obsidian-bases: Obsidian's Database Layer

Obsidian Bases (launched 2025) turns vault notes into queryable, dynamic views. Tables, cards, lists, maps. Defined in

.base

files. No plugin required; it is a core Obsidian feature.

Substrate preference (v1.7+): This skill is a self-contained fallback. Prefer
kepano/obsidian-skills
as the authoritative substrate — its

obsidian-bases

skill is the canonical reference for Bases YAML, formulas, and view definitions. If you see an

obsidian-bases

skill available without the

claude-obsidian:

namespace, that is kepano's version: use it. The reference below is provided so the plugin remains functional when kepano's marketplace is not installed. Install:

claude plugin marketplace add kepano/obsidian-skills

. Official Bases docs: https://help.obsidian.md/bases/syntax

File Format

.base

files contain valid YAML. The root keys are

filters

formulas

properties

summaries

, and

views

yaml

# Global filters: apply to ALL views
filters:
  and:
    - file.hasTag("wiki")
    - 'status != "archived"'

# Computed properties
formulas:
  age_days: '(now() - file.ctime).days.round(0)'
  status_icon: 'if(status == "mature", "✅", "🔄")'

# Display name overrides for properties panel
properties:
  status:
    displayName: "Status"
  formula.age_days:
    displayName: "Age (days)"

# One or more views
views:
  - type: table
    name: "All Pages"
    order:
      - file.name
      - type
      - status
      - updated
      - formula.age_days

Filters

Filters select which notes appear. Applied globally or per-view.

yaml

# Single string filter
filters: 'status == "current"'

# AND: all must be true
filters:
  and:
    - 'status != "archived"'
    - file.hasTag("wiki")

# OR: any can be true
filters:
  or:
    - file.hasTag("concept")
    - file.hasTag("entity")

# NOT: exclude matches
filters:
  not:
    - file.inFolder("wiki/meta")

# Nested
filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("wiki/")
    - or:
        - 'type == "concept"'
        - 'type == "entity"'

Filter operators

==

!=

>=

<=

Useful filter functions

Function	Example
`file.hasTag("x")`	Notes with tag `x`
`file.inFolder("path/")`	Notes in folder
`file.hasLink("Note")`	Notes linking to Note

Properties

Three types:

Note properties: from frontmatter:
```
status
```
,
```
type
```
,
```
updated
```

File properties: metadata:

file.name

file.mtime

file.size

file.ctime

file.tags

file.folder

Formula properties: computed:
```
formula.age_days
```

Formulas

Defined in

formulas:

. Referenced as

formula.name

order:

and

properties:

yaml

formulas:
  # Days since created
  age_days: '(now() - file.ctime).days.round(0)'

  # Days until a date property
  days_until: 'if(due_date, (date(due_date) - today()).days, "")'

  # Conditional label
  status_icon: 'if(status == "mature", "✅", if(status == "developing", "🔄", "🌱"))'

  # Word count estimate
  word_est: '(file.size / 5).round(0)'

Key rule: Subtracting two dates returns a

Duration

. Not a number. Always access

.days

first:

yaml

# CORRECT
age: '(now() - file.ctime).days'

# WRONG: crashes
age: '(now() - file.ctime).round(0)'

Always guard nullable properties with
if()
:

yaml

# CORRECT
days_left: 'if(due_date, (date(due_date) - today()).days, "")'

View Types

Table

yaml

views:
  - type: table
    name: "Wiki Index"
    limit: 100
    order:
      - file.name
      - type
      - status
      - updated
    groupBy:
      property: type
      direction: ASC

Cards

yaml

views:
  - type: cards
    name: "Gallery"
    order:
      - file.name
      - tags
      - status

List

yaml

views:
  - type: list
    name: "Quick List"
    order:
      - file.name
      - status

Wiki Vault Templates

Wiki content dashboard (all non-meta pages)

yaml

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("wiki/")
    - not:
        - file.inFolder("wiki/meta")

formulas:
  age: '(now() - file.ctime).days.round(0)'

properties:
  formula.age:
    displayName: "Age (days)"

views:
  - type: table
    name: "All Wiki Pages"
    order:
      - file.name
      - type
      - status
      - updated
      - formula.age
    groupBy:
      property: type
      direction: ASC

Entity index (people, orgs, repos)

yaml

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("wiki/entities/")
    - 'file.ext == "md"'

views:
  - type: table
    name: "Entities"
    order:
      - file.name
      - entity_type
      - status
      - updated
    groupBy:
      property: entity_type
      direction: ASC

Recent ingests

yaml

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("wiki/sources/")

views:
  - type: table
    name: "Sources"
    order:
      - file.name
      - source_type
      - created
      - status
    groupBy:
      property: source_type
      direction: ASC

Embedding in Notes

markdown

![[MyBase.base]]

![[MyBase.base#View Name]]

Where to Save

Store

.base

files in

wiki/meta/

for vault dashboards:

```
wiki/meta/dashboard.base
```
: main content view
```
wiki/meta/entities.base
```
: entity tracker
```
wiki/meta/sources.base
```
: ingestion log

YAML Quoting Rules

Formulas with double quotes → wrap in single quotes:
```
'if(done, "Yes", "No")'
```
Strings with colons or special chars → wrap in double quotes:
```
"Status: Active"
```
Unquoted strings with
```
:
```
break YAML parsing

What Not to Do

Do not use
```
from:
```
or
```
where:
```
: those are Dataview syntax, not Obsidian Bases
Do not use
```
sort:
```
at the root level: sorting is per-view via
```
order:
```
and
```
groupBy:
```
Do not put
```
.base
```
files outside the vault: they only render inside Obsidian
Do not reference
```
formula.X
```
in
```
order:
```
without defining
```
X
```
in
```
formulas:
```

How to think (10-principle mapping)

When working on this skill, apply the 10-principle loop. See

skills/think/SKILL.md

for the canonical framework.

#	Principle	Application here
1	OBSERVE (ext)	The `.base` YAML the user is composing — read it carefully before suggesting changes.
2	OBSERVE (int)	Am I documenting yesterday's spec or today's? Bases evolves fast post-GA.
3	LISTEN	The user's specific Bases use-case (dashboard, filter chain, computed property).
4	THINK	Which filter operators, formula syntax, view types apply? Validate against the current spec.
5	CONNECT (lat)	How do Bases relate to Dataview queries? Properties? Canvas overlays? Map the deltas.
6	CONNECT (sys)	Obsidian Bases is post-1.10 GA; substrate-defer to kepano/obsidian-skills when present.
7	FEEL	Examples that actually parse and render. Pseudo-syntax wastes the user.
8	ACCEPT	Bases spec evolves; some features in this doc may have changed. Keep the version note current.
9	CREATE	Schema docs + worked examples that render in the user's actual Obsidian version.
10	GROW	As Bases features ship, refresh the reference. Track upstream releases.

obsidian-bases

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

obsidian-bases: Obsidian's Database Layer

File Format

Filters

Filter operators

Useful filter functions

Properties

Formulas

View Types

Table

Cards

List

Wiki Vault Templates

Wiki content dashboard (all non-meta pages)

Entity index (people, orgs, repos)

Recent ingests

Embedding in Notes

Where to Save

YAML Quoting Rules

What Not to Do

How to think (10-principle mapping)