Concept Notes
Standalone concept extraction reads a source note and creates concept Markdown files in a folder you choose. The folder starts empty in settings. New standalone notes are title-only by default, and source backlinks are disabled. Add-links processing uses a different concept-note template.
Overview
Configure Concept note folder path before running extraction. A dedicated folder makes the resulting notes, duplicate review and later title-generation scope easier to inspect. Extraction creates concept files; it does not automatically fill each one with a researched explanation.
How It Works
Extraction Pipeline
The task sends note content to the chosen LLM, parses CONCEPT: entries, deduplicates names within the operation, and creates or updates concept files. Long notes are chunked. Inspect the progress report for failed chunks or incomplete output; a model response is not an exhaustive inventory of concepts.
The Extraction Prompt
The built-in prompt asks for specific topic-relevant concepts. Optional focused-learning and synonym-suppression instructions influence the model, but do not guarantee a canonical vocabulary. A custom extraction prompt must retain the CONCEPT: Term output contract. See custom prompts.
Chunking
chunkWordCount defaults to 3000. This is an approximate word-based division, not the provider's token budget. Cross-chunk context is limited; review related concepts and ambiguous names after processing.
Concept Note Creation
Filename Rules
Names are sanitized for Vault filenames: unsupported path characters are removed, whitespace is normalized, and long names are truncated. Empty results are skipped. Different extracted phrases can therefore map to the same filename; inspect names before generating large collections.
Templates
A new standalone note uses the minimal template by default:
# Concept Name
To include a backlink in a newly created standalone note, enable Add "Linked From" backlink and disable Create minimal concept notes. The supported full form is:
# Concept Name
## Linked From
- [[Source Note]]
Add-links processing creates full-form concept notes with backlinks when its concept-folder output is enabled. The standalone extraction switches do not change that add-links behavior.
Updating Existing Notes
When backlinks are enabled, an existing concept note can receive a missing source link in ## Linked From. Existing body content is retained, and a repeated backlink is not appended again. The source link uses the source note's basename; inspect ambiguous names in Vaults containing same-named source notes.
Configuration
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
useCustomConceptNoteFolder | true | Enable concept-folder output once a folder is configured |
conceptNoteFolder | '' | No folder selected initially |
extractConceptsMinimalTemplate | true | Create title-only standalone concept notes |
extractConceptsAddBacklink | false | Enable backlinks during standalone extraction |
extractConceptsProvider | DeepSeek | Provider choice when task-specific routing is enabled |
extractConceptsModel | '' | Use the selected provider's model when empty |
extractConceptsLanguage | en | Language choice when task-specific output languages are enabled |
replaceSynonymsDuringConceptExtraction | false | Add a synonym-suppression instruction |
generateConceptLogFile | false | Opt in to a generated concept log |
Deduplication
Duplicate review uses filename heuristics, including case-insensitive names, plural forms, symbol normalization and single-word containment where the selected scope allows it. These are not semantic equivalence proofs: irregular plurals and distinct technical meanings need manual review.
Choose Check & remove duplicates, inspect the candidate list, and confirm only the files you intend to remove. Approved items go through Obsidian's trash operation. A concept folder is not a disposable cache; back it up before bulk cleanup.
Scope Modes
The duplicate-check scope can compare with the Vault, the concept folder itself, included folders or a scope excluding specified folders. Verify the selected scope before approving removals. Scope changes affect candidates, not the meaning of a duplicate.
Usage
Extract Concepts (Standalone)
Open a Markdown note, confirm the concept folder, and run Extract concepts (current file). The source note remains unchanged. Inspect created filenames, concept coverage and optional backlinks.
Extract + Generate Content
Run Batch generate from titles on the concept folder to add explanations. This can process eligible pre-existing notes in that folder, not just the newest extraction. Review the folder first and inspect the reported complete-folder destination afterward.
Create Wiki Link from Selection
The selection action can wrap a chosen term as a wiki-link and create its concept note when the destination is configured. Use it when you want to choose the term yourself instead of asking the model to select concepts from the whole note.
Tips
- Start with a small source and a dedicated concept folder.
- Choose output language before creating a large concept collection.
- Review synonym suggestions and duplicate candidates separately.
- Keep generated logs you need before a later run overwrites them.
Next Steps
- Wiki-links: processed-note output and related concept files.
- Workflows: the exact One-Click Extract sequence.
- Batch processing: folder-wide generation and partial completion.