Obsidian Bases

Steph Ango (Obsidian)CommunityCreated by Steph Ango (Obsidian)

Skill
Tool integration
Automation and integrations
MIT
No issues found

From the author

Create and edit Obsidian Bases (.base files) with views, filters, formulas, and summaries. Use when working with .base files, creating database-like views of notes, or when the user mentions Bases, table views, card views, filters, or formulas in Obsidian.

— the description by Steph Ango (Obsidian)

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The Obsidian Bases skill provides a structured way to organize and display note collections within Obsidian. By creating .base files, users can define global filters, computed properties via formulas, and multiple view types such as tables, cards, lists, or maps. This tool allows for dynamic data management, enabling users to transform their vault into a powerful database-driven workspace.

What it does

Creates database-like views for Obsidian notes using .base files.
Supports multiple view formats including table, card, list, and map.
Enables complex data filtering using logical operators and nested conditions.
Provides a formula engine for computing custom properties from note metadata.
Allows for property configuration and display name customization.
Supports embedding specific views directly into Markdown files.

When to use it

When you need to organize notes into structured tables or galleries.
When you want to perform calculations on note metadata, such as task deadlines or reading times.
When you need to filter notes based on tags, folders, or specific property values.
When you want to create dynamic dashboards or indices within your vault.

Advantages

Native integration with Obsidian's file system and metadata.
Flexible view configuration allows for diverse data presentation.
Powerful formula syntax for advanced data manipulation.
Supports global and view-specific filtering for granular control.

Usage examples

“Create a table view of all my active tasks.”: The agent generates a .base file with a filter for 'status != "done"' and a table view displaying task names, statuses, and due dates.
“How do I calculate the number of days until a task is due?”: The agent provides a formula snippet using 'if(due, (date(due) - today()).days, "")' to compute the remaining days.
“Show me a gallery of my book notes.”: The agent creates a .base file with a 'cards' view, filtering for notes tagged with 'book' and ordering by cover image and title.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/kepano/obsidian-bases/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip obsidian-bases.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Steph Ango (Obsidian)

Obsidian Bases Skill

Workflow

Create the file: Create a .base file in the vault with valid YAML content
Define scope: Add filters to select which notes appear (by tag, folder, property, or date)
Add formulas (optional): Define computed properties in the formulas section
Configure views: Add one or more views (table, cards, list, or map) with order specifying which properties to display
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
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.

# Global filters apply to ALL views in the base
filters:
  # Can be a single filter string
  # OR a recursive filter object with exactly ONE key: and, or, or not
  and:
    - 'status == "active"'
    - not:
        - 'file.hasTag("archived")'

# 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 follow the same rules
      and:
        - 'status == "active"'
    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

# 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

Note properties - From frontmatter: note.author or just author
File properties - File metadata: file.name, file.mtime, etc.
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.

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.

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.

# 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

# 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

views:
  - type: table
    name: "My Table"
    order:
      - file.name
      - status
      - due_date
    summaries:
      price: Sum
      count: Average

Cards View

views:
  - type: cards
    name: "Gallery"
    order:
      - file.name
      - cover_image
      - description

List View

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

Map View

Requires latitude/longitude properties and the Maps community plugin.

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

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

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

filters:
  and:
    - file.inFolder("Daily Notes")
    - '/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/.matches(file.basename)'

formulas:
  word_estimate: '(file.size / 5).round(0)'
  day_of_week: 'date(file.basename).format("dddd")'

properties:
  formula.day_of_week:
    displayName: "Day"
  formula.word_estimate:
    displayName: "~Words"

views:
  - type: table
    name: "Recent Notes"
    limit: 30
    order:
      - file.name
      - formula.day_of_week
      - formula.word_estimate
      - file.mtime

Embedding Bases

Embed in Markdown files:

![[MyBase.base]]

<!-- Specific view -->
![[MyBase.base#View Name]]

YAML Quoting Rules

Use single quotes for formulas containing double quotes: 'if(done, "Yes", "No")'
Use double quotes for simple strings: "My View Name"
Escape nested quotes properly in complex expressions

Troubleshooting

YAML Syntax Errors

Unquoted special characters: Strings containing :, {, }, [, ], ,, &, *, #, ?, |, -, <, >, =, !, %, @, ` must be quoted.

# WRONG - colon in unquoted string
displayName: Status: Active

# CORRECT
displayName: "Status: Active"

Mismatched quotes in formulas: When a formula contains double quotes, wrap the entire formula in single quotes.

