getBacklinksForFile

getBacklinksForFile(file: TFile | string): ReadonlySet<string>

Returns all files that link TO the given file, combining body links and frontmatter links.

Parameters

• file — Target file as TFile or vault-absolute path string.

Returns

ReadonlySet<string> — vault-absolute paths of files that link to the target.

How it works

Built from MetadataCache.resolvedLinks, which includes both body [[links]] and frontmatter [[links]]. Sources include non-markdown files like .canvas — see Canvas File Links.

Example

const activeFile = this.app.workspace.getActiveFile();
if (activeFile) {
  const backlinks = cache.getBacklinksForFile(activeFile);
  console.log(`${backlinks.size} files link to this note`);
}

Related

• getBacklinksFromBody — body-only variant
• getBacklinksFromFrontmatter — frontmatter-only variant
• getUnresolvedBacklinks — for broken links
• Links Body vs Frontmatter — how the separation works