obsidian-bases

# Obsidian Bases Skill ## Workflow 1. **Create the file**: Create a `.base` file in the vault with valid YAML content 2. **Define scope**: Add `filters` to select which notes appear (by tag, folder, property, or date) 3. **Add formulas** (optional): Define computed properties in the `formulas` section 4. **Configure views**: Add one or more views (`table`, `cards`, `list`, or `map`) with `order` specifying which properties to display 5. **Validate**: Verify the file is valid YAML with no syntax errors. Check that all referenced properties and formulas exist. Common issues: unquoted strings containing special YAML characters, mismatched quotes in formula expressions, referencing `formula.X` without defining `X` in `formulas` 6. **Test in Obsidian**: Open the `.base` file in Obsidian to confirm the view renders correctly. If it shows a YAML error, check quoting rules below ## Schema Base files use the `.base` extension and contain valid YAML. ```yaml # Global filters apply to ALL views in the base filters: # Can be a single filter string # OR a recursive filter object with and/or/not and: [] or: [] not: [] # Define formula properties that can be used across all views formulas: formula_name: 'expression' # Configure display names and settings for properties properties: property_name: displayName: "Display Name" formula.formula_name: displayName: "Formula Display Name" file.ext: displayName: "Extension" # Define custom summary formulas summaries: custom_summary_name: 'values.mean().round(3)' # Define one or more views views: - type: table | cards | list | map name: "View Name" limit: 10 # Optional: limit results groupBy: # Optional: group results property: property_name direction: ASC | DESC filters: # View-specific filters and: [] order: # Properties to display in order - file.name - property_name - formula.formula_name summaries: # Map properties to summary formulas property_name: Average ``` ## Filter Syntax Filters narrow down results. They can be applied globally or per-view. ### Filter Structure ```yaml # Single filter filters: 'status == "done"' # AND - all conditions must be true filters: and: - 'status == "done"' - 'priority > 3' # OR - any condition can be true filters: or: - 'file.hasTag("book")' - 'file.hasTag("article")' # NOT - exclude matching items filters: not: - 'file.hasTag("archived")' # Nested filters filters: or: - file.hasTag("tag") - and: - file.hasTag("book") - file.hasLink("Textbook") - not: - file.hasTag("book") - file.inFolder("Required Reading") ``` ### Filter Operators | Operator | Description | |----------|-------------| | `==` | equals | | `!=` | not equal | | `>` | greater than | | `<` | less than | | `>=` | greater than or equal | | `<=` | less than or equal | | `&&` | logical and | | `\|\|` | logical or | | <code>!</code> | logical not | ## Properties ### Three Types of Properties 1. **Note properties** - From frontmatter: `note.author` or just `author` 2. **File properties** - File metadata: `file.name`, `file.mtime`, etc. 3. **Formula properties** - Computed values: `formula.my_formula` ### File Properties Reference | Property | Type | Description | |----------|------|-------------| | `file.name` | String | File name | | `file.basename` | String | File name without extension | | `file.path` | String | Full path to file | | `file.folder` | String | Parent folder path | | `file.ext` | String | File extension | | `file.size` | Number | File size in bytes | | `file.ctime` | Date | Created time | | `file.mtime` | Date | Modified time | | `file.tags` | List | All tags in file | | `file.links` | List | Internal links in file | | `file.backlinks` | List | Files linking to this file | | `file.embeds` | List | Embeds in the note | | `file.properties` | Object | All frontmatter properties | ### The `this` Keyword - In main content area: refers to the base file itself - When embedded: refers to the embedding file - In sidebar: refers to the active file in main content ## Formula Syntax Formulas compute values from properties. Defined in the `formulas` section. ```yaml formulas: # Simple arithmetic total: "price * quantity" # Conditional logic status_icon: 'if(done, "✅", "⏳")' # String formatting formatted_price: 'if(price, price.toFixed(2) + " dollars")' # Date formatting created: 'file.ctime.format("YYYY-MM-DD")' # Calculate days since created (use .days for Duration) days_old: '(now() - file.ctime).days' # Calculate days until due date days_until_due: 'if(due_date, (date(due_date) - today()).days, "")' ``` ## Key Functions Most commonly used functions. For the complete reference of all types (Date, String, Number, List, File, Link, Object, RegExp), see [FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md](references/FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md). | Function | Signature | Description | |----------|-----------|-------------| | `date()` | `date(string): date` | Parse string to date (`YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss`) | | `now()` | `now(): date` | Current date and time | | `today()` | `today(): date` | Current date (time = 00:00:00) | | `if()` | `if(condition, trueResult, falseResult?)