Tagging Notes

How to use tags to organize your notes in Obsidian.

Tagging Notes

Tags are a powerful way to organize, group, and quickly find your notes in Obsidian. You can add tags anywhere in your note using the # symbol, and Obsidian will automatically recognize and index them.

How to Add Tags

• Simply type # followed by your tag name, e.g., #project, #meeting, or #idea.
• Tags can be placed anywhere in your note—at the top, bottom, or inline with your text.
• Tags can also be placed in the frontmatter of your note

Inline

#project #python
This note contains ideas for my next Python project.

In FrontMatter

---
tags:
  - project
  - python
---

What is FrontMatter?

FrontMatter is a section at the beginning of a note where you can define metadata, including tags, aliases, and other properties.

It is enclosed in triple dashes (---) and allows for better organization and searchability of your notes.

By default, notes do not contain any front matter, begin adding it by typing the triple dashes on the first line after the note title.

For example:

---
tags:
  - project
  - python
date: 2023-10-01
author: Kevin McAleer
topics:
  - tagging
  - organization
---

Useful Tag Ideas

• #todo — for notes that need action
• #reference — for notes with useful information
• #meeting — for meeting notes
• #journal — for daily or weekly logs
• #idea — for brainstorming and creative thoughts
• #work, #personal, #study — for different life areas

Structuring Tags

You can use nested tags for more structure. For example:

• #project/active
• #project/completed
• #reading/book
• #reading/article

Obsidian will display these as a hierarchy in the tags pane.

Viewing and Managing Tags

The Tags Pane

Open the Tags Pane from the sidebar (click the tag icon). Here you can:

• See a list of all tags in your vault
• View tag hierarchies (for nested tags)
• Click a tag to see all notes containing it

You can also search for tags using the search bar, or combine tags in search queries (e.g., #project #todo).

Tips

• Be consistent with your tag names and structure for easier searching.
• Use tags for broad categories and folders for more rigid organization.

Tags make it easy to group, filter, and find your notes—experiment with different tag strategies to see what works best for you!

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