Obsidian Markdown

Obsidian Markdown Extensions

Reference for Obsidian-specific markdown syntax beyond standard CommonMark. Use when creating or editing files intended for the Obsidian vault.

Properties (Frontmatter)

YAML block at file start, delimited by ---. Obsidian reads these as typed properties.

---
title: My Note
date: 2026-03-01
tags:
  - project/alpha
  - status/active
status: in_progress
aliases:
  - Alt Name
cssclasses:
  - wide-page
---

Property types: text, number, checkbox, date, datetime, list, tags Reserved properties: tags, aliases, cssclasses

Internal Links (Wikilinks)

[[Note Name]]                    # Link to note
[[Note Name|Display Text]]       # Link with alias
[[Note Name#Heading]]            # Link to heading
[[Note Name#^block-id]]          # Link to block
[[Note Name#Heading|Display]]    # Heading link with alias

Embeds — prefix with ! to render inline:

![[Note Name]]                   # Embed entire note
![[Note Name#Heading]]           # Embed section
![[image.png]]                   # Embed image
![[image.png|300]]               # Embed image with width
![[audio.mp3]]                   # Embed audio player
![[video.mp4]]                   # Embed video player
![[document.pdf]]                # Embed PDF
![[document.pdf#page=3]]         # Embed specific PDF page

Block References

Add a ^block-id at the end of any block (paragraph, list item, etc.):

This is a paragraph I want to reference. ^my-block

- List item with reference ^list-ref

Link to it: [[Note Name#^my-block]] Embed it: ![[Note Name#^my-block]]

Block IDs: lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens. Obsidian auto-generates 6-char hex IDs when you type ^ in the link autocomplete.

Tags

#tag                    # Simple tag
#nested/tag             # Nested tag (creates hierarchy)
#project/alpha          # Convention: category/value

Tags work in body text and in tags: frontmatter property. Nested tags create browsable hierarchies in the tag pane.

Callouts

> [!note] Optional Title
> Callout body content.

> [!warning]
> No title — uses type name as title.

> [!tip]- Foldable (collapsed by default)
> Content hidden until expanded.

> [!tip]+ Foldable (expanded by default)
> Content visible, can be collapsed.

Built-in types: note, abstract/summary/tldr, info, todo, tip/hint/important, success/check/done, question/help/faq, warning/caution/attention, failure/fail/missing, danger/error, bug, example, quote/cite

Nesting: Callouts can nest inside each other with additional > levels.

Comments

%%This text is invisible in reading view%%

%%
Multi-line comments
also work
%%

Footnotes

Here is a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Inline footnote^[This is inline footnote content].

Math (LaTeX)

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:
$$
\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i = x_1 + x_2 + \cdots + x_n
$$

Tables (Standard + Extended)

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| a    |   b    |     c |

Task Lists

- [ ] Unchecked
- [x] Checked
- [/] In progress (community convention)
- [-] Cancelled (community convention)

Highlights and Formatting

==highlighted text==          # Yellow highlight
**bold** and *italic*         # Standard
~~strikethrough~~             # Standard
`inline code`                 # Standard

Best Practices for This Vault

1. Always use wikilinks ([[Note]]) not markdown links for internal vault links
2. Frontmatter on every file — at minimum: title, date, tags
3. Use nested tags for categorization: #status/active, #project/opened, #type/podcast
4. Block references for granular linking — better than duplicating content
5. Aliases for notes with multiple names (e.g., person's full name + first name)
6. Callouts for important information, warnings, or collapsible sections
7. Comments (%%...%%) for Claude-only notes that shouldn't render in Obsidian