Enhanced Tag Syntax Handling

Graceful Handling of Inconsistent Tag Syntax

Overview

Implemented comprehensive detection and correction of inconsistent tag formats in YAML frontmatter to ensure compatibility with Obsidian standards and prevent content collection failures.

Changes Made

1. Detection System (knownErrorCases.tagsMayHaveInconsistentSyntax)

  • Added regex pattern to identify invalid tag formats:
    javascript 
    detectError: new RegExp(/(?:tags:\s*(?:\[.*?\]|.*?,.*?|['"].*?['"])|(?:^|\n)\s*-\s*\w+[^\S\n]+\w+)/)
  • Detects multiple problematic formats:
    • Array syntax: ["tag1", "tag2"]
    • Comma separation: tag1, tag2
    • Quoted tags: 'tag1' or "tag2"
    • Space-separated words: Tag With Spaces

2. Correction System (assureOrFixTagSyntaxInFrontmatter)

  • Implemented automatic reformatting of tags to proper YAML bullet list syntax
  • Handles all detected invalid formats:
    yaml 
    # Before (various invalid formats)
tags: ["Technology-Consultants", "Organizations"]
tags: Technology-Consultants, Organizations
tags: 'Technology-Consultants', 'Organizations'
tags:
- Technology Consultants

# After (standardized format)
tags:
- Technology-Consultants
- Organizations
  • Preserves tag content while normalizing syntax
  • Maintains other frontmatter properties unchanged

Technical Implementation

  • Detection integrated with content collection processing
  • Correction function follows standard YAML processing pattern:
    1. Extract frontmatter
    2. Process and normalize tags
    3. Reconstruct frontmatter with proper syntax
    4. Return modified content with success status

Impact

  • Prevents content collection failures due to tag syntax
  • Ensures consistent tag formatting across all markdown files
  • Maintains compatibility with Obsidian's tag system
  • Enables reliable tag-based navigation and filtering

Documentation

  • Added comprehensive function comments with usage examples
  • Created technical specification detailing the implementation
  • Updated session logs with development process
  • getKnownErrorsAndFixes.cjs: Primary implementation
  • assureYAMLPropertiesCorrect.cjs: Integration point
  • Content collection processing pipeline