NoteMover Shortcut

NoteMover Shortcut is a plugin for Obsidian.

Description

The "NoteMover Shortcut" plugin streamlines your file organization in Obsidian. It offers a suite of shortcuts to:

• Move Single Files: Swiftly relocate the currently open file to an appropriate destination folder based on rules and filters.
• Batch Move Files: Efficiently transfer all files in your vault to appropriate target folders based on various criteria including tags, properties, file names, content, paths, and dates.

Configuration

Settings:

Trigger Settings

• Enable on-edit trigger: When enabled, the plugin listens for file modifications (on edit) and automatically checks the edited note against your rules and filters. If a positive match is found, the note is moved immediately after the edit.
• Enable periodic movement: When enabled, the plugin will automatically move all files in your vault at regular intervals.
• Periodic movement interval: Set the interval in minutes between automatic file movements (minimum: 1 minute).

Notes:

• The on-edit trigger only reacts to Markdown files and runs the same rule- and filter-based movement logic as manual commands.
• Periodic movement has been refactored to use the same unified event handler as the on-edit trigger, ensuring consistent behavior and a single orchestration point.

Filter Settings

• Blacklist only: Filters always act as a blacklist — files matching any filter line are excluded from automatic moves (manual commands still respect the same rules + filters).
• Filter criteria: Add criteria to exclude from movement. Supported types:
  • Tags: tag: tagname - Match files with specific tags (e.g., tag: #inbox, tag: work/project)
  • Properties: Property-based criteria from frontmatter:
    • property: key - Match files that have the specified property key
    • property: key:value - Match files where the property key has the exact value
    • Example: property: status:draft, property: type:meeting
  • File Names: fileName: pattern - Match files by filename patterns (e.g., fileName: *.json, fileName: Daily)
  • Content: content: text - Match files containing specific text in their content
  • Path: path: folder/path - Match files located in specific folder paths
  • Creation Date: created_at: date - Match files based on creation date
  • Update Date: updated_at: date - Match files based on last modification date

Rules (Rule V2)

• Rules: Define Rule V2 entries with named rules, match aggregation (all / any / none), typed triggers (tag, fileName, folder, properties, dates, links, embeds, headings, extension), and a destination (plain path or template).
• Order: If multiple rules match, the first matching rule in the list wins.
• Destinations: Folders are created when needed. Template placeholders such as {{tag.x}} / {{property.y}} are supported (see below).

Template Rules for Dynamic Destinations (Rule V2)

Rule V2 supports template-based destinations that can use metadata from the matched note to build the target folder dynamically.

• Template syntax: Uses double curly braces {{...}} inside the destination:
  • {{tag.<tagValue>}} – injects the matching tag path (without the leading #)
    • Example (exact match): If the note has the tag #tasks/personal, {{tag.tasks/personal}} resolves to tasks/personal.
    • Example (prefix match): If the note has the tag #tasks/personal, {{tag.tasks}} also resolves to tasks/personal – the full tag path is used automatically.
  • {{property.<propertyKey>}} – injects the value of a frontmatter property
    • Example: If the note has status: In progress in its frontmatter, {{property.status}} resolves to In progress.
• Combination with static paths:
  • You can combine static folders with templates:
    • /Personal/Tasks/{{property.status}}
    • Projects/{{property.type}}/{{property.status}}
    • {{tag.tasks/personal}}/Archive
• Validation and safety:
  • Template syntax is validated when rules are loaded; invalid patterns (e.g. unclosed {{/}}) are rejected.
  • If a placeholder cannot be resolved at runtime (e.g. missing property), it is treated as an empty string, so the rest of the destination path still works.
  • Plain string destinations without templates continue to work exactly as before.

This allows you to model scenarios like in Template Rules · Issue #49:
Match notes tagged #tasks/personal and use a destination such as:

• /Personal/Tasks/{{property.status}}

With status: In progress, the note will be moved to:

• /Personal/Tasks/In progress

Example Configurations

Advanced Rule Examples

You can use different criteria types for sophisticated file organization:

Filter Examples:

• Whitelist: tag: #inbox, property: status:draft, fileName: *.json
  • Only moves files with the inbox tag, OR draft status, OR JSON files
• Blacklist: content: private, path: Archive/
  • Moves all files EXCEPT those containing "private" or located in Archive folder

Rules Examples:

1. property: type:meeting → Meetings/
2. fileName: Daily* → Daily Notes/
3. tag: work/urgent → Work/Priority/
4. content: TODO → Tasks/
5. path: Inbox/ → Processed/
6. created_at: 2024-01-01 → Archive/2024/

Complex Workflow Example:

• Filter (Whitelist): tag: #process, property: status:ready
• Rules:
  1. property: type:project → Projects/Active/
  2. fileName: Meeting* → Meetings/
  3. content: urgent → Priority/
  4. Default: Processed/

This setup will only process files tagged with #process OR having status:ready, then move them based on their type, filename pattern, or content.

Hotkeys:

• Set Hotkeys to the NoteMover Commands

Usage

1. Configuration: Configure your rules and filters as described in the Configuration section
2. Open File: Open the file you want to move (optional for bulk operations).
3. Execute Command: Execute one of the NoteMover commands from the command palette or use your configured shortcuts.

