Blinks

Better block links for Obsidian.

Obsidian will happily let you link to a paragraph using a dignified identifier like #^fa5d4c.
That’s fine if you enjoy grepping ciphertext. The rest of us remember words.

Blinks is the missing door: pick the note (you already know how), type ^^, find the block by phrase, get a link that still works when the plugin is off.

[[2026-06-28_Squad_Career_Trajectories#^current-people-bios-have|bios]]

Readable. Portable. Slightly smug.

What it does

Trigger	Inside a wikilink — open or already closed with ]] — type ^^
Search	Phrase-ranked blocks in that note (not “hope the token bag is feeling generous”)
Storage	Real Obsidian #^readable-slug ids (writes the ^slug on the target line if missing)
Aliases	Normal [[note#^slug|display text]] — core handles the pretty face
Realign	If you rewrite the opening words, Blinks can prompt to refresh the slug + inbound links

The door that matches real life

1. Type [[, find the note, Tab or click (Obsidian will close with ]] — of course it will).
2. Move the cursor before the ]].
3. Type ^^ → block picker.
4. Type the words you actually remember. Pick. Done.

Also works if you never closed the link: [[Note^^.

Commands (Command palette)

• Blinks: Insert block link (pick note…)
• Blinks: Insert block link in current note
• Blinks: Insert block link for wikilink at cursor
• Blinks: Realign block slug at cursor (update links)

What it does not do (yet)

• Vault-wide “I forgot which file” block search (Craft nostalgia; later)
• Replace Obsidian’s soul
• Make #^fa5d4c cool

Native random hex block ids still work. We just refuse to make more of them on purpose.

Durability (the part that matters)

Links follow the ^slug on the line, not the poetry of the paragraph.

You do this	Link
Reword the sentence, keep ^slug	✅ lives
Move the line with its ^slug inside the same note	✅ lives
Delete or rename the slug and ghost the old id	❌ dies (as it should)
Disable Blinks	✅ still works — it’s core #^ syntax

Optional prompt on edit: if opening words drift from a readable slug, Blinks offers to update the slug and the inbound links it can find. You can always hit Keep slug and live with a slightly nostalgic id.

Install

Community Plugins (soon / preferred)

Search Blinks in Obsidian → Community plugins once published.

Manual

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, styles.css from the latest release
2. Put them in .obsidian/plugins/blinks/
3. Enable Blinks → reload if needed

Requires Obsidian 1.5.0+.

Author

diagonalcounty · github.com/diagonalcounty/blinks

Related: obsidian-plugins monorepo shelf

License

MIT — same as the monorepo. Break links responsibly.