obsidian-vault

name	obsidian-vault
description	Vault structure, file naming, frontmatter, tags, tasks, and linking conventions. Use when: "vault structure", "file naming", "frontmatter", "wiki links", "obsidian", "tags", "tasks", "create note", "organize notes".

Obsidian Vault Skill

Conventions for working with this Obsidian vault. Every note should be findable, linkable, and useful months later.

Quick Reference

Topic	File	Use When
Vault structure	references/vault-structure.md	Navigating directories, creating notes
Frontmatter	references/frontmatter.md	Adding metadata to notes
Tags	references/tags.md	Organizing, searching by tag
Tasks	references/tasks.md	Obsidian Tasks plugin syntax
Wiki links	references/wiki-links.md	Linking between notes

Scripts

Utility scripts for vault analysis:

Script	Purpose	Example
scripts/scan_tags.py	Find all tags	python .github/skills/obsidian-vault/scripts/scan_tags.py
scripts/scan_tasks.py	Find all tasks	python .github/skills/obsidian-vault/scripts/scan_tasks.py --pending

Essential Patterns

File Naming

• Daily: YYYY-MM-DD.md → 2026-01-20.md
• Weekly: YYYY-Www.md → 2026-W03.md
• Meeting: YYYYMMDD meeting-topic.md
• Event/Trip: YYYYMMDD_event_name_YYYYMMDD.md (start_end dates)

Required Frontmatter

---
type: daily | project | meeting | note
status: active | done | paused | idea
tags: [type/daily, project/name]
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
---

Tags

Tags can be hierarchical (project/myproject) or simple (#myproject).

Common prefixes: type/, status/, project/, area/

Searching

# By project tag
grep_search "project-name"

# Pending tasks with due dates
grep_search "- \[ \].*📅"

# Find all notes of a type
grep_search "type: meeting"

Task Emoji

| 📅 Due | 🛫 Start | 🔺 Highest | ⏫ High | 🔼 Medium | 🔽 Low |

Knowledge Building Patterns

The vault is a knowledge base, not a filing cabinet. Every note should connect to something.

When to Create a New Note

Signal	Action
A topic grows beyond 2-3 paragraphs in a daily log	Extract to its own note
A recurring pattern emerges across sessions	Document it in the relevant project or skill
A decision has lasting impact	Record it in CONTEXT.md or a dedicated decision note
Research spans multiple sources	Create a synthesis note
You explain the same thing twice	Write it once, link to it

When to Update an Existing Note

• Facts change → Update the source note
• Context grows → Add to the relevant section
• Something is resolved → Mark it done, note the outcome
• You learn something new about an existing topic → Enrich the note

Linking Strategy

Link, don't duplicate. If information exists elsewhere, use a [[wiki link]] to it.

• Daily logs link to project notes: Worked on [[Project/CONTEXT]]
• Project notes link to decisions: See [[2026-01-20]] for discussion
• Meeting notes link to action items: Task assigned, tracked in [[Project/CONTEXT]]

One note, one purpose. If a note covers two distinct topics, split it.

Notes are living documents. When a note gets messy or outdated, refactor it. Don't just keep appending.

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Load reference files for detailed documentation on any specific topic.