outgoing links here**, so a reader who skips the body still sees where the note
  connects. Concepts already wikilinked inline may be restated in Related — the section is the map.
- **Make links reciprocal so every note is reachable.** When you add note A that links to concept B,
  B should be reachable back to A. If you are also editing B, add A to B's Related section; if you can
  only touch A, still link B from A so A is reachable *from* B's backlink panel. The goal is that no
  note is an island — each is linked out *and* linked to.
- **Prefer an existing note name over inventing a new one.** Before minting `[[Consensus Algorithms]]`,
  check whether `[[Distributed Consensus]]` already covers it; a near-duplicate concept splits the
  graph. When unsure, link the closest existing concept rather than a brand-new near-synonym.

## Worked shape

Note handed in: *"Add a note on Raft. It's a consensus algorithm designed to be understandable, an
alternative to Paxos. It works by electing a leader that manages log replication."*

    # Raft

    Raft is a [[Distributed Consensus]] algorithm designed to be understandable — a more teachable
    alternative to [[Paxos]]. It works by electing a single leader ([[Leader Election]]) that then
    manages [[Log Replication]] across the cluster.

    ## Related
    - [[Distributed Consensus]] — the problem class Raft solves
    - [[Paxos]] — the older protocol Raft is a simpler alternative to
    - [[Leader Election]] — how Raft chooses the node that coordinates writes
    - [[Log Replication]] — how the leader keeps followers consistent

Concepts are wikilinked to their names in place, no `.md` or paths appear inside any bracket, and the
Related section makes the note's connections explicit and the note reachable. The wrong version writes
the same prose with no links and no Related section, or links `[Paxos](paxos.md)` to a file.

## Edge handling

- **A single source note with no obvious neighbors:** still link at least the parent concept or topic
  it belongs under, and give it a Related section with that one link — an island of one is still an
  island.
- **Concept mentioned but no note exists yet:** wikilink it anyway (`[[Byzantine Fault Tolerance]]`).
  An unresolved wikilink is a valid placeholder that marks a note to create — that is how the graph
  grows, not a broken link to avoid.
- **Exporting to the web or another system:** if the explicit ask is HTML or portable markdown, use
  standard links — this convention is for the vault's internal graph, not published output.