Open questions

Questions where the right answer isn’t obvious yet. Input welcomed — open an issue.

How should we handle multiple matching tags pointing to different folders?

A file has tags #projects/alpha and #archive/2024. Rule 1 says #projects/* → Projects/. Rule 2 says #archive/* → Archive/. Where does the file go?

Options:

• First-match wins (current approach) — Rule priority decides. Simple, but user has to know which tag “wins.”
• Move to most specific — Look for the longest common folder prefix across matching rules.
• Prompt on conflict — Pop a modal: “Multiple rules match. Choose destination.”
• Refuse to move — Log conflict, skip file, surface in a report.

Current thinking: Start with first-match-wins (already built). Add onConflict: 'skip' | 'prompt' | 'priority' in Phase 2 as an opt-in per-rule setting.

Should rules support “remove tag on successful move”?

When tag→folder moves a file, should we then strip the triggering tag from frontmatter? Otherwise the tag persists and next sync is a no-op, which is fine — but it leaves a breadcrumb the user may not want.

Options:

• Keep the tag (current, implicit) — Tag remains as metadata; file’s location also reflects it. Redundant but safe.
• Remove via removeSourceTag: true — Opt-in. Clean for users who treat folders as the source of truth post-sort.
• Remove by default, opt out with keepDestinationTag: true — Implies the move “consumes” the tag.

Current thinking: Add opt-in removeSourceTag in Phase 2. Never remove by default — surprises users.

How do we handle folder notes (FolderName/FolderName.md pattern)?

Some users (especially with the Folder Notes plugin) treat a folder and its eponymous note as one entity. Should tag→folder sync:

• Move the folder note along with the file into the new folder?
• Skip folder notes entirely?
• Treat the folder note as the tag-carrier for the whole folder?

Current thinking: Deferred to Phase 3. Opt-in handleFolderNote: 'move' | 'skip' when we get there.

What about attachments?

If moveToFolder relocates my-note.md, what happens to my-note attachments/ or _attachments/my-note-image.png?

Options:

• Ignore — Attachments stay put. User fixes links manually if they break.
• Move together — Detect attachment folder by Obsidian’s attachmentFolderPath setting, move in lockstep.
• Leave to the user — Warn but don’t touch.

Current thinking: Phase 3. Needs to read Obsidian’s attachment settings and handle edge cases (shared attachment folders, external links).

Should rule matching be case-sensitive?

Currently regex is case-sensitive by default. Users can add i flag manually. But most users probably want case-insensitive matching out of the box.

Current thinking: Add a caseSensitive: boolean option on each rule, defaulting to false. Users who need case-sensitive matching opt in.

How do we handle vault-wide batch application?

“Apply all rules to every file in the vault” is a legitimate use case (e.g., migrating to the plugin from scratch). But with 10,000 files and 15 rules, this could be slow and hard to recover from mid-run.

Options:

• Dry-run first, then confirm — Preview all changes, show summary, commit or cancel.
• Background job with progress bar — Start, show status, allow cancel.
• Scope by folder or tag — “Apply rules to files in /Projects/” rather than the whole vault.

Current thinking: Phase 3 ships a “Batch apply rules” modal with dry-run + confirm + folder scope. Cancellable.

API for other plugins?

Templater and QuickAdd users might want getTargetFolder(tags) as a helper.

Current thinking: Phase 3 adds app.plugins.plugins['folder-tag-sync'].getTargetFolder(tags) as a stable API. Document it. Don’t guarantee internal rule engine stability.