` | Conditional | | `duration()` | `duration(string): duration` | Parse duration string | | `file()` | `file(path): file` | Get file object | | `link()` | `link(path, display?): Link` | Create a link | ### Duration Type When subtracting two dates, the result is a **Duration** type (not a number). **Duration Fields:** `duration.days`, `duration.hours`, `duration.minutes`, `duration.seconds`, `duration.milliseconds` **IMPORTANT:** Duration does NOT support `.round()`, `.floor()`, `.ceil()` directly. Access a numeric field first (like `.days`), then apply number functions. ```yaml # CORRECT: Calculate days between dates "(date(due_date) - today()).days" # Returns number of days "(now() - file.ctime).days" # Days since created "(date(due_date) - today()).days.round(0)" # Rounded days # WRONG - will cause error: # "((date(due) - today()) / 86400000).round(0)" # Duration doesn't support division then round ``` ### Date Arithmetic ```yaml # Duration units: y/year/years, M/month/months, d/day/days, # w/week/weeks, h/hour/hours, m/minute/minutes, s/second/seconds "now() + \"1 day\"" # Tomorrow "today() + \"7d\"" # A week from today "now() - file.ctime" # Returns Duration "(now() - file.ctime).days" # Get days as number ``` ## View Types ### Table View ```yaml views: - type: table name: "My Table" order: - file.name - status - due_date summaries: price: Sum count: Average ``` ### Cards View ```yaml views: - type: cards name: "Gallery" order: - file.name - cover_image - description ``` ### List View ```yaml views: - type: list name: "Simple List" order: - file.name - status ``` ### Map View Requires latitude/longitude properties and the Maps community plugin. ```yaml views: - type: map name: "Locations" # Map-specific settings for lat/lng properties ``` ## Default Summary Formulas | Name | Input Type | Description | |------|------------|-------------| | `Average` | Number | Mathematical mean | | `Min` | Number | Smallest number | | `Max` | Number | Largest number | | `Sum` | Number | Sum of all numbers | | `Range` | Number | Max - Min | | `Median` | Number | Mathematical median | | `Stddev` | Number | Standard deviation | | `Earliest` | Date | Earliest date | | `Latest` | Date | Latest date | | `Range` | Date | Latest - Earliest | | `Checked` | Boolean | Count of true values | | `Unchecked` | Boolean | Count of false values | | `Empty` | Any | Count of empty values | | `Filled` | Any | Count of non-empty values | | `Unique` | Any | Count of unique values | ## Complete Examples ### Task Tracker Base ```yaml filters: and: - file.hasTag("task") - 'file.ext == "md"' formulas: days_until_due: 'if(due, (date(due) - today()).days, "")' is_overdue: 'if(due, date(due) < today() && status != "done", false)' priority_label: 'if(priority == 1, "🔴 High", if(priority == 2, "🟡 Medium", "🟢 Low"))' properties: status: displayName: Status formula.days_until_due: displayName: "Days Until Due" formula.priority_label: displayName: Priority views: - type: table name: "Active Tasks" filters: and: - 'status != "done"' order: - file.name - status - formula.priority_label - due - formula.days_until_due groupBy: property: status direction: ASC summaries: formula.days_until_due: Average - type: table name: "Completed" filters: and: - 'status == "done"' order: - file.name - completed_date ``` ### Reading List Base ```yaml filters: or: - file.hasTag("book") - file.hasTag("article") formulas: reading_time: 'if(pages, (pages * 2).toString() + " min", "")' status_icon: 'if(status == "reading", "📖", if(status == "done", "✅", "📚"))' year_read: 'if(finished_date, date(finished_date).year, "")' properties: author: displayName: Author formula.status_icon: displayName: "" formula.reading_time: displayName: "Est. Time" views: - type: cards name: "Library" order: - cover - file.name - author - formula.status_icon filters: not: - 'status == "dropped"' - type: table name: "Reading List" filters: and: - 'status == "to-read"' order: - file.name - author - pages - formula.reading_time ``` ### Daily Notes Index ```yaml filters: and: - file.inFolder("Daily Notes") - '/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/.matches(file.basename)' formulas: