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vault-dead-ends

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Find dead-end notes (have backlinks but no outgoing links). Triggers on "dead ends", "dead end notes", "endpoint notes".

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/blob/HEAD/skills/development/find-dead-ends/SKILL.md

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Dead End Notes

Find notes that receive links but don't link to anything (dead ends).

Purpose

Dead end notes are:

  • Referenced by other notes (have backlinks)
  • But don't reference anything themselves (no outgoing links)

These represent incomplete knowledge integration - they're mentioned but not connected.

Characteristics

Good dead ends:

  • Reference pages (people, companies)
  • Glossary terms
  • Index pages
  • Atomic concepts

Bad dead ends:

  • Project notes with no connections
  • Meeting notes with no follow-up links
  • Incomplete drafts
  • Stub pages

Process

1. Find Notes with Backlinks

get_backlinks(all_notes)
  → Filter notes with backlink_count > 0

2. Check Outgoing Links

for each note in notes_with_backlinks:
  forward_links = get_forward_links(note)
  if forward_links.length == 0:
    dead_ends.append(note)

3. Categorize by Backlink Count

  • High priority: 10+ backlinks, 0 outlinks (widely referenced but isolated)
  • Medium priority: 3-9 backlinks, 0 outlinks
  • Low priority: 1-2 backlinks, 0 outlinks

4. Report Results

Dead End Notes
═══════════════════════════════════════════════
Found 87 dead end notes

🚨 High Priority (10+ backlinks):
   • [[Meeting 2025-03-15]] - 24 backlinks, 0 outlinks
   • [[Project Alpha]] - 18 backlinks, 0 outlinks
   • [[Technical Spec]] - 12 backlinks, 0 outlinks

⚠️ Medium Priority (3-9 backlinks):
   • 34 notes need connections

✅ Low Priority (1-2 backlinks):
   • 50 notes (likely reference pages)

💡 Recommendations:
   • Review high priority notes - add relevant connections
   • Consider if these should link to related concepts
   • Some may be intentional (person pages, glossary)

═══════════════════════════════════════════════

When to Fix

Fix these:

  • Project notes (should link to related projects/tech)
  • Meeting notes (should link to action items/people)
  • Technical docs (should link to implementation/tools)

Keep these:

  • Person pages (reference only)
  • Company names (reference only)
  • Glossary terms (atomic concepts)

Version: 1.0.0