Smart Connections Plugin for Obsidian: Install & Setup
Install Smart Connections in Obsidian, then get one useful related note from your own vault before reading the full feature tour.
The first win is simple:
Open one real note. Open Connections. Preview one result. If it helps, drag it into the note or open it.
You know it worked when one useful related note from your own vault becomes actionable before you reorganize anything.
Install in 2 minutes
- Install and enable Smart Connections from the Obsidian Community Plugins directory.
- Open a real note with meaningful text: a project note, meeting note, draft, research note, or decision note.
- Open the Connections view from the ribbon or command palette.
- Preview one promising result.
- If the result helps, drag it into the note to create a link, or open it.
Start with a real note, not an empty test note. Connections uses the note you are looking at as the anchor.
The first workflow: preview, then act
Connections is for the moment when the current note is the anchor:
What else in my vault is related to what I am looking at right now?
- Open the note you are actively working on.
- Open the Connections view.
- Scan the top results.
- Hold Cmd/Ctrl while hovering over one result to preview it.
- If it is useful, drag it into your note or open it.
A good first artifact is:
## Related
- [[...]]
Do not start by tuning settings. Get one useful result first, then tune if needed.
Choose the right starting point
| Need | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Related notes from the note you are looking at | Connections | The current note is the anchor. |
| A question or idea, but not the exact words | Lookup | The query is the anchor. |
| Exact word, filename, heading, tag, syntax, or regex | Obsidian search | You need lexical matching. |
Use this rule:
Current note -> Connections.
Question -> Lookup.
Exact phrase -> Obsidian search.
If results are empty, weak, or confusing
Try this order before judging result quality:
| Problem | Try first |
|---|---|
| Results are empty | Wait for indexing/readiness, then try again. |
| Results are weak | Open a richer note with more meaningful text. |
| Expected notes never appear | Check Smart Environment exclusions and Connections filters. |
| Results do not change when you switch notes | Make sure Play is active, not Pause. |
| Results feel stale after big edits | Refresh the Connections view. |
| You expected an exact word match | Use Obsidian search. |
| You have a question, not a current-note anchor | Use Lookup. |
Helpful recovery pages:
After your first useful result
Once you have previewed, dragged, or opened one useful result, these actions become useful.
Hold one anchor steady
Use Pause when you want the list to stay focused on one note while you browse other notes.
Reduce noise
Right-click a result to hide repeat noise. If you hid the wrong item, use Unhide all from the result menu.
Keep a key reference visible
Pin a useful reference when it should stay visible while you work.
In Connections Pro, pinned and hidden signals can also shape ordering for some algorithms.
Copy a ranked link list
After first proof, copy results as a ranked list of Obsidian links. This is useful for ## Related, ## References, reading trails, and project hubs.
Use Footer connections
Footer connections are included in Smart Connections Core.
Use Footer connections when you want related notes at the bottom of the note without managing a sidebar. This is especially useful for no-sidebar and mobile-friendly workflows.
Learn more:
Connections footer
Send strong matches to Smart Context
After one useful result, strong matches can become AI-ready context.
Use this when you want to review a small set of related notes, copy them, and send them to Smart Chat or another AI tool.
Learn more:
Smart Context Clipboard
Lookup: when the question is the anchor
Use Lookup when you are starting from a question instead of the current note.
Good Lookup queries use meaning, not exact text:
customer onboarding friction examples and next actions
prior decisions about Context Builder tradeoffs
notes about reducing information overload while researching
Semantic queries do not work like regular search queries. A note that contains the exact query text may not appear if it is not similar in meaning.
Learn more:
Smart Lookup
Tune after first proof
Settings are for tuning after you have seen one useful result.
Start with the simplest controls:
| Symptom | Tune first |
|---|---|
| Too many results | Lower results limit. |
| Results are too broad | Switch Sources vs Blocks or use filters where available. |
| Results are useful but hard to identify | Show full paths where available. |
| Results are relevant but ordered poorly | Use Pro scoring/ranking controls where available. |
| Similar results look like repeated work | Use Smart Dedupe for review, not ranking. |
Read the full guide:
Connections settings
Connections Pro after Core value
Core remains useful. Use Pro when a specific workflow needs more control.
| Need | Pro path |
|---|---|
| Related matches directly inside the editor | Inline connections |
| Semantic relevance inside Obsidian Bases | Connections in Bases |
| More focused results by path, frontmatter, or link direction | Connections settings |
| Advanced scoring or reranking | Custom algorithms |
| Larger-vault semantic workflow performance | Smart Environment settings |
| Spatial/topic-shape exploration beyond the list surface | Smart Graph |