> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Backlinks

> The Backlinks plugin shows all notes that link to the current note, and surfaces unlinked mentions of its name across your vault.

The Backlinks plugin shows all *backlinks* for the active note — that is, every other note that links to it.

For example, if "Three laws of motion" contains a link to "Isaac Newton", then "Three laws of motion" appears as a backlink on the "Isaac Newton" note.

Backlinks help you find context you may have forgotten — notes you wrote earlier that relate to what you're reading now.

## View backlinks

Click the **Backlinks** tab in the right sidebar to see backlinks for the active note.

<Note>
  If the Backlinks tab isn't visible, open the Command palette and run **Backlinks: Show backlinks** to make it appear.
</Note>

The Backlinks panel has two sections:

* **Linked mentions** — notes that contain an internal link (`[[Note name]]`) to the active note.
* **Unlinked mentions** — notes that contain the exact name of the active note as plain text, but without a link.

### Panel options

| Option                 | Description                                                                             |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Collapse results**   | Toggle whether each result is expanded to show matching text.                           |
| **Show more context**  | Toggle between a short excerpt and the full paragraph containing the mention.           |
| **Change sort order**  | Control how mentions are ordered in the list.                                           |
| **Show search filter** | Show a text field to filter mentions. Supports all [Search operators](/plugins/search). |

<Info>
  Files matching your **Settings → Excluded files** patterns will not appear in unlinked mentions.
</Info>

## Open backlinks for a specific note

The default Backlinks tab updates whenever you switch notes. To pin the backlinks of a specific note, open a linked backlinks tab:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Command palette">
    Press `Ctrl+P` (`Cmd+P` on macOS).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the command">
    Select **Backlinks: Open backlinks for the current note**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

A separate tab opens next to your active note, showing a link icon to indicate it's pinned to that note.

## Show backlinks inside a note

Instead of using a sidebar panel, you can display backlinks directly at the bottom of a note.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Command palette">
    Press `Ctrl+P` (`Cmd+P` on macOS).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle in-document backlinks">
    Select **Backlinks: Toggle backlinks in document**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To make this the default for all notes, enable **Backlink in document** in the Backlinks plugin options under **Settings → Core plugins → Backlinks**.

## Use backlinks to find connections

Unlinked mentions are especially useful for discovering connections you didn't deliberately create. If you wrote a note about a topic before you had a dedicated note for that topic, the unlinked mentions section will surface it. You can then click the mention to create a proper link.