Available Commands

The plugin provides the following 6 commands that can be accessed through the command palette or configured with custom hotkeys:

Move Active File

• Command ID: trigger-note-movement
• Name: "Move active note to note folder"
• Description: Moves the currently active file to an appropriate destination folder based on rules and filters. Includes preview functionality to show the destination before moving.
• Usage: Open the file you want to move and execute this command.

Bulk Move Files

• Command ID: trigger-note-bulk-move
• Name: "Move all files in vault"
• Description: Moves all files in your vault to their respective destination folders based on the current settings:
  • Files will be moved according to their criteria using rules
  • If "Only move files with rules" is enabled, only files matching defined rules will be moved
  • Files will be filtered based on the filter criteria
  • Files without matching rules will be moved to the root folder
  • Preview: Shows a preview of all files to be moved and their destinations before execution
• Usage: Execute this command to process all files in your vault at once.

History and Undo

• Command ID: show-history
• Name: "Show history"
• Description: Displays a history of all file movements performed by the plugin, allowing you to review and undo previous actions.
• Usage: Execute this command to open the history view, where you can:
  • View a chronological list of all file movements
  • See the source and destination paths for each move
  • Undo individual movements or bulk operations
  • Bulk Undo: Select and revert multiple movements at once for efficient history management
  • Filter the history by date or operation type

Move Preview

• Feature: File Move Preview
• Description: Before executing any move operation, you can preview which files will be moved and where they will be relocated.
• Benefits:
  • Safe Operations: See exactly what will happen before committing to the move
  • Bulk Move Confidence: Preview all files that will be processed in bulk operations
  • Rule Validation: Verify that your rules and filters are working as expected
• Usage: The preview functionality is automatically triggered before move operations, showing:
  • List of files to be moved
  • Source and destination paths for each file
  • Applied rules or criteria for each move
  • Option to proceed or cancel the operation

Show Update Modal

• Command ID: show-update-modal
• Name: "Show update modal"
• Description: Manually displays the update modal showing changelog information for the current version.
• Usage: Execute this command to view the changelog and update information, useful for reviewing new features and changes.

Preview Bulk Movement

• Command ID: preview-bulk-movement
• Name: "Preview bulk movement for all files"
• Description: Shows a preview of all files that would be moved in your vault without actually executing the move operation.
• Usage: Execute this command to:
  • See which files would be affected by a bulk move
  • Preview destination paths for each file
  • Review applied rules and filters
  • Plan your bulk operations safely

Preview Active File Movement

• Command ID: preview-note-movement
• Name: "Preview active note movement"
• Description: Shows a preview of where the currently active file would be moved based on your current rules and settings.
• Usage: Open the file you want to preview and execute this command to:
  • See the destination path before moving
  • Verify that rules are working as expected
  • Make informed decisions about file placement

Contributing:

This plugin is open-source. Contributions are welcome!

Features

• Active File Move: Move the active file to an appropriate destination folder based on rules and filters with a single command
• Bulk Move: The ability to move all files in your vault to appropriate destination folders with a single command, saving you time and simplifying organization.
• Advanced Criteria-Based Moving: Move files to different destination folders based on various criteria including tags, properties (frontmatter), file names, content, paths, and dates, allowing for sophisticated file organization.
• Selective Rule-Based Movement: Option to only move files that match defined rules, providing flexibility for users who want selective file processing based on specific criteria.
• Automated Moving: Two automation modes:
  • On-Edit Trigger: Automatically checks and moves the just edited note.
  • Periodic Movement: Periodically moves files across the vault at a configured interval.
• Move Preview: Preview which files will be moved before execution, ensuring safe and predictable operations
• History Tracking: Keep track of all file movements with a detailed history view
• Undo Functionality: Easily revert any file movements if needed, with support for both individual and bulk undo operations

Development

Build Process

The plugin uses a build-time changelog generation system:

1. Changelog Generation: The CHANGELOG.md file is parsed at build time and converted to a TypeScript file (src/generated/changelog.ts)
2. Build Scripts:
   • npm run generate-changelog - Generates changelog from CHANGELOG.md
   • npm run dev - Development build with changelog generation
   • npm run build - Production build with changelog generation

This approach ensures that:

• The changelog is always up-to-date with the actual CHANGELOG.md file
• No manual copying of changelog content is required
• The generated changelog is type-safe and optimized for the plugin

Project Structure

.
├── main.ts                 # Entry point
├── manifest.json          # Plugin manifest
├── styles.css            # Plugin styles
├── scripts/              # Build scripts
│   └── generate-changelog.ts  # Changelog parser
├── src/
│   ├── core/             # Core functionality
│   ├── generated/        # Auto-generated files (gitignored)
│   │   └── changelog.ts  # Generated from CHANGELOG.md
│   ├── handlers/         # Command handlers
│   ├── modals/           # Modal components
│   ├── settings/         # Settings management
│   ├── types/            # Type definitions
│   └── utils/            # Utility functions