Note Naming in a Zettelkasten (physical and digital)

A well-run Zettelkasten depends less on fancy software and more on disciplined naming: each note needs a file name that (1) reveals what’s inside at a glance and (2) makes the note easy to locate inside a growing web of ideas. In practice, that means pairing a unique identifier—used to link notes to one another—with a human-readable title that helps the mind do quick triage during dissertation writing and research.

The discussion starts with the physical Zettelkasten logic: every irreducible thought becomes its own note card, and each card must carry a unique ID so it can be referenced and connected in an interconnected knowledge network. The example uses a structured numbering scheme (like “1A,” “1B,” then “2A”) to show how notes can be inserted into a logical progression of topics. Crucially, the system stays flexible: when a new idea doesn’t fit the current chain, it can be placed into a new topic section rather than forcing a misleading label. The point isn’t that the numbering must be perfect from day one; it’s that the identifiers must support reliable retrieval and cross-referencing as the collection grows.

Switching to digital Zettelkasten—specifically Obsidian—the naming problem changes shape. Because Obsidian offers search, the exact ordering of IDs matters less than it does on paper. Still, the file name remains the note’s identity: in Obsidian, note names are file names on the computer, stored as Markdown files with the “.md” extension. That makes operating-system constraints part of the design: certain characters can’t be used in file names, and there’s a practical maximum length (around 255 characters).

A major practical choice is whether to use spaces in note titles. The creator prefers dashes, arguing that spaces can be annoying in programming and command-line contexts and can look ugly in URLs (e.g., percent-encoding). This dash style is described as “kebab case” (lowercase words separated by dashes), with alternatives like snake_case, camelCase, and PascalCase. The broader takeaway is consistency: a stable casing convention makes notes easier to scan and search.

For source notes (books and other references), the naming convention is more structured: “LastName-FirstName-Year-Title.” That uniform pattern helps distinguish sources from permanent notes and supports more powerful searching, including regular expressions—for example, finding all items from a specific publication year.

Finally, the creator argues against “timestamp-only” permanent notes. A long string of digits guarantees uniqueness but communicates nothing about meaning. Instead, permanent notes should use descriptive titles that capture the note’s thesis. That approach forces clarity (if a note can’t be named, it likely contains too many ideas), makes notes usable without opening them, and enables seamless linking by inserting the note title directly into sentences when drafting new work. In short: unique IDs link the network; descriptive, consistently formatted titles keep the network usable under real writing pressure.