Properties in Obsidian

Learn how to use properties (frontmatter) for metadata and organization.

Properties in Obsidian

Properties (formerly called frontmatter) are key–value metadata stored at the top of your notes. They power search, filters, Dataview, and Bases, and make it easier to organize and query your vault.

What are properties?

Properties live in a YAML block at the very top of a note, surrounded by --- lines. Many can also be edited via the Properties UI in Obsidian without touching YAML.

Common properties

• title: Overrides the display title of the note
• description: Short summary shown in listings
• tags: A list of tags (must be a list, not a single string)
• aliases: Alternative names for the note (list)
• cssclasses: Extra CSS classes to style a note (list)
• created / updated: Dates for tracking when a note was created/modified
• status: Your custom workflow state, e.g., draft, in-progress, done
• due: A date for tasks or projects
• cover: Path to an image used as a cover/thumbnail

Note: As of Obsidian 1.9, the old singular properties tag, alias, and cssclass are deprecated. Use the plural forms above and make them lists.

Property types (with examples)

Text

Use for free-form strings like titles, authors, statuses, etc.

YAML:

author: "Ada Lovelace"
status: "in-progress"
notes: |
  Multi-line text is possible using YAML block scalars.
  Each line is preserved until the indentation ends.

Tips:

• Wrap text in quotes when it contains punctuation or colons.

• Use block scalars (

  ) for multi-line descriptions.

Number

Use for anything you’ll sort or compute on numerically.

YAML:

priority: 1
estimate_hours: 12.5

Tips:

• Don’t quote numbers if you want them treated as numbers.

Checkbox (boolean)

A simple true/false toggle.

YAML:

done: false
archived: true

Tips:

• YAML recognizes true/false (lowercase) as booleans.

Date and Datetime

Track when things were created, due, or updated.

YAML:

created: 2025-08-24
updated: 2025-08-24
meeting_time: 2025-08-24T14:30

Dataview example:

table created, updated
from "Projects"
where created >= date(2025-01-01)
sort created desc

Tips:

• Prefer ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) and ISO datetime (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM) for reliable sorting.

List (multi‑value)

Use when you need multiple values for the same property.

YAML (block list):

stakeholders:
  - Alice
  - Bob

YAML (inline list):

platforms: [ios, android, web]

Tips:

• Use lists for tags, aliases, and cssclasses.
• Inline and block styles are equivalent—pick one for consistency.

Tags

Special list used across Obsidian.

YAML:

tags:
  - project
  - planning
  - projects/mobile

Tips:

• Always a list. Prefer nested tags for hierarchy (e.g., projects/mobile).

Links to notes and files

Store relationships to other notes or attach files.

YAML:

related:
  - "[[Design Spec]]"
  - "[[Project Charter]]"
cover_file: "[[Assets/cover.png]]"

Tips:

• Quote wiki-links in YAML to avoid parsing quirks.
• In the Properties UI, choose the Link/File type so Obsidian treats values as links.

URL and Email

Clickable external references.

YAML:

url: https://example.com/docs/overview
contact: [email protected]

Tips:

• Use url for external docs, issues, or PRs you want to reference.

Select-style (constrained values)

Emulate a single-choice field by agreeing on allowed values.

YAML:

status: draft # allowed: draft | in-progress | done

Tips:

• In Bases, you can group/sort by status to create simple workflows.

YAML example

---
title: "My Project Plan"
description: "A plan to deliver the new feature by Q4."
tags:
  - project
  - planning
aliases:
  - Project Plan
cssclasses:
  - wide
status: in-progress
created: 2025-08-01
due: 2025-10-15
cover: /assets/img/projects/plan-cover.png
---

Editing properties in Obsidian

1. Open a note.
2. At the top, click into the Properties panel (or use the Properties button) to add/edit properties.
3. Choose the appropriate type (text, date, checkbox, list, etc.).

You can also toggle the visibility of properties per note if you prefer a cleaner view.

Using properties with Search and Dataview

Search can filter by properties. For example, search for notes that have the status property set to in-progress.

With Dataview you can query and display properties as tables or lists:

table status, due
from "Projects"
where status = "in-progress"
sort due asc

Using properties with Bases (Obsidian 1.9.10+)

Bases can display your notes as a table or cards, with columns backed by properties. Add, edit, sort, group, and filter on properties directly in the Base. Combine this with consistent properties to build dashboards for projects, reading lists, and more.

Practice exercises

Try these quick drills to build muscle memory:

• Add frontmatter to a new note with tags, status, and date.
• Add an inline marker like #starred somewhere in the body.
• Create a Dataview table of in-progress notes, sorted by date.
• Optional: Build a Base filtered to a folder or tag, add columns for status and date, then sort/group.

Example Dataview:

table file.link as Note, tags, date, authors
where contains(file.content, "#starred")
sort date desc

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