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Folder Tag Sync Folder Tag Sync Folder Tag Sync

Vision

The problem

Section titled “The problem”

Obsidian (and every file-based knowledge system) forces a split:

  • Folders are rigid single-hierarchies — a file lives in exactly one place. Necessary for file storage. Map cleanly to the filesystem.
  • Tags are flexible overlapping hierarchies — a file can have many tags. Better for knowledge representation. Don’t map to the filesystem.

Users need both. Usually they end up maintaining them in parallel: drop a file in a folder, then also remember to tag it. The two drift out of sync. The mental overhead compounds.

The solution

Section titled “The solution”

Bidirectional, rule-based sync between folder paths and tag frontmatter. Deterministic transformations only — no AI inference, no surprises.

File event → Rule matcher → Transformation pipeline → Sync executor

Design philosophy

Section titled “Design philosophy”

Deterministic over AI

Section titled “Deterministic over AI”

Every transformation is a regex or a pipeline step. Given the same input, always the same output. Users can reason about, test, and trust the output.

User control

Section titled “User control”

Rules are explicit, inspectable, ordered by priority. No magic. Previewable before applied.

Safe operations

Section titled “Safe operations”
  • Preview changes before applying
  • No destructive operations without confirmation
  • Debug log for every sync operation

Flexible but simple

Section titled “Flexible but simple”

Powerful regex with named capture groups. Sensible defaults out of the box. Most users shouldn’t need to write their own regex — pre-made rule packs (SEACOW, PARA, Zettelkasten, Johnny Decimal) will cover common workflows.

Scope limits

Section titled “Scope limits”

What this plugin does:

  • Folder ↔ tag bidirectional sync
  • Regex pattern matching and transformation
  • Rule-based priority resolution

What it doesn’t do:

  • Infer “what a file is about” — that’s Smart Connections’ job
  • Replace tags or folders — it syncs the two
  • Handle relationships beyond folder↔tag (use Dataview, Breadcrumbs for graph queries)

Long-term vision

Section titled “Long-term vision”

Phase 1 (done): Core sync both directions, rule engine, settings UI, 156+ tests.

Phase 2 (next): Conditional form fields, rule pack library (SEACOW/PARA/Zettelkasten), rule testing/preview UI.

Phase 3: Templater/QuickAdd API, batch “apply to vault” command, advanced conflict resolution, rule groups.

Phase 4: Community pack marketplace, sync history/undo, analytics.

See the roadmap for details.