# Managing Tags

> Manage and consolidate tags. Use when asked to "clean up tags", "consolidate tags", "tag audit", "merge tags", or "rename tag".

- Skill: `alexanderop/managing-tags` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add alexanderop/managing-tags`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/alexanderop/managing-tags/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Security
- Author: alexanderop (https://skillmd.com/u/alexanderop)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/alexanderop/managing-tags

---


# Managing Tags

This skill helps maintain tag hygiene by finding inconsistencies and consolidating similar tags.

## Workflow

### 1. Extract All Tags

```bash
# Find all tags across content
grep -h "^tags:" content/*.md
```

Build a complete tag inventory with usage counts.

### 2. Identify Issues

#### Similar Tags (Candidates for Merge)

Look for tags that likely mean the same thing:

- `ai` vs `artificial-intelligence`
- `dev` vs `development`
- `js` vs `javascript`
- Plural vs singular: `habit` vs `habits`

#### Inconsistent Naming

Check for violations of kebab-case convention:

- `camelCase` tags
- `Capitalized` tags
- `under_score` tags
- Tags with spaces

#### Rarely Used Tags

- Tags appearing only once (may indicate typo)
- Tags used 2-3 times (consider consolidation)

### 3. Generate Report

```markdown
## Tag Audit Report

### Tag Inventory (by frequency)

| Tag     | Count |
| ------- | ----- |
| vue     | 5     |
| testing | 4     |
| ai      | 3     |

| ...

### Similar Tags (Merge Candidates)

- `ai` (3) + `artificial-intelligence` (1) → suggest: `ai`
- `habit` (2) + `habits` (1) → suggest: `habits`

### Naming Issues

- `JavaScript` → should be `javascript`
- `local_first` → should be `local-first`

### Rarely Used (1 occurrence)

- `obscure-tag` - only in `one-note.md`
```

### 4. Perform Merges (When Requested)

To merge tags, edit the frontmatter of affected files:

```yaml
# Before
tags:
  - artificial-intelligence
  - machine-learning

# After
tags:
  - ai
  - machine-learning
```

Use the Edit tool to update each file's frontmatter.

## Tag Naming Convention

All tags should be:

- **Lowercase**: `vue` not `Vue`
- **Kebab-case**: `local-first` not `local_first` or `localFirst`
- **Singular or plural consistently**: Pick one and stick to it
- **Meaningful**: Avoid overly generic tags like `stuff` or `misc`

## Common Merge Patterns

| Variations                            | Preferred     |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------- |
| `ai`, `artificial-intelligence`, `AI` | `ai`          |
| `js`, `javascript`, `JavaScript`      | `javascript`  |
| `vue`, `vuejs`, `vue-js`              | `vue`         |
| `dev`, `development`, `developer`     | `development` |
| `test`, `testing`, `tests`            | `testing`     |

## Quality Checklist

Before suggesting changes:

- [ ] Extracted all tags from all files
- [ ] Counted usage per tag
- [ ] Identified similar tags
- [ ] Checked naming consistency
- [ ] Flagged rarely used tags
- [ ] Proposed specific merge actions