Obsidian

Obsidian Knowledge Management

Complete guide for Obsidian - knowledge base on local markdown files.

Quick Reference

Key Concepts

File Structure

vault/
+-- .obsidian/           # Settings
|   +-- plugins/
|   +-- themes/
|   +-- workspace.json
+-- Daily Notes/
+-- Templates/
+-- Notes/

Markdown Syntax

Internal Links

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

Tags

#tag #nested/tag           # Inline tags

---
tags: [tag1, tag2]         # YAML frontmatter tags
---

Callouts

> [!note]
> This is a note callout

> [!warning]
> This is a warning

> [!tip]
> This is a tip

> [!info]- Collapsed
> This is collapsed by default

Task Lists

- [ ] Incomplete task
- [x] Completed task
- [/] In progress
- [-] Cancelled

Frontmatter (YAML)

---
title: Note Title
date: 2024-01-15
tags: [tag1, tag2]
aliases: [alias1, alias2]
status: draft
author: Name
---

Templates

Daily Note Template

---
date: {{date}}
tags: [daily]
---

# {{date:dddd, MMMM D, YYYY}}

## Tasks
- [ ]

## Notes

## Journal

---
[[{{date:YYYY-MM-DD|yesterday}}|<- Yesterday]] | [[{{date:YYYY-MM-DD|tomorrow}}|Tomorrow ->]]

Meeting Template

---
date: {{date}}
tags: [meeting]
attendees:
type: meeting
---

# Meeting: {{title}}

## Attendees
-

## Agenda
1.

## Notes

## Action Items
- [ ]

Dataview Plugin

Basic Queries

# List all notes with tag
LIST FROM #tag

# Table of notes
TABLE file.ctime as Created, status
FROM "Projects"
WHERE status = "active"
SORT file.ctime DESC

# Task list
TASK FROM "Daily Notes"
WHERE !completed
GROUP BY file.link

Advanced Queries

# Books read this year
TABLE rating, author, year
FROM #book
WHERE completed AND year = 2024
SORT rating DESC

# Upcoming deadlines
TABLE due, status
FROM "Tasks"
WHERE due >= date(today) AND due <= date(today) + dur(7 days)
SORT due ASC

# Recent notes
LIST
FROM ""
WHERE file.mday >= date(today) - dur(7 days)
SORT file.mday DESC
LIMIT 10

Templater Plugin

Basic Syntax

<%* /* JavaScript code */ %>
<% /* Output */ %>

# Get current date
<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD") %>

# Get title
<% tp.file.title %>

# Create date with offset
<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", 7) %>

# Cursor position
<% tp.file.cursor() %>

User Prompts

<%*
const title = await tp.system.prompt("Enter title");
const type = await tp.system.suggester(
  ["Task", "Note", "Project"],
  ["task", "note", "project"]
);
_%>

# <% title %>
Type: <% type %>

File Operations

<%*
// Move file
await tp.file.move("/Archive/" + tp.file.title);

// Rename file
await tp.file.rename("New Name");

// Create file
await tp.file.create_new("Content", "New Note");
%>

Vault Organization

PARA Method

vault/
+-- 1 - Projects/
+-- 2 - Areas/
+-- 3 - Resources/
+-- 4 - Archive/
+-- Templates/

Zettelkasten

vault/
+-- Fleeting/
+-- Literature/
+-- Permanent/
+-- Index/

Essential Hotkeys

Cmd/Ctrl + N          New note
Cmd/Ctrl + O          Quick switcher
Cmd/Ctrl + P          Command palette
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + F  Search all files
Cmd/Ctrl + E          Toggle edit/preview
Cmd/Ctrl + G          Open graph view

Essential Plugins

Core

• Dataview: Database queries
• Templater: Advanced templates
• QuickAdd: Quick captures
• Periodic Notes: Daily/weekly notes
• Calendar: Calendar view

Productivity

• Tasks: Task management
• Kanban: Kanban boards
• Projects: Project management
• Excalidraw: Drawings

Organization

• Tag Wrangler: Tag management
• Folder Notes: Folder index
• Auto Link Title: Auto fetch titles
• Note Refactor: Split/merge notes

Git Backup

# .gitignore
.obsidian/workspace.json
.obsidian/workspace-mobile.json
.obsidian/plugins/*/data.json
.trash/

Best Practices

1. Regular backups - Git or sync service
2. Consistent naming - Use conventions
3. Use templates - Speed up note creation
4. Link liberally - Build knowledge graph
5. Daily notes - Capture everything
6. Review regularly - Process inbox
7. Minimal plugins - Only what you need
8. Frontmatter - Structured metadata
9. Atomic notes - One idea per note
10. Document workflows - Create guides for yourself

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up Obsidian vaults
• Creating templates and workflows
• Writing Dataview queries
• Developing Templater scripts
• Organizing knowledge bases
• Building PKM systems