Search Operators
Find notes by date and links, with a preview for each result.
One-way Backlinks lists the notes that link to a note but get no link back
See the backlinks that the current note does not link to yet, in a pane with a One-way and a Paired list.
MIT · no telemetry · core features free
Pro adds "Link back" and "Hidden folders". Pro for all 129 plugins, $15 one time
- version
- 1.0.1
- downloads
- 32
- review
- Satisfactory
- health
- Excellent
- license
- MIT
- listed for
- Desktop only
- obsidian
- 1.13.4 or later
The end-to-end tests run in desktop Obsidian 1.13.4 and the latest version, also with a vault of 10,000 notes. The plugin is for desktop only, because in the mobile test the pane did not show in the right drawer.
Directory facts fetched from community.obsidian.md/users/theluckystrike.
About One-way Backlinks
You build links between notes, for example a map of content, and want to find the links that you have not written yet.
The core Backlinks pane lists every note that links to the current note, also the notes that you already link to from it. One-way Backlinks adds a pane with two lists, One-way and Paired. The One-way list shows the connections that you have not written yet, for example the notes that a map of content still needs.
The plugin uses the links that Obsidian resolves, the same set that the core Backlinks pane counts. The free version never writes to your notes.
Play demoFree features
One-way backlinks
Open a note, and the pane in the right sidebar lists each note that links to it and that it does not link to. Each row shows the note name, its folder and the number of links to the current note. Click a row to open the note, or hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) over it to see the core page preview.
Paired backlinks
The two buttons at the top of the pane show the count of each list. Select Paired to see the notes that link to the current note and that it links to as well. The pane keeps your choice while you open other notes.
The free version shows both lists and never writes to your notes, and it has no Link back button and no hidden folders.
Pro features
Pro costs $5 a month or $15 one time through GitHub Sponsors.
Link back Pro
Each row of the One-way list gets a Link back button. It adds a line such as - [[Banana bread]] at the end of the current note, in your link format. The row moves to Paired after Obsidian indexes the note.
Hidden folders Pro
The setting Hidden folders takes one folder on each line, for example Daily. Backlinks from notes in these folders and in their subfolders do not show in either list. Daily hides Daily/2026/x.md, but not Daily notes/x.md.
Price tiers
10 of 50 founding licenses sold.
- Founding price · now$15licenses 1 to 50
- Tier 2$19licenses 51 to 150
- Tier 3$24licenses 151 to 300
- Tier 4$29licenses 301 and more
The price is set on the 1st of each month. It goes up only after a tier is full. Until then it stays $15. The next price review is on 1 December 2026.
A price change does not change a license that you paid for. The $5 a month option stays.
Set up One-way Backlinks
needs
- Obsidian 1.13.4 or later
- Desktop Obsidian only
steps
Turn on One-way Backlinks, and the plugin adds its pane to the right sidebar one time.
Open a note, and the One-way list shows the notes that link to it but get no link back.
Select Paired to see the notes that link in both directions.
If you close the pane, run the command One-way Backlinks, Open pane to show it again.
If the app can't find a new plugin yet, try again later. Obsidian says a plugin that passes the review shows in the app within 24 hours.
Why this exists
The forum request Option to show only non-reciprocal backlinks asks to only show backlinks to notes that are not linked from the current note. The topic had 42 likes on 1 November 2026.
- “Option to show only non-reciprocal backlinks”opened 2020-05-29
How to find backlinks that you have not linked back in Obsidian
How it compares
- Core Backlinks pane
- The core pane lists every note that links here, also the notes that you already link to from this note. This plugin splits them into a One-way and a Paired list.
Need a change for your team? I build custom Obsidian plugins and features.
Questions about One-way Backlinks
Does it change the core Backlinks pane?
No. The core pane has no setting or API for this filter, so the plugin adds its own pane. The core pane works as before.
Why does a note show in Paired when I only embed it?
An embed is a link for Obsidian, and the core Backlinks pane counts it too. A note that the current note embeds counts as linked.
Why does a note that I just linked still show in One-way?
Obsidian indexes a note after it saves the note, about two seconds after the last key. The row moves when the index has the new link.
Does it work in a large vault?
Each update reads the link index of Obsidian one time. The end-to-end test uses a vault of 10,000 notes in a real Obsidian. On CI, one update computed the lists in 5 to 7 ms.
Can I see unlinked mentions in the same way?
Not in this version. The pane shows links only.
Network use
Until you select Sign in with GitHub, One-way Backlinks makes no network requests. Sign in and the sponsorship check contact github.com and api.github.com with the scope read:user, and a successful check is reused for 7 days. The plugin sends no note content, file names or other vault data.
Questions or ideas?
Tell me what is broken in One-way Backlinks, or what it should do next.
One-way Backlinks 1.0.1, MIT license
MIT · no telemetry · core features free
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