Obsidian Frontmatter

Skill: obsidian-frontmatter

What I do

I provide expertise in managing YAML frontmatter within Obsidian notes. I ensure that metadata is structured, consistent, and optimised for both manual organisation and automated querying via Dataview. I specialise in defining standard schemas for different note types to maintain vault-wide data integrity.

When to use me

• When creating templates for new notes (e.g. daily notes, project notes, or skills).
• When standardising metadata across a cluster of existing notes.
• When defining custom fields that will be used in Dataview dashboards or charts.
• When troubleshooting YAML syntax errors that prevent notes from being indexed correctly.

Core principles

1. Standardisation — Use a consistent set of core fields (e.g. `title`, `created`, `tags`, `status`) across all notes to ensure predictable query results.
2. ISO 8601 Compliance — Always use the `YYYY-MM-DD` format for dates to maintain compatibility with Obsidian's core features and Dataview.
3. Kebab-Case Tags — Prefer `kebab-case` for tag values and hierarchical structures (e.g. `#project/active`) for better readability and filtering.
4. Minimality — Keep frontmatter lean; only include metadata that is genuinely useful for automation or organisation. Avoid cluttering notes with unused fields.

Patterns & examples

Standard Note Frontmatter

A baseline schema for a general knowledge note.

---
title: Advanced Git Workflows
created: 2024-03-25
tags: [git, workflow, advanced]
aliases: [Git Master, Git Expert]
status: permanent
---

Project-Specific Metadata

Extended fields for tracking project progress and ownership.

---
type: project
client: Baphled Corp
deadline: 2024-12-31
priority: high
assigned_to: [[Sisyphus]]
progress: 45
---

Hierarchical Tags

Using slashes to create nested categories within the `tags` field.

---
tags:
  - knowledge/technical/obsidian
  - status/in-progress
---

Anti-patterns to avoid

• ❌ Malformed YAML — Missing colons, inconsistent indentation, or unquoted special characters that break the frontmatter block.
• ❌ Duplicate Fields — Defining the same metadata key multiple times in a single note, leading to unpredictable behaviour.
• ❌ Non-Standard Dates — Using formats like `DD/MM/YY` which are not natively supported for date-based sorting in many plugins.
• ❌ Over-Categorisation — Adding dozens of tags or custom fields that are never used for filtering or querying.

KB Reference

~/vaults/baphled/3. Resources/Knowledge Base/AI Development System/Skills/Session-Knowledge/Obsidian Frontmatter.md

Related skills

• obsidian-dataview-expert — The primary consumer of frontmatter metadata for dynamic indexing.
• obsidian-structure — For deciding which notes require specific frontmatter schemas based on their PARA location.
• obsidian-customjs-expert — For writing scripts that read and update note frontmatter programmatically.
• information-architecture — For designing the high-level metadata schema of the vault.