diff --git a/Services/SanitiserService.ts b/Services/SanitiserService.ts
index 3e30911..e26424f 100644
--- a/Services/SanitiserService.ts
+++ b/Services/SanitiserService.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
+import { normalizePath } from "obsidian";
+
 export interface ISanitizeOptions {
   replacement?: string;
   separator?: string;
 }
 
+// this service handles edge cases that 'normalizePath()' misses
+
 export class SanitiserService {
   // Regular expressions for different character classes
   private readonly illegalRe = /[\?<>\\:\*\|"]/g;
@@ -25,6 +29,9 @@ export class SanitiserService {
       throw new Error("Input must be a string");
     }
 
+    // use obsidian helper first
+    input = normalizePath(input);
+
     // Normalize empty string to "/" for vault root
     if (input.trim() === "") {
       return "/";
diff --git a/main.ts b/main.ts
index 2886bb0..715b11d 100644
--- a/main.ts
+++ b/main.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: IAIAgentSettings = {
 export default class AIAgentPlugin extends Plugin {
 	public settings: IAIAgentSettings;
 	
-	async onload() {
+	public async onload() {
 		// KaTeX CSS is bundled with the plugin to comply with CSP
 		require('katex/dist/katex.min.css');
 		// Plugin styles
@@ -52,12 +52,12 @@ export default class AIAgentPlugin extends Plugin {
 		this.addSettingTab(new AIAgentSettingTab(this.app, this));
 	}
 
-	async onunload() {
+	public async onunload() {
 		Resolve<StatusBarService>(Services.StatusBarService).removeStatusBarMessage();
 		DeregisterAllServices();
 	}
 
-	async activateView() {
+	public async activateView() {
 		const { workspace } = this.app;
 
 		let leaf: WorkspaceLeaf | null = null;
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ export default class AIAgentPlugin extends Plugin {
 		}
 	}
 
-	async loadSettings() {
+	public async loadSettings() {
 		this.settings = Object.assign({}, DEFAULT_SETTINGS, await this.loadData());
 	}