Set Up Aliases Skill Skill

Set Up Aliases Skill

This skill enables agents to add meaningful aliases to Obsidian notes, improving note discoverability and enabling natural linking across languages and abbreviations.

Overview

Aliases are alternative names for a note stored in the YAML frontmatter. When an alias is defined, Obsidian treats it as an equivalent way to reference that note via wikilinks or search.

Why aliases matter:

Cross-language support — Link to notes using translations
Abbreviation linking — Use acronyms like [[CoT]] instead of [[chain of thought]]
Natural language — Allow different phrasings to resolve to the same note
Search discovery — Find notes using alternative terminology

Alias Guidelines

When to Add Aliases

| Scenario | Example | |----------|---------| | Acronym/abbreviation exists | chain of thought → CoT | | Translation needed | machine learning → aprendizaje automático | | Common alternative names | artificial intelligence → AI | | Disambiguation variants | white-box (ai).md → IA de caja blanca |

Alias Quality Criteria

| Criterion | Good Practice | Avoid | |-----------|---------------|-------| | Relevance | Only add aliases that users would actually search for | Generic or tangentially related terms | | Accuracy | Aliases must be true synonyms or translations | Loosely related concepts | | Minimal set | 1-3 well-chosen aliases | Dozens of marginal variants | | Language consistency | Match user's primary and secondary languages | Random languages |

Alias Types

Acronyms — Standard abbreviations recognized in the field
Translations — Full translations to user's secondary language (Spanish)
Alternative names — Recognized synonyms in the same language

Frontmatter Format

---
aliases:
  - first alias
  - second alias
---

Rules:

Use lowercase unless the alias is a proper noun or acronym
No quotes needed unless the alias contains special characters
Acronyms use standard capitalization (e.g., CoT, CLI, MCP)

Examples

Example 1: Technical Concept with Acronym

Note: chain of thought.md

---
aliases:
  - cadena de pensamiento
  - CoT
---

Reasoning:

CoT — Standard acronym in AI/ML literature
cadena de pensamiento — Spanish translation for cross-language linking

Example 2: Interface Concept

Note: command line interface.md

---
aliases:
  - interfaz de línea de comandos
  - CLI
---

Reasoning:

CLI — Universal abbreviation
interfaz de línea de comandos — Spanish translation

Example 3: Named Cycle/Framework

Note: thought-action-observation cycle.md

---
aliases:
  - TAO
  - ciclo pensamiento-acción-observación
---

Reasoning:

TAO — Acronym derived from initials
ciclo pensamiento-acción-observación — Direct Spanish translation preserving hyphens

Example 4: Disambiguated Concept

Note: white-box (ai).md

---
aliases:
  - IA de caja blanca
---

Reasoning:

Only translation provided since "white-box" has no common acronym in AI context
The (ai) disambiguator is context, not part of the alias

Example 5: Protocol/Standard

Note: model context protocol.md

---
aliases:
  - MCP
  - Protocolo de Contexto para Modelos
---

Reasoning:

MCP — Standard acronym
Spanish translation uses proper capitalization for protocol names

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing aliases:

[ ] Relevance — Each alias is a true synonym, acronym, or translation
[ ] No duplicates — Alias doesn't match the filename exactly
[ ] Correct format — YAML list syntax with proper indentation
[ ] Acronym accuracy — Acronyms are recognized in the field, not invented
[ ] Translation quality — Translations are accurate, not machine-literal
[ ] Minimal set — No more than 3-4 aliases unless strongly justified

Agent Skills: Set Up Aliases Skill

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files