docs/obsidian-help/Plugins/Backlinks.md

---
aliases: 
- How to/Working with backlinks
---

With the Backlinks plugin, you can see all the _backlinks_ for the active note.

A backlink for a note is a link from another note to that note. In the following example, the "Three laws of motion" note contains a link to the "Isaac Newton" note. The corresponding backlink would link from "Isaac Newton" back to "Three laws of motion".

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  laws((Three laws of motion))
  newton((Isaac Newton))

  laws --link--> newton
  newton --backlink--> laws
```

Backlinks can be useful to find notes that reference the note you're writing. Just imagine if you could list the backlinks for any website on the internet.

## Show backlinks

The Backlinks plugin displays the backlinks for the active tabs. There are two collapsible sections: **Linked mentions** and **Unlinked mentions**.

- **Linked mentions** are backlinks to the notes that contain an internal link to the active note.
- **Unlinked mentions** are backlinks to any unlinked occurrence of the name of the active note.

It provides the following options:

- **Collapse results** toggles whether to expand each note to display the mentions in it.
- **Show more context** toggles whether to truncate or display the full paragraph that contains the mention.
- **Change sort order** determines how to sort the mentions.
- **Show search filter** toggles a text field that lets you filter the mentions. For more information on how to build a search query, refer to [[Search]].

## View backlinks for a note

To view the backlinks for the active note, click the **Backlinks** (link and arrow icon) tab in the right sidebar.

> [!note]
> If you can't see the Backlinks tab, you can make it visible by opening the [[Command palette]] and running the **Backlinks: Show backlinks** command.

## See backlinks of a specific note

The backlinks tab lists backlinks for the active note and updates when you switch to a different note. If you want to see the backlinks for a specific note, regardless of whether it's active or note, you can open a _linked_ backlinks tab.

To open a linked backlinks tab:

1. Open the [[Command palette]].
2. Select **Backlinks: Open backlinks for the current note**.

A separate tab opens next to your active note. The tab shows a link icon to let you know it's linked to a note.

## Show backlinks in a note

Instead of showing the backlinks in a separate tab, you can show the backlinks at the bottom of your note.

To show backlinks in a note:

1. Open the [[Command palette]].
2. Select **Backlinks: Toggle backlinks in document**.

Or, enable **Backlink in document** under the Backlinks plugin options to automatically toggle backlinks when you open a new note.