Start from the note in front of you

  • Open a project, meeting, draft, research, or decision note
  • The note in view becomes the anchor
  • No query or prior links required
Follow the getting started guide

Open Connections

  • Run: Smart Connections: Open connections view
  • Keep it beside the note you are working in
  • Scan only the first few results
Open the getting started steps

Create your first related link

  • Preview one promising result
  • Drag it into the note to create a link
  • One chosen link is enough
Create links from Connections

You know it worked when...

  • A related note changes what you write next
  • The current note gains an insight, source, decision, or link
  • Progress in the note is the value
Finish the first useful path

The current note is the anchor

  • Results update as you switch notes
  • Pause holds one anchor steady
  • Refresh after major edits or settings changes
Learn the list controls

Weak results? Use a richer note

  • Empty or tiny notes provide weak anchors
  • Open a note with project, research, meeting, or decision text
  • Try Connections again
Fix missing results

Let preparation finish

  • Smart Environment prepares eligible notes for local retrieval
  • No API key is needed for Core retrieval
  • Readiness depends on vault size and device
Check Smart Milestones

Still empty? Inspect the note

  • Use the Smart Environment status menu
  • Run: Inspect active note
  • Check that should embed and vectorized are green
Review Smart Environment settings

Check vault coverage

  • Run: Show stats
  • Embedding coverage should be greater than zero
  • Use Milestones when preparation is still running
Open Smart Milestones docs

Choose the right starting point

  • Current note -> Connections
  • Question -> Smart Lookup
  • Exact phrase -> Obsidian search
Use Smart Lookup for questions

Watch the discovery layer

  • See related notes appear as a note gains meaning
  • See why empty notes produce weak results
  • Then return to one useful link
Watch the segment on YouTube

Make it routine

  • Leave Connections open beside your notes
  • When the note makes you search, preview one result
  • Apply one useful result before moving on
Use the daily Connections view

Need daily list controls?

  • Pause one anchor while browsing
  • Copy a clean list of links
  • Hide noise or pin references
Learn the Connections view

Full notes or precise excerpts?

  • Sources return whole notes for overview
  • Blocks return smaller sections for precision
  • Start broad, switch to Blocks when the useful part is buried
Read the Blocks vs Sources FAQ

Useful but noisy?

  • Lower result limit for clarity
  • Move the sidebar where it fits your layout
  • Tune after one useful result, not before
Tune Connections settings

Finish notes with related links

  • Footer connections appear at the end of the note
  • Useful on mobile and no-sidebar layouts
  • Review related notes before leaving the page
Use Footer connections

Starting from a question?

  • Ask in plain language
  • Search by meaning, not exact keywords
  • Use Lookup when the query is the anchor
Explore Smart Lookup

Need paragraph-level context?

  • Inline connections appear beside specific blocks
  • Hover to scan related matches in the editor
  • Use after the whole-note workflow works
Learn Inline connections

Need relevance in a table?

  • Add a Connections score column to a Base
  • Compare rows against a reference note
  • Sort planning, research, or triage by relevance
Explore Connections in Bases

Want link trails per row?

  • Use list_connections in a Bases column
  • See related links beside each row
  • Build review dashboards without leaving Bases
Use Bases link trails

Recurring result problem?

  • Fix scope first
  • Then tune scoring or ranking
  • Change one layer at a time
Tune scoring and ranking

Need the shape of a topic?

  • Use a graph when a list feels too flat
  • Look for clusters, bridges, and neighborhoods
  • Act on selected notes after the shape is useful
Explore Smart Graph

Turning matches into AI context?

  • Use Connections to find strong candidates
  • Review what belongs before packaging
  • Send selected material to Smart Context when the next step needs AI
Build a Smart Context bundle

Still blocked?

  • Check the FAQ before changing everything
  • Use the page that matches your symptom
  • Then return to one meaningful note
Open the Connections FAQ

Get one useful related note today

  • Open a meaningful note
  • Open Connections
  • Preview and apply one result
Open the getting started guide

Watch Wanderloots' Walkthrough

See Smart Connections in action after the quick path.

Watch on YouTube

Get Smart Connections updates

Get onboarding links and Pro workflow notes after this walkthrough.

Sending...
Thanks. Check your inbox for the next step.
Please use the fallback link below.

Explore Pro workflows

Watch on YouTube