# WRONG - double quotes inside double quotes
formulas:
  label: "if(done, "Yes", "No")"

# CORRECT - single quotes wrapping double quotes
formulas:
  label: 'if(done, "Yes", "No")'

Common Formula Errors

Duration math without field access: Subtracting dates returns a Duration, not a number. Always access .days, .hours, etc.

# WRONG - Duration is not a number
"(now() - file.ctime).round(0)"

# CORRECT - access .days first, then round
"(now() - file.ctime).days.round(0)"

Missing null checks: Properties may not exist on all notes. Use if() to guard.

# WRONG - crashes if due_date is empty
"(date(due_date) - today()).days"

# CORRECT - guard with if()
'if(due_date, (date(due_date) - today()).days, "")'

Referencing undefined formulas: Ensure every formula.X in order or properties has a matching entry in formulas.

# This will fail silently if 'total' is not defined in formulas
order:
  - formula.total

# Fix: define it
formulas:
  total: "price * quantity"

References

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer879 B
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
SKILL.md12.7 KiB
references/FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md7.4 KiB

references/FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md

Functions Reference

Global Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`date()`	`date(string): date`	Parse string to date. Format: `YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss`
`duration()`	`duration(string): duration`	Parse duration string
`now()`	`now(): date`	Current date and time
`today()`	`today(): date`	Current date (time = 00:00:00)
`if()`	`if(condition, trueResult, falseResult?)`	Conditional
`min()`	`min(n1, n2, ...): number`	Smallest number
`max()`	`max(n1, n2, ...): number`	Largest number
`number()`	`number(any): number`	Convert to number
`link()`	`link(path, display?): Link`	Create a link
`list()`	`list(element): List`	Wrap in list if not already
`file()`	`file(path): file`	Get file object
`image()`	`image(path): image`	Create image for rendering
`icon()`	`icon(name): icon`	Lucide icon by name
`html()`	`html(string): html`	Render as HTML
`escapeHTML()`	`escapeHTML(string): string`	Escape HTML characters

Any Type Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`isTruthy()`	`any.isTruthy(): boolean`	Coerce to boolean
`isType()`	`any.isType(type): boolean`	Check type
`toString()`	`any.toString(): string`	Convert to string

Date Functions & Fields

Fields: date.year, date.month, date.day, date.hour, date.minute, date.second, date.millisecond

Function	Signature	Description
`date()`	`date.date(): date`	Remove time portion
`format()`	`date.format(string): string`	Format with Moment.js pattern
`time()`	`date.time(): string`	Get time as string
`relative()`	`date.relative(): string`	Human-readable relative time
`isEmpty()`	`date.isEmpty(): boolean`	Always false for dates

Duration Type

When subtracting two dates, the result is a Duration type (not a number). Duration has its own properties and methods.

Duration Fields:

Field	Type	Description
`duration.days`	Number	Total days in duration
`duration.hours`	Number	Total hours in duration
`duration.minutes`	Number	Total minutes in duration
`duration.seconds`	Number	Total seconds in duration
`duration.milliseconds`	Number	Total milliseconds in duration

IMPORTANT: Duration does NOT support .round(), .floor(), .ceil() directly. You must access a numeric field first (like .days), then apply number functions.

# CORRECT: Calculate days between dates
"(date(due_date) - today()).days"                    # Returns number of days
"(now() - file.ctime).days"                          # Days since created

# CORRECT: Round the numeric result if needed
"(date(due_date) - today()).days.round(0)"           # Rounded days
"(now() - file.ctime).hours.round(0)"                # Rounded hours

# WRONG - will cause error:
# "((date(due) - today()) / 86400000).round(0)"      # Duration doesn't support division then round

Date Arithmetic

# Duration units: y/year/years, M/month/months, d/day/days,
#                 w/week/weeks, h/hour/hours, m/minute/minutes, s/second/seconds

# Add/subtract durations
"date + \"1M\""           # Add 1 month
"date - \"2h\""           # Subtract 2 hours
"now() + \"1 day\""       # Tomorrow
"today() + \"7d\""        # A week from today

# Subtract dates returns Duration type
"now() - file.ctime"                    # Returns Duration
"(now() - file.ctime).days"             # Get days as number
"(now() - file.ctime).hours"            # Get hours as number

