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🛡️ NameGuard

FAQ

FAQ

Section titled “FAQ”
Section titled “Why does it only act in shortest link mode by default?”

Because that is the only mode where the problem exists. In Shortest path when possible mode, Obsidian rewrites your existing links the moment a duplicate name appears. In relative and absolute modes, links already carry a path and adding another same-named note does not change how they resolve, so there is nothing to protect against.

Does NameGuard change or delete my existing duplicates?

Section titled “Does NameGuard change or delete my existing duplicates?”

No. NameGuard never modifies files and never inspects duplicates that already exist. It only evaluates the new name introduced by the operation you are performing right now. Notes that were already named the same keep working exactly as before.

It blocked my new “Untitled” note. Why?

Section titled “It blocked my new “Untitled” note. Why?”

If a note named Untitled already exists in another folder, creating a second Untitled is a duplicate name, so it is blocked. This is the strict behavior working as intended. Options:

  • Give the new note a unique name.
  • Keep notes that share a working name (like Untitled) in the same folder, where Obsidian’s own auto-numbering produces Untitled 1, Untitled 2, and so on.
  • Temporarily disable NameGuard under Settings → Community plugins.

What about files created by Sync, an external editor, or the file system?

Section titled “What about files created by Sync, an external editor, or the file system?”

NameGuard can only guard operations that go through Obsidian’s vault API (create, createBinary, and rename). Files that arrive from a sync client, an external editor, or directly on disk are picked up by Obsidian’s file watcher instead, so NameGuard does not intercept them.

Does it guard attachments and other non-markdown files?

Section titled “Does it guard attachments and other non-markdown files?”

Not by default. NameGuard guards .md notes only, because shortest-format links are about notes. Turn off Markdown notes only to enforce unique names across every file type.

What happens when an operation is blocked?

Section titled “What happens when an operation is blocked?”

The create or rename is aborted (it returns a rejected promise), and a short notification names the existing note that caused the conflict. Nothing is written to disk and no links are rewritten.

Is there any performance cost?

Section titled “Is there any performance cost?”

Negligible. The check runs only when you create, move, or rename a file, and it reuses Obsidian’s own link resolver for the markdown fast path. There is no background scanning and no work during normal editing.

Does NameGuard make any network requests or collect data?

Section titled “Does NameGuard make any network requests or collect data?”

No. It runs entirely locally, makes no network requests, and collects no telemetry.

How do I turn it off temporarily?

Section titled “How do I turn it off temporarily?”

Disable NameGuard under Settings → Community plugins. Enable it again from the same screen.