obsidian-yaml-frontmatter

# YAML Frontmatter Management Standardize YAML frontmatter properties across all vault content. ## When to Use This Skill Activate when you need to: - Add or update frontmatter in markdown files - Ensure consistent property naming and formatting - Format tags, dates, or other property values - Validate frontmatter structure > **Note**: This skill manages frontmatter **PROPERTIES** (keys, values, types, formatting). > For document **STRUCTURE** (heading hierarchy, section order, frontmatter position), use `obsidian-markdown-structure` skill. ## Core Frontmatter Rules ### 1. Single YAML Block at Top **Structure**: ```yaml --- property: value --- ## First Section Header ``` **Critical Rules**: - One YAML block at top of file - Blank line after closing `---` - No content before first heading (after frontmatter) ### 2. Standard Property Names **Use lowercase, consistent keys**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: title: Document Title created: 2025-10-31 tags: - tag1 source: https://example.com author: Author Name ❌ INCORRECT: Title: Document Title (capitalized) date: 2025-10-31 (use "created" not "date") tag: tag1 (use "tags" plural) ``` **No Duplicate Properties**: - Use `created` (not both `date` and `created`) - Use `tags` (not both `tag` and `tags`) ### 3. Tag Formatting **CRITICAL: Plain text in YAML, NO hashtags**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: tags: - journal - daily - reflection ❌ INCORRECT: tags: - #journal - #daily ``` **Always use list format with dashes**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT (list format): tags: - tag1 - tag2 ❌ INCORRECT (inline): tags: [tag1, tag2] ``` ### 4. Date Format **Use YYYY-MM-DD consistently**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: created: 2025-10-31 updated: 2025-11-01 ❌ INCORRECT: created: 10/31/2025 created: 2025-10-31T10:30:00 ``` ### 5. Link Lists **Wrap wiki links in quotes**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: sources: - "[[Journal/2025-10-31]]" - "[[Articles/2025-10-31 Title]]" links: - "[[Roundup/2025-10-31]]" attendees: - "[[People/John]]" - Jane ❌ INCORRECT: sources: - [[Journal/2025-10-31]] (missing quotes) ``` ### 6. Quote Values with Special Characters **Quote values containing**: `:` `#` `"` or numeric-looking strings **Single quote wrapping (easiest for values with `"`)**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: title: 'He said, "Hello."' note: 'It\'s called "PKM".' ``` **Double quote wrapping with escaping**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: title: "He said, \"Hello.\"" source: "https://example.com" version: "2.0" ``` **Literal double-quote character**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: quote_char: '"' ``` **Mixed quotes preference**: Use double quotes, escape only `"` (single quotes don't need escaping): ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: note: "It's called \"PKM\"." ❌ INCORRECT: title: AI Era: Thriving Framework (unquoted colon) version: 2.0 (parsed as number, not string) ``` **Multiline values (no escaping needed)**: ```yaml ✅ CORRECT: description: | He said, "Hello." New line preserved. ``` ## Standard Property Set ### Core Properties (All Content) ```yaml --- title: Document Title created: YYYY-MM-DD tags: - category - type --- ``` ### Content with Sources ```yaml --- title: Article Title created: YYYY-MM-DD source: https://url or file path author: Author Name tags: - clipping - topic --- ``` ### Relational Content ```yaml --- title: Document Title created: YYYY-MM-DD tags: - category sources: - "[[Source File 1]]" - "[[Source File 2]]" links: - "[[Related Topic]]" --- ``` ### Events/Meetings ```yaml --- title: Meeting Name created: YYYY-MM-DD event_date: YYYY-MM-DD attendees: - "[[Person 1]]" - Person 2 sources: - "[[Journal/YYYY-MM-DD#Section]]" tags: - meeting - event --- ``` ## Workflow ### Step 1: Determine Content Type - Daily content (Journal, Notes) - Ingested content (Clippings, Articles) - Created content (Analysis, Tasks, Events) - Topic/Project pages ### Step 2: Select Property Set - Core properties (title, created, tags) - Add source/author if applicable - Add relational links (sources, links, attendees) - Add content-specific properties ### Step 3: Format Values - Dates: YYYY-MM-DD format - Tags: Plain text list (no #) - Links: Quoted wiki links - Special chars: Quote values with `:` or `#` ### Step 4: Structure Check - Single YAML block at top - Blank line after `---` - Consistent property names (lowercase) - No duplicate properties ## Quality Checklist Before completing frontmatter: - [ ] Single YAML block at top with blank line after - [ ] All property keys lowercase and consistent - [ ] Tags are plain text (NO hashtags) - [ ] Dates in YYYY-MM-DD format - [ ] Wiki links wrapped in quotes - [ ] Special characters quoted appropriately - [ ] No duplicate properties (created vs date, tags vs tag)