# Complex duration arithmetic
"now() + (duration('1d') * 2)"

String Functions

Field: string.length

Function	Signature	Description
`contains()`	`string.contains(value): boolean`	Check substring
`containsAll()`	`string.containsAll(...values): boolean`	All substrings present
`containsAny()`	`string.containsAny(...values): boolean`	Any substring present
`startsWith()`	`string.startsWith(query): boolean`	Starts with query
`endsWith()`	`string.endsWith(query): boolean`	Ends with query
`isEmpty()`	`string.isEmpty(): boolean`	Empty or not present
`lower()`	`string.lower(): string`	To lowercase
`title()`	`string.title(): string`	To Title Case
`trim()`	`string.trim(): string`	Remove whitespace
`replace()`	`string.replace(pattern, replacement): string`	Replace pattern
`repeat()`	`string.repeat(count): string`	Repeat string
`reverse()`	`string.reverse(): string`	Reverse string
`slice()`	`string.slice(start, end?): string`	Substring
`split()`	`string.split(separator, n?): list`	Split to list

Number Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`abs()`	`number.abs(): number`	Absolute value
`ceil()`	`number.ceil(): number`	Round up
`floor()`	`number.floor(): number`	Round down
`round()`	`number.round(digits?): number`	Round to digits
`toFixed()`	`number.toFixed(precision): string`	Fixed-point notation
`isEmpty()`	`number.isEmpty(): boolean`	Not present

List Functions

Field: list.length

Function	Signature	Description
`contains()`	`list.contains(value): boolean`	Element exists
`containsAll()`	`list.containsAll(...values): boolean`	All elements exist
`containsAny()`	`list.containsAny(...values): boolean`	Any element exists
`filter()`	`list.filter(expression): list`	Filter by condition (uses `value`, `index`)
`map()`	`list.map(expression): list`	Transform elements (uses `value`, `index`)
`reduce()`	`list.reduce(expression, initial): any`	Reduce to single value (uses `value`, `index`, `acc`)
`flat()`	`list.flat(): list`	Flatten nested lists
`join()`	`list.join(separator): string`	Join to string
`reverse()`	`list.reverse(): list`	Reverse order
`slice()`	`list.slice(start, end?): list`	Sublist
`sort()`	`list.sort(): list`	Sort ascending
`unique()`	`list.unique(): list`	Remove duplicates
`isEmpty()`	`list.isEmpty(): boolean`	No elements

File Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`asLink()`	`file.asLink(display?): Link`	Convert to link
`hasLink()`	`file.hasLink(otherFile): boolean`	Has link to file
`hasTag()`	`file.hasTag(...tags): boolean`	Has any of the tags
`hasProperty()`	`file.hasProperty(name): boolean`	Has property
`inFolder()`	`file.inFolder(folder): boolean`	In folder or subfolder

Link Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`asFile()`	`link.asFile(): file`	Get file object
`linksTo()`	`link.linksTo(file): boolean`	Links to file

Object Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`isEmpty()`	`object.isEmpty(): boolean`	No properties
`keys()`	`object.keys(): list`	List of keys
`values()`	`object.values(): list`	List of values

Regular Expression Functions

Function	Signature	Description
`matches()`	`regexp.matches(string): boolean`	Test if matches

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by

Steph Ango (Obsidian)

Publisher

Steph Ango (Obsidian) (Community)

Source

kepano/obsidian-skills · skills/obsidian-bases · commit 3ccff53

Licence

MIT License (redistribution allowed)

LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)

Synced

2026-11-08

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Steph Ango (Obsidian).

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download obsidian-bases.zip

From the author

AutoGineer summary

What it does

When to use it

Advantages

Usage examples

Install

Documentation by Steph Ango (Obsidian)

Obsidian Bases Skill

Workflow

Schema

Filter Syntax

Filter Structure

Filter Operators

Properties

Three Types of Properties

File Properties Reference

The this Keyword

Formula Syntax

Key Functions

Duration Type

Date Arithmetic

View Types

Table View

Cards View

List View

Map View

Default Summary Formulas

Complete Examples

Task Tracker Base

Reading List Base

Daily Notes Index

Embedding Bases

YAML Quoting Rules

Troubleshooting

YAML Syntax Errors

Common Formula Errors

References

Files

references/FUNCTIONS_REFERENCE.md

Functions Reference

Global Functions

Any Type Functions

Date Functions & Fields

Duration Type

Date Arithmetic

String Functions

Number Functions

List Functions

File Functions

Link Functions

Object Functions

Regular Expression Functions

Requirements and compatibility

Security

Attribution and licence

Related skills

Wizard

Emails

Conversion Tracking

Directory Submissions

Sms

Marketing Loops

Download ZIP

The `this` Keyword