Flint Note

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/server/link-handlers.ts:79-131 (handler)

  Main handler method for the get_backlinks tool. Validates input, resolves database context, verifies note existence, queries backlinks using LinkExtractor, and returns JSON-formatted response.

  handleGetBacklinks = async (args: { identifier: string; vault_id?: string }) => {
    try {
      // Validate arguments
      validateToolArgs('get_backlinks', args);
  
      const { hybridSearchManager } = await this.resolveVaultContext(args.vault_id);
      const db = await hybridSearchManager.getDatabaseConnection();
      const noteId = this.generateNoteIdFromIdentifier(args.identifier);
  
      // Check if note exists
      const note = await db.get('SELECT id FROM notes WHERE id = ?', [noteId]);
      if (!note) {
        throw new Error(`Note not found: ${args.identifier}`);
      }
  
      const backlinks = await LinkExtractor.getBacklinks(noteId, db);
  
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: 'text',
            text: JSON.stringify(
              {
                success: true,
                note_id: noteId,
                backlinks: backlinks
              },
              null,
              2
            )
          }
        ]
      };
    } catch (error) {
      const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error';
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: 'text',
            text: JSON.stringify(
              {
                success: false,
                error: errorMessage
              },
              null,
              2
            )
          }
        ],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  };

• src/server.ts:1332-1335 (registration)

  Tool registration in the MCP CallToolRequestSchema handler switch statement, dispatching to LinkHandlers.handleGetBacklinks.

  return await this.linkHandlers.handleGetBacklinks(
    args as unknown as { identifier: string; vault_id?: string }
  );

• src/server.ts:1157-1169 (schema)

  Tool schema definition returned by ListToolsRequestSchema, specifying input requirements (identifier required).

    name: 'get_backlinks',
    description: 'Get all notes that link to the specified note',
    inputSchema: {
      type: 'object',
      properties: {
        identifier: {
          type: 'string',
          description: 'Note identifier (type/filename format)'
        }
      },
      required: ['identifier']
    }
  },

• src/core/link-extractor.ts:332-340 (helper)

  Core helper method that executes the SQL query to fetch all incoming links (backlinks) from the note_links table for the given note ID.

  static async getBacklinks(
    noteId: string,
    db: DatabaseConnection
  ): Promise<NoteLinkRow[]> {
    return await db.all<NoteLinkRow>(
      `SELECT * FROM note_links WHERE target_note_id = ? ORDER BY created DESC`,
      [noteId]
    );
  }

• src/server/validation.ts:822-845 (schema)

  Input validation rules for get_backlinks tool arguments, ensuring identifier is in 'type/filename' format.

  get_backlinks: [
    {
      field: 'identifier',
      required: true,
      type: 'string',
      allowEmpty: false,
      customValidator: (value: string) => {
        if (!value.includes('/')) {
          return 'identifier must be in format "type/filename"';
        }
        const parts = value.split('/');
        if (parts.length !== 2 || !parts[0] || !parts[1]) {
          return 'identifier must be in format "type/filename" with both parts non-empty';
        }
        return null;
      }
    },
    {
      field: 'vault_id',
      required: false,
      type: 'string',
      allowEmpty: false
    }
  ],