← LeaderboardThe Skill Leaderboard

second-brain-rename

Rename a page safely: update the file, fix every inbound wikilink, add the old name as an alias, and log it. Use this skill whenever a page needs a different canonical title, the user says "rename X to Y", asks to fix an inconsistent title, or after a lint run flags naming problems. Do NOT use for merging two pages, for moving a page between folders without a name change, or for renaming files outside the wiki.

Published by undefined-ui ↗undefined-ui/second-brain-os

Try your first task

second-brain-rename

Start a fresh conversation. Replace the highlighted placeholders.

Use second-brain-rename to safely rename [old page title] to [new title] in [wiki vault], updating inbound wikilinks, preserving the old title as an alias, logging the change, and reporting link-check results; ask me if the correct name is ambiguous.

Required inputs

  • [old page title]
  • [new title]
  • [wiki vault]

User-approved starter prompt based on a pinned source version; check current skill requirements before running. Task evidence ↗

SKILL.md

name: second-brain-renamedescription: >-  Rename a page safely: update the file, fix every inbound wikilink, add the old  name as an alias, and log it. Use this skill whenever a page needs a different  canonical title, the user says "rename X to Y", asks to fix an inconsistent  title, or after a lint run flags naming problems. Do NOT use for merging two  pages, for moving a page between folders without a name change, or for  renaming files outside the wiki.

Rename a page

An agent renaming a file directly is the single most common source of broken links in an agent-maintained vault. Obsidian fixes links when you rename inside the app; writing the file directly does not.

Core rule

A rename is four operations, not one. All four, or none.

Workflow

  1. Check the new name against existing pages and aliases. A rename that collides with an existing alias creates ambiguity the graph cannot resolve.
  2. Rename the file and update the title in frontmatter.
  3. Add the old title to aliases. This keeps external references, the user's memory, and any link you miss working.
  4. Update every inbound link. Search the whole vault, including index.md.
  5. Log it: old name, new name, links updated.
  6. Verify with a link check.

Output format

Renamed: [[old]] -> [[new]]
Inbound links updated: <n> across <n> pages
Alias added: <old>
Remaining references: <none | list>

Calibration

Do not rename to fix a style preference on a page with many inbound links. The cost is real and the benefit is cosmetic.

If the correct name is genuinely ambiguous, ask rather than picking. A second rename is more disruptive than the first.