Obsidian Bases

Create and manage database-like views of notes using Obsidian Bases, including the standardized Database/ folder schemas.

Quick Start

Create a base file

Use Command Palette → "Bases: Create new base" or right-click folder → "New base".

Basic structure:

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Database/Tasks")
    - status == "active"
views:
  - type: table
    name: Active Tasks
    order:
      - priority
      - due

Embed a base

Use ![[File.base]] or ![[File.base#ViewName]] in any note.

Inline base queries

```base
filters:
  and:
    - file.hasTag("example")
views:
  - type: table
    name: Results
```

Core Concepts

Properties

Three types of properties:

1. •Note properties - Frontmatter YAML (access as property or note.property)
2. •File properties - Built-in fields (file.name, file.mtime, file.size, etc.)
3. •Formula properties - Calculated fields (formula.formula_name)

Filters

Apply to all views or specific views. Use boolean logic (and, or, not):

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Database/Tasks")
    - status == "active"
  or:
    - priority == "urgent"
    - due < today()
  not:
    - assignee == null

Formulas

Define calculated properties:

formulas:
  is_overdue: due && due < today() && status == "active"
  days_until: 'due ? (due - today()).format("days") : ""'
  price_total: "price * quantity"

Use in filters: formula.is_overdue

Views

Multiple views per base with different layouts:

• •table - Rows and columns (default)
• •cards - Gallery grid with optional images
• •list - Bulleted or numbered lists
• •map - Interactive map with pins (requires Maps plugin)

Database/ Folder Schemas

See references/database-schemas.md for complete property definitions and relationship patterns for:

• •Tasks - Task management (status, priority, assignee, project, due)
• •Projects - Project tracking (lead, team, target_date, completion metrics)
• •People - CRM contacts (company, role, email, contact tracking)
• •Companies - Organizations (industry, stage, relationship)
• •Meetings - Meeting notes (attendees, meeting_date, project, company)
• •Bookmarks - URL management (url, category, saved, rating)

Common Patterns

Filter by folder and type

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Database/Tasks")
    - type == "task"

Group by property

views:
  - type: table
    name: Tasks by Priority
    groupBy:
      property: priority
      direction: DESC

Reference current file with this

filters:
  and:
    - project == link(this.file)  # Tasks for current project
    - file.hasLink(this.file)     # Files linking here

Create relationships

# In task frontmatter
assignee: "[[Database/People/Team-Member]]"
project: "[[Database/Projects/AGI-Assistant]]"

Query related data:

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Database/Tasks")
    - project == link("Database/Projects/AGI-Assistant")

Date arithmetic

formulas:
  deadline: start_date + "2w"
  is_overdue: due_date < now() && status != "Done"
  days_ago: '(today() - file.ctime).format("days")'

Conditional display

formulas:
  status_indicator: 'if(completed, "✅", "⏳")'
  formatted_price: 'if(price, "$" + price.toFixed(2), "")'

List operations

formulas:
  tag_count: tags.length
  first_tag: tags[0]
  has_urgent: tags.contains("urgent")

View Configuration

Table view

views:
  - type: table
    name: My View
    limit: 50
    order:
      - priority
      - due
    groupBy:
      property: status
      direction: ASC
    summaries:
      file.name: Count
      price: Sum

Cards view

views:
  - type: cards
    name: Gallery
    cardSize: medium
    imageProperty: cover
    imageFit: cover
    imageAspectRatio: "16:9"

List view

views:
  - type: list
    name: Task List
    markers: bullets  # bullets, numbers, or none
    indentProperties: true
    separator: ", "

Common Formulas

See references/formula-examples.md for extensive examples.

Quick reference:

# Date calculations
due_in_days: '(due - today()).format("days")'
overdue: due < today() && status == "active"
age_in_days: '(today() - file.ctime).format("days")'

# Text formatting
full_name: first_name + " " + last_name
display_title: file.name.title()
domain: 'url.split("/")[2]'

# Number calculations
total: price * quantity
percent: '(part / whole * 100).toFixed(1) + "%"'

# Conditional logic
priority_score: '(impact * urgency) / effort'
status_emoji: 'status == "done" ? "✅" : "⏳"'

Functions Reference

See references/functions-reference.md for complete function list.

Common functions:

Global: if(), now(), today(), date(), link(), max(), min()

String: contains(), replace(), split(), lower(), title(), trim()

Number: round(), ceil(), floor(), abs(), toFixed()

Date: format(), relative(), date(), time()

List: filter(), map(), sort(), join(), unique(), contains()

File: hasTag(), hasLink(), inFolder(), hasProperty()

Best Practices

File organization

• •Keep .base files in the folder they query
• •Use Database/ folder for centralized data
• •Name files descriptively: Tasks.base, Active-Projects.base

Property naming

• •Use lowercase with underscores: due_date, last_contact
• •Reserve type for entity classification
• •Prefix formulas: formula.is_overdue

Filter optimization

• •Apply folder filters at global level (applies to all views)
• •Apply specific filters at view level
• •Use file properties before note properties (faster)

Formula design

• •Keep formulas simple and readable
• •Use meaningful names: days_until_due not calc1
• •Handle null values: if(price, price.toFixed(2), "")
• •Avoid circular references

View structure

• •First view is default when embedding
• •Name views descriptively: "Active Tasks by Priority"
• •Use grouping for categorical data
• •Add summaries for numeric columns

Syntax Reference

Operators

Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, %, ( )

Comparison: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=

Boolean: !, &&, ||

Property access

property          # Note property (shorthand)
note.property     # Note property (explicit)
file.name         # File property
formula.calc      # Formula property
property.subprop  # Object property (dot notation)
property[0]       # List element

Links

link("path")                    # Create link
link("path", "display")         # Link with display text
link("path", icon("plus"))      # Link with icon
assignee == link(this.file)     # Compare link to current file
authors.contains(this)          # Check if list contains link

Troubleshooting

Base not showing data

• •Check filter logic (use advanced editor to debug)
• •Verify folder paths are correct
• •Ensure property names match frontmatter

Formula not calculating

• •Check for circular references
• •Verify property types match operators
• •Use if() to handle null values

View not updating

• •File properties auto-refresh
• •Note properties require file save
• •Backlinks may need manual refresh

Performance issues

• •Avoid file.backlinks in formulas (expensive)
• •Use file.hasLink() instead of checking backlinks
• •Limit results with limit property
• •Filter at folder level first

Migration from Dataview

Dataview query:

TABLE status, priority, due
FROM "Tasks"
WHERE status = "active"
SORT priority DESC

Equivalent Base:

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Tasks")
    - status == "active"
views:
  - type: table
    name: Active Tasks
    order:
      - priority

Key differences:

• •No FROM - use file.inFolder() filter
• •No TABLE - properties selected in UI
• •WHERE → filters
• •SORT → order
• •= → ==
• •Function syntax: contains() not contains

Additional Resources

• •Official Docs: https://help.obsidian.md/bases
• •Database Schemas - Complete property definitions
• •Formula Examples - Real-world formula patterns
• •Functions Reference - Complete function list